Swell exhibitionist

Good news, everyone - the Swell Vintage window display is now up at the wonderful Oxfam in Dalston!

Drum roll, please...






That's the window view. And now for the details...let me break it down:

Trench coat - Christian Dior
Suit - Yves Saint Laurent
Tie - Zara
Shirt - Reiss
(All sourced from Oxfam Dalston)

Dress - Natasha Bailie Vintage
Necklace - Swell Vintage
Hat - Oxfam Dalston


Fur hat - Oxfam Dalston
Necklace - Swell Vintage
Dress - Retro Chick
Cape - Oxfam Dalston
Bracelet - Swell Vintage

Hat - Natasha Bailie Vintage
Dress - Vintage, donated by me!
Handbag - Oxfam Dalston
Beads - Oxfam Dalston

What do you think? I've never done a window display before, but it was a lot of fun and hard work in equal measures! I'd really like your feedback, so please let me know.

All I really know for sure is that I couldn't have done it without the help of my dear friend and blogger extraordinaire, Fiona of Save Our Shoes. Thank you so much, Fiona. You are my ROCK. I'd also like to thank the amazing people of Oxfam Dalston, especially Kevin and Steve, for letting me into their window and for being so supportive! They work insanely hard for a brilliant cause, so you should probably follow them on Twitter.


So if you happen to be in the area and you like what you see, why not pop into Oxfam in Dalston from Monday 5th July and see if you can bag a bargain? I'll fight you for the Dior!

Much love,

Frankie
Swell Vintage

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Swell Vintage loves Oxfam

As any vintage lover will tell you, one of the best places to bag an old school bargain is a charity shop. London is home of some of the UK's very best, and I am extremely fortunate to live just around the corner from the increasingly popular and highly praised Oxfam in Dalston.

One of the things I love about Oxfam Dalston is that it has a unique identity despite being part of a "chain", which embraces and celebrates the surrounding Hackney community and its residents. So when they kindly offered me the opportunity to put together an exhibition for their coveted front window space, needless to say I hopped, skipped and jumped at the chance. I'll be putting up my exhibition bright and early on Monday 28th June.

Oxfam Dalston has had some awesome window displays as of late, including an absolutely cracking one from the visual merchandising girls of Harrods:

Photo courtesy of Dalson Oxfam's blog

The pressure is on, so for the theme I've decided to stick to what I know - vintage. To give the window a sexier, more stylish feel, I'm going with a Mad Men inspired look (no Joan-shaped mannequins I'm afraid though. Sigh...).

Not only will the exhibition feature a couple of official one-of-a-kind Swell Vintage jewellery pieces, but it will also include some very kind donations from some of my favourite vintage sellers - the love of my life, Natasha Bailie, the ever so wonderful Retro Chick and the very brilliant Love Miss Daisy. If you're in the market for some high quality vintage, check out their shops right now! You won't be disappointed.

Today Kevin, one of the brains behind the Dalston Oxfam operation, kindly let me into the basement of the shop to have a rummage through the stock to pick out any extra items I'd like to use. It was absolutely incredible down there! A veritable Aladdin's cave of treasures and wonderment, filled with every possible time of donation you could ever imagine. I don't want to ruin the surprise of what my exhibition will look like, but here are a few photos from behind the scenes to give you a sneaky peek:

Some of the lovely donations from Natasha Bailie and Retro Chick.

Found in the basement - a mint condition men's Christian Dior trench coat

Bargainous brogue beauties

A gorgeous Yves Saint Laurent suit!

A little something I'm putting together...

That's all you're getting for now, folks! Like a drug pusher, the first taste is free, but you'll have to wait till the big day to see more! If you live in London, I highly recommend you pop into Dalston Oxfam. There are so many more gems in there at insanely low prices! Not only that, but the staff are lovely too. What more could you ask?

In other news, you know that Motorola competition I mentioned in my last post? Well, in a moment of pure insanity I decided to enter! If you have a spare couple of seconds, I'd be extremely grateful if you could vote for my geeky face. I doubt I'll win, but it's worth a go!

Thank you for reading, and hopefully I'll see you on 28th June!

Much love,

Frankie
Swell Vintage

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Swell websites

Hello my lovely loves!

How has your week been so far? Mine's been okay thanks. My little London holiday was lots of fun, but unfortunately I was struck down by a rather nasty lurgy on Sunday night (boooo). HOWEVER, I am feeling much much better now, so it is officially all good.

So I've been a little slack on making new items, which is very bad of me because I'm going to be exhibiting at the Handm@de Fair in Winchester on 5th July! Needless to say, I need to get a wriggle on, but I am very excited about it.

Also, the rather lovely Kitty of Vintage Shop of the Day wrote about me and Swell Vintage! I'm feel truly honoured, as I've been a big fan of her blog for a good while now. Fancy reading it? Oh, go on...click here.

I'm really enjoying writing for Queens of Vintage too. They are such a lovely group of ladies - they're so encouraging and allow me lots of creative freedom, which is just brilliant. In fact, I wrote an article about vintage lockets just last week, which you can read right here. I'm still pretty new at writing on specific subjects, so I'd love some feedback if you'd be so kind! What do you think? Is there anything you'd like me to write about it? I am open to suggestion.

I have no new jewellery pictures to show you - sorry about that! Instead, here is a hideous picture of my stupid pale face:


Thanks for reading! I love you! No, really...I do...I hope this hasn't made things awkward between us...

Much love,

Frankie
Swell Vintage

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