Dolly Cool Clare

Dolly Cool is Three! :D

2012-02-10T13:49:00.000-08:00

On Wednesday, I celebrated my 3^rd year anniversary being self employed! Hooray!

The time has literally FLOWN by, and I am so happy that I am making this work, and that the popularity for Dolly Cool is growing, and feel so lucky that I can do something that I love for my full time job!

I thought that I would share a few of my tips for helping you and your business grow, even in the current tough economic climate that we are in. I hope some of you find it useful! I will try and not repeat myself from last year’s post, which you may also find interesting, which is about starting a business in the recession.

And so on to my tips – remember that this is just my viewpoint on things. Feel free to add anything else you think is relevant in the comments!

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1. Save Money

I cannot stress this enough. The best way to make money is to save money. You can NEVER have profit if you have debt. My dad told me that years ago, and he is right! I am by no means saying cheapen your product, I’m saying save where you don’t need to spend. Do you REALLY need that iphone4 that will cost you £45 a month? Do you REALLY need that fancy new laptop, or to spend 2 grand on a fancy new website or getting promo photos done? Ask yourself how can you reduce your everyday costs.

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2. Embrace Social Media

If you are a small business owner, especially one with a web based presence, and you are not on social media sites, then not only are you missing out BIG TIME, but you are also a bit foolish! Social media platforms such as a Blog, Twitter and Facebook are an invaluable resource to market your products (for FREE I might add! – see point 1!) but they are also a great way to connect with your customers, and likeminded folk – many who are also in the same position as you. I cannot imagine that Dolly Cool would be what it is today without them, and I have met and kept in touch with so many lovely people from all over the world using social media. Free and Fun – what’s not to like?

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3 Be Nice

The industry I am in (where the

is concerned anyway) – the Rockabilly/Alternative scene - is a small one. By doing shows and events you get to know other people who also trade at these events, and it makes sense to be friendly and get to know them. Even if they are directly competing with your product, it doesn’t matter. Its great to show up somewhere and be greeted with a friendly face! I also keep in touch with the people I have met on FB and Twitter, and its good to share forthcoming events and tips with likeminded people too. As I have quite a few years trading experience behind me (10 years since I did my first ‘craft fair’), I’m always happy to give advise to newbies on how they can help themselves and their business. Make sure you don’t share all of course! I NEVER reveal where I source my materials from, or how I make my products. General biz advise though – fine! We all have to start somewhere, and I have been given great advise by fellow traders in the past.

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4.Be Professional

NEVER fight fire with fire, EVER. Never, ever. Not even if you get a really sh*tty email off someone. Take a break, walk away – and reply when you can be professional. Not that this happens to me hardly ever mind you – and its usually an oversees customer who is waiting for a shipment that is taking a while to arrive. If anything, be SUPER nice. I have even had people apologise for their rudeness after my super nice, super polite replies! Oh, and never slag your customers off on Social Media either. Remember that ANYONE can read those things, and you just look bitter, pathetic and very unprofessional. Really not a good look. Have a rant to your other half/dog/cat etc instead!

At the 1st Vintage Network Meeting

5 Networking

Kind of follows on from the social media thing, and making friends with fellow traders in your field. On social media, follow people who interest and inspire you, and also things such as – in my case – craft and design networking sites. You find out first about any business courses, and classes (sometimes free!) that can be of use, you can find out about shows that you might like to trade at, or attend first. Through networking I have met some really interesting people, joined a local Vintage Network Group – the opportunities arising from this in itself is really exciting – and also been invited to partake in photo shoots, met lovely people who model for me and appeared in magazines. Also promote others too in your field – but who are not direct competition with you or your business. Once you get the ball rolling you will be amazed at how quickly interesting things start coming your way!

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6. Decide if you are an ‘I’ or a ‘we’

I know a lot of sole traders, who refer to themselves in the 3^rd person. This makes the company appear bigger than it is, and is perceived to be more “professional”. In my case, I am always an ‘I’. This is because I am proud to be an individual designer/maker and I want people – retail and business customers alike – to know that I am an ‘I’. I am not, and will never be a big company - or a 'we'.That is because I don’t want to be and am happy to retain my exclusivity and supply individuals and small independent traders rather than big chain stores. Not that there is anything wrong with referring to your brand as ‘we’ – if you do this though, you need to be consistent. If you are a ‘we’ you need to make sure that everything you publish or have written about you is in the 3^rd person, or you start to confuse people!

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7. Support your local economy.

Everyone is struggling at the moment so support your local economy where you can. I may source my cool hairtie fabric from oversees (we just don’t have any cool fabric being produced in this country!), but for my sundries such as plain fabrics, threads and needles – I get them from my local haberdashers. Like wise my clays, varnishes, a jewellery findings – I get them from local places where I can. Hopefully the Karma will come back my way! J

Well, I think I have bored you all enough by now! I hope you found it useful!

Thank you all for reading my blog by the way, and your supportive comments on my sewing class post last week. Have a nice weekend y’all!

Learning to sew.....

2012-02-03T12:30:00.000-08:00

As some of you may know that follow me on twitter (@dollycool) I have started a college class to learn to sew properly! I can already machine sew, but I am self taught and although I can make alterations on my own clothes, and make my Dolly Cool Hair Ties, simple skirts and put zips in - I've never actually made anything from a pattern before. It has been on my 'to do' list for a few years now, but I have never found any suitable or nearby courses that I wanted to try.
At the beginning of January, the local college posted a prospectus through the door, and I saw that the sewing classes were now being held at my local centre - just a 5 minute walk from my house = result! They were offering beginner, intermediate and advanced classes, so I enrolled on the intermediate class straight away, and started 3 weeks ago.....

Here I am on my way to class today! I'm wearing my Lady K Loves Jeans, and new spotty cardigan from the Forever 21 sale (£4.99) - Hooray that we have Forever 21 in the UK now!

And a close up of my college bag! Isn't it fab? It was a gift from my friend Jen. I love it, and it is perfect for the course. All the ladies in my class want one, ha ha! Unfortunately for them, it is from US fabric store Joann and you can't get them here!

And this is what the sewing room looks like at College - scary overlocker on left! We were shown how to thread it up on week one, but its rather complicated so need a few more goes on it first!

And so on to what I'm making....... I thought I would start with a simple modern pattern first, although my aim is eventually to be able to make things from vintage patterns for myself.

So, I'm making this dress which is from Prima Magazine, a few years ago that I had saved:

Its a 6 piece pattern so nothing too taxing for my first attempt!

Today, I cut out all my paper pattern pieces, and pinned and cut out my fabric.

And a close up of the fabric that I'm making it out of - cool Russian Doll print!

(And look at my cute panda tape measure! ♥)

All pieces are now cut and I will be tacking it together and trying it on for size this week.

I've already got a pattern, and fabric lined up for project number two by the way!

This is a vintage skirt pattern from 1959 that I got from Etsy for just $5:

Its an 'easy to make' 1 yard pattern, so hopefully this wont be too taxing either for my first vintage pattern attempt. And I have some AWESOME fabric for this one....

Fiesta de San Marcos by Alexander Henry

I'll keep you posted on my progress and will of course show you when I have successfully (hopefully!) completed them :)

Wintry Visit to Hebden Bridge

2012-01-31T09:25:00.000-08:00

Today Michael and I decided to have a drive out and go to a little Yorkshire Village called Hebden Bridge. Hebden Bridge is very quaint and is renowned for its creative community - there are lots of designer/makers who have studios and shops here, and there are traditional pubs and shops, charity shops and markets (on some days) as well as a host of festivals and events throughout the year. To be honest, we probably didn't pick the best day of the year to go as temperatures are around 0 deg C at the moment, but we still had a lovely day out. What we didn't expect was that on the way there - it would be a winter wonderland!

View from the side of the road, looking over the moors...snow as far as the eye could see! Luckily, the road although a bit desolate, is a well used bus route, so is well gritted and clear.

Thank goodness I wrapped up warm in my bargain £5 faux fur coat and ear muffs, brrr!

Back down in the valley again, and no snow in Hebden Bridge itself. This is the pub that we went for lunch in, yum :)

And the bridge over the river in the village centre

There are lots of lovely shops filled with original craft and design from Independent designe/makers - like in the Arts Centre

I really loved this shop - The Yorkshire Soap Co. The lady in the shop kindly let me take a few photos inside. It smelt divine, everything is handmade and it was so beautifully presented. A lot of the soaps were made to look like cakes....

Yum! (Or not!) I treated myself to a strawberry cheesecake soap, and had a gift set made up for a friend's birthday present.

Good enough to eat...almost....

Michael took his camera and got some photos, and then we headed back home - once again through the winter wonderland....

Stunning - but freezing!!

We didn't leave Hebden Bridge empty handed of course, after paying a visit to a yummy looking old fashioned bakery on the way back to the car.....

Jam sponge slice and a cup of tea when we got in. This was SO yummy!

I also picked up a few bargains in some of the 6 Charity shops in the village (Yes, I did print out a Google Map of them all before we went so we didn't miss any!)

Retro flask, never been used £1.50 from Oxfam.

Think they sell these in Urban Outfitters for about £15 so I got a bargain!

Lonely Vintage Glass - to add to our collection, 50p from Greyhound Rescue

And soft black leather bow peep toe mini wedges (as new) £2.99, Oxfam

We really enjoyed our day out, but think next time we go - we'll wait until the weather is a bit nicer as it was rather harsh today!

New Tattoo!

2012-01-19T11:41:00.000-08:00

Today I got a new tattoo! I've been planning to add to my collection for a few months but wanted to make sure I was happy with the design and placement. I design all my tattoos myself , and my lovely friend and tattoo artist, Beany inks them up for me. She does all the creative stuff with the colours and shading, so they are always a collaborative piece :) Although I don't much care for the pain aspect of getting tattooed (ouch!) I like being tattooed by Beany as we have a cuppa, and a really good chat while she works on me. Its nice to feel really relaxed and comfortable with your artist too. So, here it is....

Like with all my tattoos - they don't really 'mean' anything. Its just a collection of the things that I like - I love old school tattoos - hence the love letters, horseshoe and flowers, and although I'm not religious, I love sacred hearts so I wanted one of those in there too, so I designed this piece with all that in mind.

I also did the design to slot in around my other work and kept the colours the same so it all ties in!

And here it is with my other work - do you like my new spotty shower curtain? ;)

My new glasses!

2012-01-14T11:55:00.000-08:00

Hooray! I came back from a day out in Manchester today to discover that my new (old!) 50s cats eye glasses had arrived back from the online opticians that I use - I Need Spex.
I'm very happy with them, and they were such a bargain at $20 (£13) from Etsy. The lenses were just £15 to get my prescription put in, so under £30 for some fab new glasses - what a great deal!
I can't recommend I Need Spex enough! They turn your order round in less than a week, and they are perfect every time. At just £15, you can see why this is my 8th pair that they have done for me! Here they are....

I got my star print cardigan off Ebay, and the hairclip and necklace are Dolly Cool of course! :)

8 new hair ties added to the website!

2012-01-13T13:13:00.000-08:00

I've been busy making some new products this week - new jewels are coming soon - but for now we have not one, not two but EIGHT new hair ties added to the Dolly Cool Website making the choice now 15 different fabrics!
All my hair ties are hand made by me from quality cotton and are perfect for bad hair days and perfecting that rockabilly up doo'. At £6.50 each, with free worldwide shipping, they make great gifts, or a little treat for yourself :) Here they are.....

Russian Doll

Big Skull

Bones

Cadillac Hearse

Cherry Outline

Day of The Dead

Black and Red Polka

Red Houndstooth

You can see them all, and the others I have available on the Dolly Cool Website.

More designs are coming soon, watch this space! :)

Design Inspiration - Mid Century Modern Prada SS12 collection

2012-01-11T03:21:00.000-08:00

Its not something I talk about much on here - but I am from a fashion design background (its what I did before going self employed with Dolly Cool), and its still something that I do today on a freelance basis. I do read high fashion magazines - not because that's who I design for (regular readers will know I design for Too Fast - a US punky/alternative retailer), but because the majority of high street - and alternative - fashions, do originate in some way shape or form from catwalk collections. Its good to know what is out there, and what is inspiring millions of others in the fashion industry.
To be fair, I think the vast majority of stuff is pretty hideous! Over branded, unwearable and obviously ridiculously expensive! In general, the only designers I rate (and this is purely my opinion of what appeals to me), for doing quirky and fun but wearable things are Vivienne Westwood, Moschino, Henry Holland (love his very affordable H! by Henry Holland collections for Debenhams) and the late, great Alexander McQueen. This was until I got this months Elle and Vogue with the SS12 collections in them and saw the Prada SS12 collection!
It is described as Mid Century Modern and I just love the prints, styling and accessories......

Front cover of February UK Elle that first caught my eye....

Look at the super cute cowboy print!

Various retro styling details from the menswear collection

Hot rod styling and applique on bags!

Check out that metal grille handle - cool!

And last, but not least the amazing hot rod inspired shoes! ♥♥

The red ones are my fave!

Not that I'll ever own such items as they are all WWWAAAYYYYYY out of my price range, but its certainly a cool collection, and I never think its a bad thing when retro styling is "in fashion".
Of course for myself and many of my readers, retro styling is never out of fashion ;)
I am obviously ahead of the fashion pack anyway as one of my longest standing Dolly Cool pieces is my Hot Rod necklace!

Maybe Prada were inspired by me? ;) he he!

Manchester Vintage Network - 1st meeting!

2012-01-09T14:39:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was the 1st meet up of newly formed networking group, Manchester Vintage Network. This was the idea of Alison from Kitty Wink Vintage, who I met at one of the vintage fairs that I was trading at last year. It was about time that someone started something 'Up North' as its often the way that most of the events and networking groups are predominantly down south/London based - so a big Thank You and well done to Alison!
The idea behind the group was to bring together like minded small business owners in the North West who are Vintage related in some way shape or form. I thought that this would be the perfect time to wear my recently acquired 50s dress, which I got for £20 from the Stockport Vintage Village a few months ago:

The only thing I needed to do was shorten it - as it fell mid calf length on me (which does my short self no favours at all) so I chopped off a foot so its now knee length!

I'm wearing all my own Dolly Cool Jewellery and my Miss L Fire shoes ♥

The meeting was held in the Statham House Country Hotel - v posh!

The outside - taken off their website and on a nice sunny day - unlike yesterday!

And the inside - we were in the Roulette Room

Group pic - right side

Group pic - left side!

We all spent a few minutes going round the table (I went first - eek!) saying about about ourselves and what we did, and what we hoped to get out of the meetings. It was then onto the more informal chatting and meeting one another....

From left; Victoria and Kathleen of Vibrant Vintage, Louise from Catwalk Creative Vintage, Vanessa from The Den at Beech Wood, Laura from Planet Vintage Girl and Steph from Jazz Swing Dance.

From left: Bethany from Bethany Jane Davies Vintage Hair and Make up, Rebecca from Polka Dots and Pearls Vinatge and Retro Event planning, Anthony from Jazz Swing Dance and Alison from Kitty Wink Vintage.

From left, Me! Sue from Vintage Manchester (a vintage events listing site) and Old Fashioned Susie and Kally from Kalandra Jane Designs.

And Kathleen from Vibrant Vintage with Beverley from Elizabeth's Attic.

Also present - but not on the photos (sorry!) were Brooke from Brooke's Cupcakes, and Fiona from Rose & Lee Vintage.

All in all, it was a great afternoon and the time flew! 3 hours passed and I didn't even talk to everyone!

Hopefully this will be a monthly meet up, in various locations in and around the North West. New members are welcome and you can register your interest by visiting Kitty Wink Vintage and filling in the contact form :)

Marry Me Ink - featuring Dolly Cool!

2012-01-04T12:07:00.000-08:00

A few months ago I was thrilled to be asked if I would like to supply some jewellery for a photoshoot for the new and inspirational blog, Marry Me Ink.

Marry Me Ink is the concept of Rachael Urquhart, and was created to celebrate the decorated bride and everything that goes with it. Although the blog is only a few months old, Rachael has already featured some stunning photoshoots and is gaining a lot of interest in the site.

I like it when people think of something a bit different, and I love the concept of Rachael's website and blog, so I was thrilled to be asked if I would like to supply some jewellery for one of the shoots. The results are brilliant! Featuring Rachael herself as the model in the shoot, with photography by Andrea Ellison, Claire Penn, and Maria Bentley, the shoot took place in the quirky Northern Quarter of my wonderful home city of Manchester. Tattoos, Manchester and creative photography.....what's not to like?! Here are some of my favourite shots.....

Featuring my Dolly Cool Skully Russian Doll Ring:

Featuring my Skully Russian Doll Necklace:

To see more fab photos from this shoot - visit the Marry Me blog site here.

Today, Rachael has put up a new shoot featuring a heavily (and beautifully) tattooed bride in a 50s Diner in Brighton. Can you see why I like this blog so much? ;)

2012? Bring it on!

2011-12-31T04:29:00.000-08:00

So this is my final post of the year! I've had a brilliant 2011 and met so many interesting and talented people along the way. This was the year that I stepped Dolly Cool a gear, by making new and exciting products, doing more varied and larger shows, making my website better, and getting some fabulous model shots done.... A HUGE THANKYOU to the 3 lovely ladies....

Natasha

Dora

and Nadia!

You gals are all wonderful as the faces of Dolly Cool :))

This morning has been spent taking down all the cards, tree and decorations and having a clean up. I always like to start the year a fresh and can't do that with last years Christmas clutter hanging around.

I'm already really excited about 2012, as I already have some amazing opportunities in the pipeline, some great shows lined up and some brand new products already waiting in the wings to be my first collection for the new year. So what will I be doing tonight?

We always have a really low key affair on New Years, I can't be bothered with all the fuss (and expense!) so

tonight (as every NYE) will be spent with good friends, food and wine - perfect!

I hope that you enjoy yours, whatever you get up to and look forward to lots more blogging (both posting and reading) in 2012.

Happy New Year! :) ♥xo

Happy Retro & Vintage Christmas!

2011-12-26T06:59:00.000-08:00

Hello and hope you all had a lovely Christmas day yesterday and you got some nice gifts and ate some delicious food. I know I did! I thought I'd share with you some fab retro and vintage things that I got for Christmas.....

First of all...an outfit post! I've spent much of December in scruffs holed up at home working manically on orders, so it was nice to get dressed up for Xmas eve when we had friends round for a meal. 'Scuse my kitchen bin!

Sailor top - Collectif

Hight waist skirt - Lady K Loves

Jewellery - Dolly Cool

Glitter Shoes - Manchester Market!

And the back view of my new bow seamed tights - £3 in the sale from River Island :)

And on to the pressies.....

50s fashion print - from Michael. This is such a fab book. Tons of really great images, perfect inspiration for designers like me!

Journal/Diary covered in original 60s fabric, from Michael.

He didn't realise when he bought this, but the fabric is pretty much the same pattern as our Formica 60s habitat dining table top....as you can see above!

Charity shop challenge goodies from my sister Elaine. Didn't she do well?! I'm so happy with all these cool things. Love both plates, I've been after a square Pyrex cooking dish for ages, and a cool USA measuring jug so I can now make American recipes that are in Cups!

Happy Christmas to me, from me! Some vintage cats eye frames (my 6th pair!). I got these from Etsy for $20. They came from the USA in just 5 days, even with the Christmas post!

I'm going to get my prescription put in these in the new year :)

And a set of 3 60's drinking glasses picked up in my fave local hospice shop, just before Christmas for 75p for the lot. Happy days!

What I've been up to this week....

2011-12-17T12:00:00.000-08:00

Blogging absence means its rather busy here at Dolly Cool HQ!
Its not been all work and no play though....this is a little look into my week....

This is my back garden yesterday....it snowed!

We put up our Christmas Decorations...This is the pink tree with my vintage baubles on ♥

And the real tree that we have in the window, mmmmm smells of pine when you come in the room :)

I've been really busy making masses of orders.....

I went to see Adam Ant live in Manchester. AA was one of my childhood faves - and heart-throbs! Not quite so dashing now....

But he was back then - WOOF! ;)

He was absolutely brilliant and put on an amazing show. What a showman! And he still has his trademark two drumkits too, which sounds awesome.

I also treated myself to some red glitter shoes - just £12.99 off the market in Manchester!

I was inspired by some fabulous shoes that Kally had on last weekend at a show we were both trading at, but I'm a bit rubbish in heels (I do have some beautiful red glitter heels that I hardly wear as they are too high!)- so flats are more my thing!

Hope you have all been having a good week and are getting all sorted for Christmas! :)

London Trip - Gig, Theft, Kustom Kristmas and a lipstick review!

2011-12-08T11:40:00.000-08:00

Last weekend, I packed my Dolly Cool bags and headed off to the big smoke for Kustom Kristmas! I arrived on Saturday afternoon, and after something to eat, went to watch psychobilly band King Kurt at the Underworld in Camden. Great gig, lots of flour throwing and fun and then the downside to a great night - I had my wallet stolen while getting on the bus to go back to my friend Kate's. It all happened in a second, as these things often do. Someone was obviously watching me and had seen me take my Oyster card (Travel pass) out of my wallet, and put it back in my bag, at the top. A few minutes later after a scrum to get on the bus - my wallet was gone. I'd been pickpocketed :(
I was obviously really hacked off, but got straight on the phone and cancelled my cash card. There wasn't much else of use in the wallet - but it did have £40 in cash inside, and it was a fabulous (and expensive!) metalflake and leopard Trophy Queen wallet! Boo Hoo. Anyway, there was nothing i could do, and pointless being cheesed off all weekend about it, so it was onwards and upwards for Kustom Kristmas!

Me in my new deadstock 80's does 50s hawaiian dress, and my Dolly Cool Sugar Skull & pearl necklace with my friend Emma who had come to see me even though she is due to give birth in two weeks! :)

And a full length shot on my dress, with my buddy Kate (who organised the event). Photo kindly pinched from Rockalily :)

My stall with me rooting round in my cherry print case! This comes with me everywhere. My friend Mark haggled at a car boot for me for this and I got it for £5. Photo again kindly pinched from Rockalily as I forgot to take pic of my stall!

Art Korner! Kate aka Clumsy woodburned art, Nik from Pretorius Custom Instruments and Leah from Juan is Dead - awesome Mexican and Day of The Dead inspired mosaic art!

Kalahula and Lily Bamboo

Mariana's Tasty Treats. Mariana certainly makes a great cake!

Ree Ree from Rockalily with her lipsticks, and general scene in the pub! Cosy and festive!

My 'healthy' meal (ahem) Chunky chips with spicy tomato relish and garlic and chilli mayo, yum. A large slab of Mariana's blueberry cake for dessert. Even yummier.

And now onto my review.....I was across the way from Ree Ree from Rockalily all day. I have been wanting to get one of her lipsticks for a while, but I'm a bit funny about make-up - I like to see it first, and as a MAC user, I like good quality lipsticks. Cheap ones that slide off after 20 minutes are a no no! Anyway, I should have believed the hype as they are very nice quality, in lovely colours. I opted for the Rockette Red:

You can just tell when you put it on that its nice quality. Rich, moisturising and a great colour. I wore this all day yesterday and it stayed on pretty much all day even after eating and drinking. Very happy indeed and they come highly recommended from me! You can get them in 4 regular shades, and 5 special edition shades too. Click here to visit the Rockalily website.

And this is the lady behind the lipsticks who also got some things from me!

Ree Ree wears Love/Hate necklace, Trash Earrings and a cherry and leopard hairclip, all by me - Dolly Cool :)

I had a great day, met some lovely people and did well on my stall. All in all, a fab weekend!

Off to London for Kustom Kristmas

2011-12-02T13:16:00.000-08:00

Its showtime! This Sunday, the 4th of December, I will be in London touting my wares at Kustom Kristmas!

For the second year in a row London Lowbrow & Kustom Ko-op will be celebrating Kustom Kristmas at The Horatia in London.

Featuring stalls selling Kustom art and alternative crafts, cake, tattoo inspired clothing and jewellery, tiki and tattoo art and much much more.

Live music comes from Mojokings and The Devil Wrays. Bands start at 7.30 pm. DJ Burns will once again be providing the musical entertainment between bands.

Stall holders and artists include:

Dolly Cool
Clumsy
More Brains, Vicar?
Tattoo A-go-go
Just Can't Help It
Kalahula
Georgia Kay Jagusch
Pretorius Custom Instruments
Ben Nuthink
Sweet Jane
2 Dollar Jo
Lily Bamboo
Juan is Dead
Old Skull Forever
Rockalily Lipsticks
and Haunted Tattoos

The pub will be serving roast dinners and Mulled wine till 6pm and Mariana will be serving up her now legendary cake all day and all night, or until it all runs out! Best of all this event is FREE ENTRY! Yay! :)

https://www.facebook.com/pages/MOJOKINGS/126561850737

https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Devil-Wrays-Official/202213189804613

Pics from the last event can be found here! https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.154187887977999.35900.103498613046927&type=3

Hope to see some of you there - please spread the word if you think you know anyone who would like to come :)

Trip to York

2011-12-01T12:50:00.000-08:00

You may have noticed my posts are a bit few and far between at the moment....this is due to the time of year and being inundated with orders from Dolly Cool! I'm not complaining of course, but it does leave a little less time for doing fun things to blog about! Last week however, Michael and I took a much needed day off and we went on our annual visit to one of my favourite places in the world, York. I went to University here and lived for three very happy years in this fantastic city. If you ever get chance to go, you absolutely should!
We arrived around 12 on Thursday, just in time to go and get some delicious lunch in a one of the tea rooms. We then hit the Charity Shops - of which there are many, hurrah!

The row of Charity shops! Sadly, we didn't get anything on this trip. York has a lot of students, and a lot of tourists so all the good stuff gets snapped up right away! Always worth a look though :)

Some of the ancient architecture near the Minster (York's impressive Cathedral)

And here I am outside the Minster. Well wrapped up as it was a cold day...brrrr

Nice isn't it? Its just as impressive on the inside. I was lucky enough to graduate in here.

My absolute favourite street anywhere is this one - Stonegate. It looks so pretty when they have the Christmas lights on

And the world famous Shambles - which dates from the 14th Century

Also famous - Betty's Tearoom. Always a queue to go in! I've still never been in here, I'm not queueing for cake, and its really expensive! We had afternoon tea at a tea room round the corner with no queue and a coffee n' cake special ;)

We stayed over, so at night it was out for a delicious meal at an Italian Restaurant, followed by (quite a few!) drinks in various pubs. One of my Faves is The Snickleway -one of the oldest pubs in York, and apparently one of the most haunted pubs in the country. I'm not in tune with all that stuff, so I've never seen anything funny - but a lot of people have!

I was drinking the festive and warming mulled wine....

Cheers!

New (old!) Plant pot

2011-11-23T02:19:00.000-08:00

Saturday just gone, it was a lovely bright, dry autumnal day so I was up and off out early with Michael and my sister, Elaine for a spot of bargain hunting at the big fleamarket at Earlestown. To be honest, it was very slim pickings and I didn't really see much (only one thing!) that I liked enough to buy. Having a tiny house, we just do not have any space for any more clutter so it has to have the wow factor for me to buy it! I always love having a good old rummage through all the crap though - kind of like sifting for gold! - and can't think of how I'd rather spend my Saturday morning :)
Here is my sole purchase anyway;

60s/70s plant pot - £2.50

Not exactly a 50p bargain, but I loved it! The seller looked me up and down and told me it was £3. I haggled him down but he wasn't for shifting much!

Elaine said that she felt that she was overcharged for things too - most likely because we looked smart and well dressed in a sea of tracksuit wearing/scruffy shoppers. Note to self - look like have just got out of bed and don't do hair/makeup next time!

And how it look in situ in the bay window next to our egg chair. Orange and brown is my absolute favourite colour combo for homeware and interiors, yet I'd never wear it clothing colour wise!

This plant is known as a Zebrina Pendula, or Wandering Jew- and was a present off my mum. They are fab plants if you kind of (ahem) forget to water them as they don't really mind and grow like wildfire anyway in a lovely shocking purple and green. When they get a bit straggly, you just cut off the ends - and stick them in fresh soil, and they grow again. This plant is on its 4th re-incarnation and still going strong :)

I'm dreaming of a green Christmas.......

2011-11-16T03:10:00.000-08:00

Source

At weekend I went into Manchester for my monthly creative group meet up, and also to do a bit of Christmas shopping. I don't go into town that often really, only usually once a month or so, and I was pretty shocked at how busy it was, how many shops were in full on Christmas mode (6 weeks before the day!!) and more importantly, the shocking amount of people that were completely laden with piles of plastic shopping bags. This got me thinking to what a wasteful time of year Christmas is, and so I thought I'd do a post on how we can all be a little bit greener at this time of year. I'm by no means an eco-warrior, but I do care about the environment and try and re-cycle and reuse everything I can where possible. If I at least inspire one person to change a habit, then I'll be happy!

1. Wrapping! - Most people just look at the print, and what's on offer without even considering the environmental impact of their paper. The majority of papers are just that - paper, which is completely fine and 100% recyclable. However, for those who prefer a more 'luxury' package - you may usually get something like this:

Foil or plastic shiny wrapping. You can't recycle this, and it will just go into landfill - which if you think about how many people dump this stuff each Christmas, is pretty bad. You can still get lovely (and recycleable) paper wrapping, so if you want to be be green, avoid the foil!

If you get a present wrapped in this....peel off the tape, and reuse!

Along the same lines as the foil-y wrap are the plastic bows. Ugh! Yes, your pressies look pretty, but what happens to them after the gifts are ripped open? In the bin.....x 100's of 1000s the world over. Your presents will still look lovely and be appreciated just as much without bows and ribbons on! If you really feel you have to use bows, then try and get paper ones, use paper ribbon, or use textile ribbon for crafty friends who you know will re-use it for something else!

Greeting cards - If you are being super green, some people don't send them at all. Fair enough, but I like to give cards. I always make sure they are charity ones, and preferably recycled as well. Make sure you recycle envelopes when you receive them, your paper goes into the recycling bag on Christmas day, and your cards as well at the end of the season!

2. Shopping for Gifts - The fun part! Or not, in some cases. When shopping for presents, really think about what the person you are buying for would actually like, need and use. Not what YOU like, what THEY like. Also think quality, not quantity. I personally would much rather have one thoughtful gift that I will use and love, than a sack full of 'novelty' (read: Landfill) gifts. If you are doing a Secret Santa at work, good (and well received) presents for people who you don't know so well are always things like 1/2 bottles of spirits or a bottle of wine for drinkers, small boxes of luxury chocolates, such as from Hotel Chocolat, a quality notebook (such as Moleskine) or cashmere socks (which you can pick up inexpensively from places like TK Maxx). All of these things can be picked up for around £5-£10 and will be more gratefully received than a huge box of 24 different scented bath salts from the local bargain shop.

For like minded green friends and family, why not consider doing a 'Charity Shop Challenge'. My sister and I did this last year, and it went so well that my other sister is joining in this year! So, the rules are that you have a budget - for us its £10 per person, and that all gifts must be from a charity shop. This is good in two ways as you get some nice things, which is recycling in itself, but your money is also going to a good cause too.If you have a few pounds left over - many charity shops now do lovely fairtrade teas, chocolates and spice grinders, which will finish off your charity gift bundle off nicely - win all round.

Don't forget to take your re-usable shopping bag with you every time you go out, too. I have about 4 of these nylon shoppers, that I keep in various handbags. It means that when I'm out shopping - I don't need a plastic bag from the shop. There were people last weekend with piles of plastic shopping bags - like 8 in each hand. Most looked like they only had one small thing in each. Most of those people probably throw the bags in the bin when they get home. Start refusing plastic bags, and using your own and be instantly greener!

3. Re-gifting! The dreaded taboo! I personally don't think there is anything wrong with it if done in a positive way. Passing on the dreaded lavender bath salts from Aunt Frieda to your best mate is not cool. Passing them onto your friend's gran, who may actually love them is!

Does anyone actually use bath salts????

If you get presents that you don't like or want, why not pass them on to someone who WILL like them, donate them as a raffle prize to help raise funds for your local school or club, or donate them to your local charity shop. Just because you don't like it, someone else most likely will.

So there we go! My tips for a greener festive season :)

Trip to The Vintage Village

2011-11-13T12:59:00.000-08:00

Today, Michael and I went to The Vintage Village, which is a big vintage fair held in Stockport Market Hall. I was tipped off about the fair by another stall holder at the vintage fair I did last month, who told me that it was by far one of the best in the area. Having never been to Stockport (even though its only a half hour drive from where we live!) it was also a bit of a day out to explore somewhere new, too.
Here are some photos from the day...

Todays outfit:

Fake fur coat £5, Ebay and wearing my poppy with pride, as it was remembrance day today

Bow Bag from Woodchip Boutique - custom made just for me :)

Boots - Tesco years ago

Tights - Tesco (yesterday!) £6 - 150 denier fleece lined...cozy

Michael loitering outside some nice Georgian houses we spotted on the way to the market

House detail - stunning!

And the Market hall. A beautiful Victorian building dating from the 1860's that has been recently refurbished back to its former glory

Building detail. Isn't it nice?

And so inside we went! As it was a lovely sunny day it was naturally really brightly lit inside and it was actually quite warm - so I was a bit hot in my fur coat and fleecy tights!

And some of the stalls...

The quality and choice of the stalls was pretty amazing, and the pricing was fair - not stupid.

There were over 80 separate traders too - so lots to drool over.

We had a good look round, then went to peruse the rest of the town centre, and had some lunch while deciding what to go back and buy!

And this is what I got;

60s storage jar set - £7

We have been after some of these for years. I can never find the right thing though at car boot sales and charity shops. There is always one missing, they are too big, in poor condition or just not the right kind of look that we like. This set is immaculate - and also came with an extra little pot for er.....not sure!

And the lids have sliders on them so you can pour the contents out of the spouts!

Giant 60s print in frame -£5. Loved the colours and style.

And my fave find of the day (well, Michael spotted it actually!)

50s dress - UNWORN! - £20

This seller had some amazing stuff - 40s/50s/60s homeware all in the original boxes, and some dresses and gloves that were pristine, almost certainly unworn. He told me that they came from the home of a lady, who was 91 when she died, and had been a complete horder. She had basically NEVER thrown anything away, and hardly used what she bought (lots of). I've never seen a stall like it! I wanted it all!!

Close up on the neck detail. There are two patterned pearly buttons that are attached to a flap that closes with metal hooks. The style is a fit and flare (my fave - suits my pear shape!), and has the classic cap sleeves, metal back zipper and pinked inner seam edges that tell me that its more than likely an original 50s piece.

by Lanfield - Gowns and Two piece suits!

The dress is pristine and only smelled a bit musty - and I'm pleased to report it has survived its first (and probably only) wash in decades! The only thing that I'm going to alter is the length of the skirt as it falls below knee on me, so I'm going to make it a little shorter so its more me!

And a view of the new storage jars in situ in our kitchen. I think they fit in perfectly :)

Candy Cool is here!

2011-11-12T14:56:00.000-08:00

Just to let you know that my BRAND NEW Candy Cool range has arrived!

The necklace collection is made from 1" square wooden tile bases with glossy bubble topped exclusive Dolly Cool designs on 16" silver plated chains.

Modelled for me by the beautiful Miss K from The Rockabilly Girl Next Door!

Isn't Miss K fab?! :)

At just £7.00 each with FREE worldwide shipping, Candy Cool makes ideal stocking fillers, or just a little treat for yourself!
Now available from Dolly Cool

Giveaway Winner!

2011-11-10T01:11:00.000-08:00

Thank you to everyone who entered my giveaway! I had 27 entries and did a random number generator to pick the winner....

My winner was number 11 who is Mrs Munster!

Thank you all for entering and Mrs M - if you can send me your details to:
info@dollycool.co.uk

and your prize will be on its way! :)

Weekend away!

2011-11-07T04:56:00.000-08:00

I have had the 5th of November in my diary for quite some time now - not for Bonfire night, but for Whitby Kustom Hotrod show that takes place annually in a lovely quaint seaside town called Whitby every November. As its quite a drive from where I live, Michael and I decided to incorporate it into a weekend away and have a stay over in nearby Scarborough too. We were very lucky with the weather which was lovely and bright and even quite mild at 14 degrees C, for an early November day. Here are some photos from our trip to Scarborough;

Art Deco at the Stephen Joseph Theatre

Me stuffing my face with a Cooplands (Yorkshire bakery) cheese pastie, which according to Michael are the best. It was rather nice!

The Grand - posh hotel on the cliff top. No we didn't stay here - we stayed in the cheap Premier Inn round the corner!

Tram that goes down the cliff to the beach

The old market hall

And below the Market Hall is the Market Vaults - a converted cellar with lots of independent traders and vintage stalls - shame most of them were shut!

Lobster pots in the harbour. They smelled dreadful - funnily enough like rotting fish!!

And sunset over the harbour - lovely!

We also managed to discover a few charity shops along the way and picked up a few bargains...

Vintage glasses - hooray! £1.25 for both

60s Xmas decorations - 20p each.

Even dated on the back! 1968

We had a nice evening in Scarborough, then went for an early night as we had to leave to go to Whitby at 7am. We actually had no sleep as out room was right outside a nightclub - gah! Thump Thump Thump all night till gone 3am. I complained in the morning, and we got a full refund. I should think so too!

Bog eyed and with car packed, we set off to Whitby...Michael did the driving, which was about 15 miles of scary roads that looked like this:

FOG!

We arrived in one piece just before 8am and set up stall. The weather in Whitby was pretty dire all day - constant rain. It didn't dampen peoples spirits however and it was however a great show! Whitby Kustom is in collaboration with the goth weekender, so a real mixture of people at the show - great for people watching too. I didn't take pictures of people as I felt a bit rude doing so, and also it was throwing it down most of the time so I just nipped out to take some of the cars - here they are....

Rat Rods

And my best in show was this! Its a Rolls Royce Hearse - fully converted into a scary machine complete with glowing eyed bats, skulls and a full sized coffin in the back!

And of course, no show would be complete without me sampling the local cupcake stall's goods. Michael had the strawberry and vanilla one - with severed finger decoration,and I had an orange sponge with lemon curd filling and sugar bat on top. YUM!

Happy Day of the Dead and 200 follower giveaway!

2011-11-02T03:01:00.000-07:00

Firstly Happy Day of the Dead, or Feliz Dia de Los Muertos to all my Mexican and Spanish readers! I really love this celebration and the amazing art and colour that surrounds it really inspires me. As I do freelance for US alternative company, Too Fast as well as using the imagery in my own Dolly Cool work - I find that I am drawing Sugar Skulls rather a lot, which is great though as I love it! I thought I's share with you some photos today of my creations that are Day of the Dead themed.....

Firstly - the lovely La Dama modelling a Dolly Cool Sugar Skull and Pearl necklace

**Please note - all the following images are used with permission from Too Fast and all designs are copyrighted**

My Day of the Dead themed Pajama Suit for Too Fast

Combined hat and scarf for Too Fast

Metal and Enamel Necklace for Too Fast

Sugar Skull scarf for Too Fast

Sugar Skull and Rose Necklace for Too Fast

And not by me - but loved by me....

The Day of The Dead book from Korero books. If you love beautiful alternative art and culture books, you really need to look at Korero!

Original art by MisNopalesArt. I really love this guys work. Really original and quirky and totally affordable.

The amazing ring that Michael got me for Christmas last year by the talented Missy Industry. This has not left my finger since I put it on on Christmas day last year, and I get complimented on it all the time. I think its my favourite piece of jewellery that I own!

And now on to the giveaway as I have now over 200 followers! Woo Hoo! Thank you so much to everyone who takes the time to read, comment and hopefully enjoy my blog. I really do love writing it so I hope you like reading it!

So, in the spirit of today's blog post I will be giving away the following to one of my readers;

A Dolly Cool Sugar Skull Rosary Necklace

See, you can look as lovely as La Dama when you wear it!

And..one of my Day of the Dead hairties....

So all you need to do is leave me a comment on this post to be in with chance of winning. I will let this run for a week so get your entries in before next Wednesday 9th! Entry is open to all wherever you live in the world.

Thank You and Good Luck! :)

Vintage Fair in Didsbury

2011-10-29T12:14:00.000-07:00

Today I did another Vintage Fair. This one was in South Manchester in a place called Didsbury. While I didn't do amazing well today trade wise (it was fairly quiet), I met some lovely people, had a nice cup of tea and slice of home made carrot cake (yum) and got myself a few cool items!
Here are a few photos from the day;

Todays outfit: FREE! ha ha! This 60s dress was a present off my friend Emma. Isn't it fab? I love it!

Nice vintage crockery stall

Clothes!

Fellow stallholders, Gail and Fran - who were lovely :)

Fran (in red) is holding a vintage Russian vodka bottle holder in the shape of a man with a HUGE moustache that she had filled with sweets for customers!

More stall folk...loved this gals 60s outfit and beehive

Fave stall of the day goes to the homeware in the corner, drool!

Which I purchased this from:

Is it a bowl? Is it a plantpot? Or a candle holder? Who knows? I just love it so it had to be mine!

No idea what era its from either! Anyone have a clue?

I also picked up this 80s deadstock Hawaiian dress - mint condition with boned bodice, smocking to the rear - so fits perfectly and is comfortable, and a fit n flare skirt - very me, really happy with it.

And a close up on the print ♥

All in all, I had a really nice day.

Random end to the post - but I picked up this reuseable jute shopper bag in Tesco supermarket yesterday and thought I'd share as its an Orla Kiely charity number - a complete steal at just £4! There are going to be a few designs including the popular pear pattern, but they are limited edition though, so be quick!

(PS - On this link it says they are going to be available from early December, but I got one yesterday!!)

What I've been up to!

