Research day in London and some inspirational snaps!

So...I thought i would share with you a few inspirational photos i papped whilst down in London last week! I visited Spitalfields Market again, had a little browse around the independant stalls and little shops in the surrounding area of Shoreditch. I found some fantastic little boutique's, including one homeware and gift store called Inspitalfields which was full of quirky designs and vintage finds (www.inspitalfields.co.uk).
I also had a browse along Brick Lane, home to the fantastic Beyond Retro (www.beyondretro.com), a word of warning...you cannot step foot in this shop without purchasing a beautiful vintage piece, with scarfs for £3.00 you would be mad not too!
I also came accross a fantastic jewellery shop, which displayed some great jewellery from a whole selection of independant designers, a great way to showcase your work if you have the talent! (www.atworkgallery.co.uk).
I then went and paid another visit to Liberty's department store where Mary Portas has just launched her 'kinky knickers'. What a fantastic place i could have spent hours in there looking at all of the homeware, and i was in my element when i found the fabric and haberdashery area on the 3rd floor. I just loved the way they displayed there ribbons and buttons, and could have bought every Liberty print going they were all so beautiful! (www.liberty.co.uk)
So take a look and see what you think...and next time you are in London why not pop down and check out the area for yourself, i can guarantee you will be occupied for hours! x

Some snaps of Shoreditch

The lovely store called Insptalfields

The beautiful Liberty's displays

My favourite little haberdashery displays

xxx

My busy weekend!

Hi all,

So this weekend i have been busy making new hanging heart decorations, after many people have requested i make lavender scented hearts...so here we go! I have found a lovely blue and white fabric and used some of my lovely lilac fabric i allready had, perfect! They are just fab to hang around your home or next to your bed to release a natural lavender scent. These are now available to buy from my Folksy shop: http://folksy.com/shops/VickysPretties

I was also very busy at the Horse and Jockey craft fair in Chorlton, lots of lovely people there to have a chat about crafty things with and it was a very busy day. Lots of things going on in Chorlton from the big green festival and the Chorlton vintage fair, lovely to see a community coming together to support local artisans and crafts people. I can't wait until the next one!

And finally...i have a brand new website under construction!! Vicky's Pretties will soon have a website of it's very own! Exciting times! I will be selling handcrafted items made by myself and i will also be on the lookout for other fabulous people to feature on my site...i allready have a few in mind, but if you think you have a unique product that will fit into the 'Vicky's Pretties' image then i would love to hear from you! I will also eventually be selling unique items for the home, from some of the contacts i found at the Spring Fair at the NEC...watch this space! Exciting times are on the horizon!

That's all for now! I hope you all have a fab week xx

Trims sourcing and researching in Hong Kong: My little trip!

Hi,

It's been a while i know! However, whilst i have been away i was blessed with the chance to visit the wonderful city of Hong Kong again. I decided to fit in a little bit of trims sourcing whilst i was out there, and visited the wonderful Sham Shui Po district again. I only managed to find a handful of the shops i visited last time, the area is so large it would have taken me a couple of days to do them all properly!

As you can see from the photo below, every shop is crammed full of beads, buttons, ribbons, lace and motifs, it is a crafters paradise!

I also did a little shopping whilst i was in Hong Kong, there are so many shopping malls to choose from you really are spoilt for choice! Firstly i visited 'The One' shopping centre in Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon, 100 Nathan Road. It is a hub of little boutiques with some absaloutly beautiful clothes and home interiors, with the top floor of shops consisting of nothing other than homewares and accessories, as you could probably guess i was in there a long time gathering inspiration. There were brands from Umbra to Miho, definitely worth a visit if you are ever in that area!

I also visited the fantastic DNA shopping complex at 61- 65 Chatham Road South, again in Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon. It is just full of little indipendant boutiques selling handmade homeware and clothes, there was even a miniture dolls house store! Have a look below at some of the photos i took here: