Return of the swell

Hello, my lovely friends!

It's been a LONG time! I can't believe it's been over a month since my last post. How have you all been? I've missed you ever so much!

So much has been happening in the little world of Swell Vintage since we last spoke. I don't want to bore you with an insanely long post, but I will break it down into easily digestible bullet points:

• First things first, I moved house! I now live in sunny East London, and I'm loving every minute of it. It's so nice to live near civilisation and to be near my friends. My flat is also rather lovely (I will post pics one my room is finished).
  
  
• I had the first ever professional Swell Vintage photoshoot! It was such a brilliant day, and I'm so grateful to my friend Skye for organising it for me. We collaborated with the amazing Josefine of Mint Siren, who provided us with the most incredibly gorgeous vintage-style lingerie. I'm starting to get the finished photos over from the wonderfully talented Joanna B, and they're looking amazing. I'll post them when I have them all, but for now here's a sneaky peak from behind the scenes.

Here is the beautiful Rosey, being snapped by Joanna B.

All hands on deck! Skye has her amazing hair done by the lovely Amber-Rose Peake and her make-up by Maria Papadopoulou.

A perfect match! My jewellery and Mint Siren lingerie - I don't think we could have matched the colours better if we tried!


It was so much fun! Thanks for a great day, ladies!

You can see the rest of my photos on my Flickr, but watch this space for the final shots!

• I did my first ever fair! As mentioned in previous posts, I attended the Winchester Handm@de fair on Sunday and it was so much fun! Everyone there was so nice and welcoming. I love the community aspect of doing what I do, and it was great to step out from behind the computer screen and meet real people for a change! Here are some photos of my stand:

I had so much fun at the fair. I sold a few of my pieces, and I also got offered a very exciting opportunity - yay! I'll definitely consider doing another fair, especially a Handm@de one. There was so many talented people there. I could have easily spent all of my profits!

• I've sent off my second collection to Trinket in Edinburgh! It's definitely my most extravagant collection ever, so if you live locally why not pop in and have a look?
  
  

• It turned 23 the other day! It's a pretty insignificant age, but I had a truly amazing time and celebrated with some great people.
  
  

I think that's more than enough for now! Now that I'm settled in my new place I'll be blogging regularly and posting pictures of new pieces, as normal.

Thanks for reading, and please stop by again soon!

Much love,

Frankie
Swell Vintage

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Swell stuff

Happy Bank Holiday Monday, one and all!

Have you had a nice long weekend? Mine has been rather pleasant, as I finally got the time to have a play on my new sewing machine!


This is the beast. It's small, but it's perfect for someone like me who has no real idea what they're doing. I'm really enjoying practicing, and I plan to make some nice little pouches for my jewellery from vintage fabric. I'll be posting some pictures soon!

I also made a couple of new jewellery pieces:

This necklace is made from a vintage brooch, hung with freshwater pearls and vintage chain. I like making fan necklaces. There's something quite regal about them, I think. What do you think? I'd love to know.

She sells sea shells...this necklace is made from a vintage shell, which I've adorned with a freshwater pearl and hung on vintage chain. This is one of my daintier necklaces, but I quite like its simplicity. What do you think? Do you prefer a bolder necklace, or something more simple and delicate?

I've just about finished my new collection for Trinket in Edinburgh, so now all of my focus will be on finishing up and preparing for the Handm@de fair in Winchester on 5th July. If you happen to be local, it would be ever so lovely to see you!

Wow, this post has been quite boring, hasn't it? Sorry about that. I might go and do more sewing now. Thank you for reading and leaving your lovely comments. They never fail to make my day/life.

Much love,

Frankie
Swell Vintage

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Swell times ahead

Hello once again, my loves! Did you have a good Easter time? Did you eat your body weight in chocolate? I certainly hope so.

I've had such a nice and relaxing long weekend, but I probably should have used my time more productively as things are getting increasingly busy. I'm still working on pieces for the Handm@de Fair in Winchester on 5th July, and I'm also starting on my next collection for Trinket in Edinburgh. Not only that, but I'm moving to East London in about 6 weeks - needless to say, there's plenty to do!

However, I did manage to make a couple of things. This necklace, for example:


I really like this vintage perfume bottle. I've cleaned it up, replaced the flimsy chain it was found with with a stronger, more textured vintage one, added freshwater pearls and hung it asymmetrically. I also like that it is still functional - all you need to do is pull the cork (as below) and insert a small piece of fabric soaked with your favourite scent:

A necklace by any other name would smell as sweet!

This bracelet is made from a vintage faux turquoise brooch and is linked on vintage chain. One of the stones was missing around the center turquoise (oh no!), so I removed them all and (shockingly) replaced them with fresh water pearls. Now I think it looks a bit like a weird cake with a bird's egg in the middle.

So what do you think? I always love to hear what you think of my pieces, so any feedback you may have will be welcomed with open arms, and maybe even a cheeky kiss!

Also, I wrote an article on vintage satchels for the Queens of Vintage last week, which you can read here if you fancy it. Not only that, but Handm@de Winchester kindly posted a "Meet the Maker" interview with me on their blog, which you can read right here. There really are so many lovely people in the blogosphere!

Well, now that Easter is over, it's back to normality. I hope you have a really good week! I'm now going to watch Clueless and attempt to catch up on my (ever-expanding) blog reader.

Thanks for reading. It's been emotional.

Much love,

Frankie
Swell Vintage

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Swell start

Hello again, my dear friends.

How have you been? I hope you've had a thoroughly enjoyable weekend.

Today for the first time in bloody ages, I have had the chance to make some new pieces. As mentioned in previous posts, I am going to be exhibiting at Handm@de Winchester on 5th July, so am starting to build up my stock. I've used some of my Brighton finds - what do you think?


Emerald city joy! This necklace is made from a vintage brooch, adorned with freshwater pearls and hung on vintage chain with a bit of asymmetry thrown in for good measure.



The weirdest looking ID bracelet of all time? Probably. I found this vintage ID bracelet and adorned with a vintage brooch to make it more feminine. I think it has a rather steampunk feel to it, but I quite like that.


I think perhaps I've been watching too much of The Tudors (I really love that show), but I think this necklace has a real Catherine of Aragon feel to it. It is made from a vintage broach, adorned with a freshwater pearl and hung on vintage chain. Definitely a statement piece!

So what are your thoughts? As always, I welcome any feedback that you may have for me. I won't be adding any new pieces to my etsy shop for a little while, but if you see anything you'd particularly like here, please feel free to email me at frankie@swell-vintage.com.

Thank you, again, for reading. You are my world.

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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