BRISTOL VINTAGE - MAKING THE WORLD MORE GLAMOROUS CUP BY CUP!

When Katie and I started the business nearly 8 years ago, little did we know how it would grow!  Starting off with afternoon tea crockery, we just couldn't stop collecting and are now able to supply full tea and dinner crockery for over 120 people!

We are completely addicted to vintage and select every piece ourselves.  If we don't love it, it's not in our collection. 

As we are total magpies, we now also have a large collection of props, including picnic hampers, suitcases, our vintage bicycles, Mabel, Albert & Rose, vintage sledges, typewriters, rugs, stepladders ... in fact we can sometimes source specific items for you!

We love helping you set up and style your wedding or just hire out the props and extras so you can do it yourself.  We can even provide a full waitress service and work with caterers to supply full afternoon tea or just scones and cakes.

If you're having a retro party, we have a large selection of Babycham glasses as well as lots of quirky ornaments, cameras, books and smaller items.

We have jugs, teapots and fishboxes which can all be filled with beautiful flowers ...

 ... and we're particularly proud of our collection of vintage wind-up picnic gramophones. We're even unveiling a new gramophone at the fair!

Our latest addition is a 'photo wall' which we'll be showing off for the first time at the fair as well.  So do come and say hello - the fair is our way of sharing all the vintage love that's out there so we hope you'll enjoy it as much as we do!  See you on Sunday! xx

RETROPRESS - VINTAGE DESIGN IS THE WORD!

There's something so exciting about receiving news of a wedding in the post, and the style and look of the invitation are the first moment your guests will see what kind of day it's going to be, so it's important to make a great impression.  Retro Press can guarantee you'll do just that!

A creative letterpress studio who mainly design and print bespoke wedding stationery with a refreshing, quirky, vintage style that's just a bit different from the norm, Retro Press like to keep it fun, fresh and funky and whatever you choose will be unique to you.

Kate Clift, the owner of Retro Press is passionate about her work and says " We do everything here at Retro Press, from the Save the Dates and invitations to bunting and posters ... and everything in between."

"Everything we do is personalised, so even the 'templates' you will find on our website can be changed to suit a particular couple with regards to wording and colours."

"The 'travel tag' style is definitely our most popular invitation but we can do anything - any shape, size, colour, traditional or more contemporary - but also vintage.  Always retro!  The Save the Date coasters are also highly desired as these are unique and such a great way of having something memorable for the guests to keep."



Kate has impressive credentials - with a degree in Graphic Design, she undertook a 3-month internship at the famous Hatch Show Print in Nashville where she fell in love with the letterpress process and brought this passion home.

Invented back in the 15th Century, letterpress is a handmade process, giving each piece a rich, unique quality with no two prints being identical.  

As Kate says "... here at Retro, we love, live, eat, breathe every single little thing letterpress so we can't see how you won't be captured by it's charm too!"

I must admit I'm hooked and you will be too once you've had a chat with Kate at the fair.

Fishee Designs Photobooth

Bristol Vintage loves the Fishee Designs Photobooth.

The Fishee Designs Photobooth is a mobile studio with professional lighting and photography equipment.

It's an exclusive set up, stylish and pretty. Owner Emily goes the extra mile to create a lovely vintage-style space for you to enjoy making memories.

She has carefully selected vintage and retro props, beautifully displayed in old suitcases alongside bespoke handmade backdrops that you won't find anywhere else.

Having the Fishee Designs Photobooth at your wedding means having a giggle with your guests while you get absolutely awesome photos of them dressing up vintage-style.

The Fishee Designs Photobooth will be appearing at our next Bristol Vintage Wedding Fair. Try it out, strike a pose and chat to Emily about how a photobooth would work brilliantly at your wedding. If you can't wait till then, find out more on the website, Facebook and Twitter. Now… are you ready for your close up?

The Little Wedding Helper

How would you like to win the chance to have your own wedding stylist for the day?

Kirsten Butler, aka The Little Wedding Helper, is offering all visitors to next year’s Bristol Vintage Wedding Fair the chance to win her styling services.  All you have to do is visit her stand at the Fair on March 10^th and be sure to leave your details.  After the Fair, our very own Ali Cook will draw the lucky winner – the prize being their very own Little Wedding Helper to help style their big day (up to 100 guests).

If you haven’t thought about wedding styling, it’s well worth having a chat with Kirsten. She’s an Award Winning stylist (voted regional winner in the ‘Special Touches’ category for the South West Wedding Industry Awards 2012) who helps couples across Bristol and the South West to stop worrying about ‘how it should be done’, instead creating and styling a wedding that’s uniquely theirs, from start to finish.

Whether your taste is retro, vintage or modern, Kirsten is your go to woman if you don’t want to have to worry about a single aspect of how your venue or marquee is going to look and feel. If you’re struggling with ideas, overwhelmed with the choice out there or have the vision but need someone to bring it to life then The Little Wedding Helper can help. She's not a wedding planner, but that extra pair of hands to focus on all styling elements of your big day.  She works alongside hotel staff and wedding coordinators and will ensure the venue is transformed while you’re getting ready.  Specialising in marquee decoration, her on-the-day styling service means you can enjoy the build up of your wedding day whilst the inside and outside of the marquee are being decorated with love and exquisite attention to detail.

From styling, to hiring and plenty of inspiration along the way, The Little Wedding Helper is a vintage girl at heart. You can find her on Twitter and Facebook, email her at hello@littleweddinghelper.co.uk or call her direct on 07726 911951 to start getting creative. Her website is a treasure trove of gorgeous photos (c/o Sam Gibson photography), just like the ones featured here from a recent wedding at Goldbrick House using our very own Bristol Vintage China.

Flo-Jo Boutique

Join the knicker-making revolution with Flo-Jo Boutique! Designing, sewing and making all things vintage-inspired since 2004, Delia and Erika host knicker-making and sewing parties from their brand new boutique shop on Gloucester Road.

Why not book the perfect Hen Party where you’ll learn how to make a pair of knickers and a garter for the bride?  If there’s material left over, you can make bunting and add all the buttons, bows and vintage embellishments you like. Delia & Erika search high and low for their retro-inspired prints and find inspiration in vintage lace and silks, which they ‘upcycle’. 

At Flo-Jo Boutique you’ll find collections of handmade undies, knicker-making kits and frilly pinnies for sale. They also run a haberdashers with carefully sourced fabrics, but the other half of the shop is a fabulous retro style 50s kitchen inspired workshop space, filled with sewing machines. Here’s where the creativity happens, alongside high tea, cake and a glass of champagne. They run regular workshops on embellishing, quilting, patchwork and dressmaking, but beginners are very welcome to the party and the knicker-making hen dos are designed with that in mind.

At the Fair, Delia will be bringing a gorgeous selection of knickers and garters to show you just what you can make using vintage silks.  She’ll have some of the Fancy Pants knicker-making kits too.  They’re a great introductory sewing project for lovers of vintage and make perfect bridesmaids and hen party gifts. Each kit includes a fully graded reusable pattern and you can choose from their range of cute cottons, frilly elastic and satin ribbons. She’ll also be bringing a party album so you can get a feel of the space and some inspiration for your own party.

Delia will be on hand at the Fair on March 10^th, but why don’t you check out Flo-Jo’s website, or better yet, pop in to the shop! Flo-Jo Boutique are based at 36b Gloucester Road, Bristol BS7 8AR and you can book your party by calling 0117 904 1498. 

Inspiring Us - Wedding in a Teacup

We at Bristol Vintage just love good stationery and we know you’ll be as totally bowled over by Wedding in a Teacup as we are.  Their exclusive and bespoke wedding invitations are absolutely gorgeous and perfect for the creative bride-to-be. And this online boutique isn’t just about stationery… Wedding in a Teacup has all the original favours and styling pieces you could possibly want to create your uniquely perfect wedding day.

 

Owner Hester Lear is lovely. With a background in fashion buying she has pretty defined taste. She loves all things retro and vintage with a hint of quirkiness and charm and Wedding in a Teacup encapsulates that perfectly.  She searches for only the most fabulous finds for her website, making sure wherever possible that they’re made from recycled material (or recyclable), Fairtrade or made right here in the UK.

  

At Wedding in a Teacup, they’ve taken the hard work out of styling.  Loving all the nuptial traditions (confetti, favours, place card holders) they’ll help you to style your day yourself using the website as a pick and mix where you can choose from all the wonderful pieces they’ve found.  They’ve got gorgeous mini vases for holding just a few sprays of delicate summer flowers, hanging teardrop tealight holders, wonderfully quirky cake toppers and vintage stamped labels for place markers.  They’ve even got favours for the guests so you can jazz up the tables with retro sweets and personalized honeys and jams.  They’re stocked with brilliant ideas.

The Wedding in a Teacup mantra is “take great pleasure in your planning and preparations, it will spill over into your wedding day and light it up.”  So for help making your wedding fun and original visit their online boutique to be inspired and get creative.  They love hearing from customers, so if you’ve a question, a query or want some advice, you can contact them by email at hello@weddinginateacup.co.uk or by phone on 01273 933134.  They’re around Monday to Friday, from 9am to 5pm (excluding Bank Holidays) and you can find them on Facebook, Twitter and with gorgeous images on Pinterest.  There’s also a blog on all things stylish and stationery and a newsletter so the inspiration never stops!

Clifton Hill Antique Costume & Textiles

A short walk from the Clifton Triangle can take you to a veritable treasure trove of antique, vintage and retro garments, hats, accessories, textiles and haberdashery that never ceases to surprise even the most seasoned of visitor.

Originally owned by the eponymous Gillian Holder, the heart and soul behind the store before she passed away in early 2011, Jenny Ford now looks after this wonderful place.  She’s written a beautiful blog about working with Gillian and how she’s reviving the costume shop and its collections.  You’ll learn how originally working there part-time and through the process of arranging and rotating stock, going through rail upon rail and unpacking boxes of fabric, she heard the varied stories behind the contents and acquired that elusive skill in helping each and every customer find just what they were looking for, even if they didn’t know it.

In addition, Jenny set up a Facebook page to document the amazing vintage and retro items she came across in the shop, with good friend Ibolya Feher providing the beautiful photography that really captures the feel of the building and its contents.

To continue Gillian's legacy and her passion was the start of many ideas and much excitement for Jenny as well as the many people she met met during her time at the shop and previous customers now talented designers!  After a lot of work tackling the mountain of beautiful vintage stock, both on display and in storage (filling six rooms over two floors) and rescuing whatever she could, Jenny has found surprises at every step including gorgeous pieces of vintage lingerie, war time safari shorts and even a pair of early machine-knit gloves.  The collection she’s looking after is amazing and she’s still finding hidden gems.

She’s going to blog about some of the favourite collections she’s found so far, so do follow her on the next stage of her journey with Clifton Hill Antique Costume & Textiles.  Until the store opens this summer you can catch Jenny at regular vintage markets and by appointment, but why not come and meet her at our Fair.  She’s taking time off from cataloguing these delights to present some gorgeous dresses to give you a taste of what’s available.  There’ll be vintage lingerie, nightwear and an unbelievable array of items for dressing up, available to hire.  Don’t miss this.  It’s a chance to see history. 

Days of Grace Vintage

Days of Grace is the place for beautiful vintage style dresses and stunning accessories.  These one-off designs are made from antique lace and vintage textiles and are perfect for country, barefoot on the beach or beautiful summer picnic style weddings.  They’re totally romantic dresses with a boho edge and each original ranges from the late 1800's right through to the 1980's. 

At Days of Grace you’ll see exquisite beadwork, beautiful draping fabrics and laces.  Alongside the wedding gowns in the back room there are medieval style hand woven silk bodices from the 1980s.  There’s brand new fine lace and slipper satins from sourced designers with a vintage inspired twist, always unusual and completely unrepeatable. Owner Linda Duriez finds these discontinued gems from designer archives and brings them to life, each totally unique, such as her current Jenny Packham 30s inspired pieces.  A visit to Days of Grace Vintage is a delight because you never know just what treasures might have been added to their collection and with these often hidden away in store, it’s always best to ring ahead to let them know exactly what you’re looking for.

A click onto the website lets you sample some of the vintage and retro pieces available or you can find their treasure trove of a shop at 15 Fore Street, Budleigh Salterton [although they recommend you book an appointment in advance, to avoid disappointment].  You can also find their sister shop Pirouette in Exeter and online.  Based in a 16^th century merchant’s house in the old West Quarter, you can explore the very different designers showcased including Maggie Sottero, Sottero & Midgley and Annasul Y. New designers arrived recently include Amanda Wakely and Yolan Cris. A wedding gown specialist, the Pirouette range is forever changing.  Think delicate gowns, beautiful veils, hand made jewellery and tiaras. 

Whether you’re looking for something vintage or vintage-inspired, perhaps even vintage re-created, Linda will be at our fair with some beautiful dresses to showcase from both shops.  There’s something for everyone, but you’ll have to be quick as there’s only one of each gorgeous dress.