2011-10-25T03:23:00.000-07:00

Nothing greatly exciting, but been out and about over the past few days so I thought Id share with you what I have been doing!
On Thursday night, I was lucky enough to be given a preview evening ticket for The Great Northern Contemporary Craft Fair, which is a high end craft and art show in the centre of Manchester. Very close by, is currently also a 'pop up' 50s diner (by pop up, its only temporary for a few months, boo) which I have been dying to give a try, so we tied in a visit with the craft show!
I went with my friend Jo, who kindly provided the freebie preview tickets :)

The Pin-Up diner! Boo Hoo its only here until 6th November :(

Inside - Cool 50s vibe and music to match :)

The bar area

Most important bit - the food! I had a filthy double veggie burger with fries and 'slaw.

It was amazingly delicious. The food is all freshly prepared and home made - not processed crap from the freezer!

Jo had an equally filthy chilli dog, fries and 'slaw!

We both washed our very healthy meals down with a freshly made milkshake each, YUM!

And then, feeling rather full it was on to the craft event! It was a really nice atmostphere with some great designer/makers showcasing their talents. I didn't take any photos in the venue as I forgot! Oops. You can see plenty of info on their website however.

As it was all high end stuff, it was pretty pricey. Worth it of course, but not somewhere I could go mad and buy loads of things. I did however pick up this lovely recycled vintage tape measure cuff from designer Tamsin Howell:

My new cuff. I love it!

And how it looks on. Chunky and plastic, just my style of bangle :)

On Saturday, I was at the Leeds Roller Dolls Roller Derby touting my Dolly Cool wares:

And on Sunday, Michael and I went on a nice autumnal walk that actually was about an hour longer than planned as we got a bit lost and ended up trekking through muddy fields, and fields with cows in! (*Shudder* I really do not like livestock! Unpredictable animals!).

Anyway, we made it back in one piece and it was all good exercise :)

Hope you all had a good one!

Charity cheer, and Green Eyed Monster!

2011-10-20T02:17:00.000-07:00

Hooray! Is all I can say, I feel like I have not got any vintage bargains for AGES. We have only been to about 6 car boots in total this year as the weather has just been so wet, they have been cancelled constantly. I don't care for the indoor ones - as is mainly market sellers with crap like batteries, cleaning products and mobile phones! The Charity shops seem to be a bit lacking in good things too of late, but thankfully that all changed yesterday when I thought I'd pop out for a look in my local hospice shop and I'm so glad that I did! This is what I got;

Set of 2 vintage glasses for my collection - 50p

Not found any for ages, and smashed a few this year (sob!) so very pleased with these

60's mug - 50p

I'm always a sucker for retro florals!

And find of the day - set of 12 unused vintage baubles - £1.50.

How nice are these? In my fave colours and they are all immaculate too. Can't wait to use them at Christmas!

Also picked up this Hello Kitty clock for 50p....I love Hello Kitty and at that price how could I not!

And now for the green eyed monster....that will be me then!

You cant see it so well, but I picked up this lovely emerald green wool mix Topshop cardigan at the same hospice shop the other week for £2.50. Its such a nice colour, that I thought I would use my bright emerald green Urban Decay eyeshadow as it matches nicely...

Shade: Minx

And this is how it looked. Its a bit loud but I love the colour. Who said red and green should never be seen?!

A visit to the beer festival!

2011-10-16T13:43:00.000-07:00

Every year, its our local beer festival around this time of year. Its held for 5 days and nights, and all the proceeds from the festival go to a local children's charity. A great night out, a chance to try all sorts of different beers, and all for a good cause? Don't mind if I do!

Me with my friend Jo and our beer!

The scene inside the marquee. This was a Thursday night - so its pretty packed really. You want to see it on a Friday and Saturday night!

The barrels are all line up round the outside. Each barrel is sponsored by a local company, so the festival really does made lots of money for the charity - yay!

When you go in, you pay your entrance fee, then get a glass, a pen and a booklet with all the beers in....

Me and Jo pondering what to have....

Mark, Jo's Husband, and Michael also deciding what to have!

Decisions, decisions! These are the beer tokens that you 'pay' with at the bar. A great system! You can also rate the beers at the side of each one with a mark out of 10 - geeky!!

This is one we tried, it was lovely! I like all the fruit/flavoured ones so tried a ginger one (my fave from last year), cherry, strawberry and a mango and citrus. We try and stick to the pale ales, as the thick Guiness like stouts are a)not my taste b)give you the hangover from hell!!

Entertainment provided by Jazz singer, Jerome who played for well over 3 hours non stop. He has been doing the festival for about 15 years!

Sis Elaine was also there with her work chums!

Silly time....we took a lot of photos which were very silly as you know, thats what happens when you ahve quite a few real ales! ha ha! I will spare my friends and myself by not posting them here - apart from this one of Mark, who is the king of silly photos! CHEERS!

And my outfit - totally forgot to get a full length shot, d'oh! So you have me in two halves! Top photo shows my Miss Fortune short sleeved polka jumper that I wore with a long sleeved black top underneath. I'm wearing my Lady K Loves black high waist pencil skirt, with my 80s pixie boots and my new spotty tights!

Spotty tights are very 'on trend' this season, apparently - like I care - I wear polka all year round, pretty much every day for the last 8 years if not more!! I found this pic in last week's YOU magazine, shoing these polka tights which are £32 fromWalford. £32 FOR A PAIR OF TIGHTS???!! Really? Who pays that?! Mine were £1.49 from the Marks and Spencers clearance shop! :))

Hope you all had a nice weekend!

Vintage Fair Virgin

2011-10-09T11:57:00.000-07:00

Today I did my first ever vintage fair! No, not going to visit one - been to loads of course! - but I mean actually trading at one. It was a local fair, very near to where I live and I know the organisers ( I met them at my local market) and it was the first one they had organised so they asked me if I would like a pitch so I thought Why not? I roped my sister, Elaine into helping me out and I'm so glad I did it as we had a great afternoon! Here are some photos from the day;

Me with our stall. I'm wearing all vintage today (for once!) My 50s day dress dress is the one I bought in Morecambe in July from Dottys Vintage, 50s Lucite confetti cuff - present from one of my lovely US customers, Maddie, I'm also wearing my 50s specs, and my 30s celluloid necklace and earrings - but you can see those better on the later pic of me eating cake! I took a mixture of half of my usual Dolly Cool goodies, and half was vintage stuff that I had knocking around. I buy too much so it was time to sell some off!

And my sister, Elaine - looking lovely in a scotty dog and heart print repro dress from H by Henry Holland at Debenhams. All the stuff on this half of the table are Elaine's candle creations - cupcakes, vintage tea cups and key lime pie candles. Our stall smelled lush!

And a close up! Good enough to eat!

General view of the fair, and the nice lady next to us from Elizabeth's Attic Vintage.

Lovely vintage homeware sellers. I soooo wanted most things on this stall.....we just don't have room for any large stuff however, boo!

Lunch! Yes really, this is what I had for lunch. Well, we were sat across from the cupcake stall. And you know I can't resist cake! :)

I didn't have all 4 of course! Just the one....which was delicious.

Elaine munching her cake, and with a cake pop (ball of cake on a stick, covered in yummy chocolate and sprinkles!) that she bought for her daughter.

All in all, a great day! :)

I also met lots of lovely ladies today, one of them being a fab permanent make up artist and vintage enthusiast, Alison, who has her own blog VaVa Voom Vintage. She has also done a write up of the fair and gave me a lovely write up! Thanks Alison ♥ :)

Off to Narnia!

2011-10-07T07:14:00.000-07:00

As the weather turns back to autumn again, after our random 3 day heatwave last weekend, I have been thinking about coats for winter. I always have a wool coat, usually something red or pink but this year I fancied something different. Inspired by the coat bargains that my friend Rascal has been getting on Ebay over the past few weeks, I thought I'd try my luck for a something a bit different for me....a faux fur!

Its not the first time I've had one, I had a lovely white faux fur when I was a student - my sister used to call it The Polar Bear! This time I wanted a black one. Something that I could wear with all of my many brightly patterned scarves and gloves. I searched for a while, put a few on my watch list that I liked, then waited to bid! I was very lucky that I got my first choice, and was the only bidder winning it for just £4.99. It arrived today and I'm really happy with it;

And the best bit - aside from it being just £5? It came in a dry cleaning bag - the lady had it dry cleaned at the end of last winter so its nice and fresh and good as new! It feels very warm, and quite glam for me, and I am 100% not glamorous at all! ha ha!

Narnia here I come :))

New Sugar Skull & Pearl Necklaces

2011-10-04T12:50:00.000-07:00

I've been working on a few new pieces for Dolly Cool over the past month or so, and I have created some 3D sugar skull pieces which I have finished with pearl chokers. As these are quite time consuming (and heavy!) at present, they are going to be limited edition - a few of which I will sell online, and some at my shows and events.
I thought it would be good to get some promo pics for the necklaces and I knew that there was only one lady for the job.....the one and only La Dama of course!

Isn't Dora just fabulous?

And the black version of the necklace that Dora is wearing

And the red necklace. As usual, Dora has done an amazing job of styling, hair and make up for the shoot. Photos by her husband, Buddy

And a sneak peak at the pink version of the necklace, too.

I'm actually quite sad that Dora's modelling has come to an end for me and throughout, she has been totally amazing and professional - giving 110% to make the photos look good. I'm going to have to design more Day of The Dead/Mexican themed things so I can get her back!

For my next collection....(work in progress...) I already have another lovely young lady lined up to model for me.......watch this space..... :)

What I did today.....

2011-09-30T10:32:00.000-07:00

One of the absolute best things about being self employed is being able to take time off when you want too - and not when someone says that you can (or can't!). Today I did exactly that!
Last month, Michael took some days off so that we could do something nice, bike rides, days out that kind of thing. Know what we did? Nothing! The weather was so dire we ended up staying in hiding from it, ugh. One of the things that we had planned to do, was go for a bike ride along the canal tow path, which my friend Jo had recommended to us months ago. As we knew a few days ago that we were in for a mini heatwave, Michael booked a flexi-day and I took this afternoon off and we FINALLY got to do the towpath cycle route. It was totally worth the wait!

One of the bridges along the path, isn't it pretty?

Michael cycling. Note fab very empty path - it was pretty much like this the whole way :))

Me cycling! On my hideous Barbie pink mountain bike that I've had for years.

Still, does the job!

Lovely narrowboats moored up on the other side

How tranquil? You can even see a swan in the distance

And the best bit of the bike ride? We started and finished at Fredericks Ice Cream shop (its on the A6 in Chorley for local peeps) - so finished off the day with a yummy ice cream! I had honeycomb :)

(you know, because I didn't eat enough crap yesterday! he he)

Afternoon tea? Don't mind if I do!

2011-09-29T12:53:00.000-07:00

At the moment in the UK we are having a mini heatwave, which is unexpected and a little strange for this time of year but rather nice at the same time!
I had planned for ages that today I would go in to Manchester with my sister, Elaine, and that we would go for a look round the shops, and for afternoon tea. The weather just made a lovely day all the much better!

Todays outfit: Black vest, Topshop. Black leather flats with bow, Sainsburys Supermarket, Bakelite cherry necklace from Bakelite Baby on Etsy.

Flamingo print skirt, £18, Roobys. Isn't this skirt fabulous?! Its handmade and has a wide Obi style waistband that ties in a huge bow at the side. There are loads of nice fabrics and styles on the site so well worth checking out!

We had a good wander round sunny Manchester for a few hours, I even bought a few Xmas presents (sssshhhhhh!) and then we headed to the rather grand 'The Sculpture Hall Cafe' in Manchester Town Hall for our afternoon tea.

**The following photos were taken on my camera phone, so apologies that the quality is not so good....

Afternoon tea is served! This is the first time that I have actually had a proper traditional 3 tier afternoon tea.

Top tier - Sandwiches. We had actually eaten a layer before I took this! There were carrot and houmous and egg and cress (which I ate) and roast beef and roast ham (which Elaine ate)

Layer 2 - Home made scones with butter, cream, jam and strawberries....mmmmmmm

Layer 3 - more cakes! ha ha! From left; Bakewell Tart, Banoffee Pie, Chocolate mousse in Chocolate shell, and Banana and walnut loaf. All served with a very large pot of tea, that we got 4 cups out of each!

Cheers!

And my view from where we were sitting.

Manchester Town Hall is very gothic inside - stunning! Shame you are not allowed to walk around most of it as its for employees only!

London Tattoo Convention

2011-09-27T04:01:00.000-07:00

This weekend just gone, I went down to London to see my friend Kate and to go to the London Tattoo Convention. I've wanted to go for a few years now, so booked my train tickets in advance this year to make sure that I did! What a show! It was brilliant. So many amazing artists, inspirational artwork and fabulous people watching with great bands and tempting stalls to boot. We went for the start of the day on Sunday and stayed until it was closing time. Here are some photos of the day;

Cool artwork on the programme

Outside the event as we arrived at Tobacco Dock

Fab stalls. This one sold engraved wooden things with Mexican themed imagery on it - awesome!

Tattooists at work. This booth (Spider Murphy's from California) had the most amazing Flash book for sale. I soooooo wanted it but it was £115, and VERY heavy!

And the traditional Tatu Tappers at work.

This looks extremely painful - but the work it results in is amazing

Me, Nicola and Kate taking a sunshine break on the dockside

Bums! he he! The line up for the Traditional Japanese Bodysuit comp.

And Vince Ray and the Boneshakers played in the Voodoo Crypt, yay!

We saw so many artists at work, from all over the world. We saw people getting their necks tattooed (the guys eyeballs were popping out!), someone was having their forehead tattooed - he had a massive crowd! and lots of people in a variety of positions having all sorts of body parts tattooed. Fascinating! We spent hours looking through flash books and watching artists at work and getting inspired for my work, and my next tattoo! There was of course also some stalls - most of which were brimming with things that I wanted to buy! I had set aside a bit of treat money for my trip and this is what I bought.....

Sailor top from Collectif - £15 (in the sale)

Tattooed Russian Doll Vest from Sacred Stitches - £8 (in the sale). I have a few of their things. They hand screen them in the UK and I'm always happy to support small UK businesses!

Sewing print shirt - £20 (sample rail) from UK label Limb

And a close up of the print! Isn't it super cute?! Limb is kind of a UK version of US label Trashy Diva - they hand make their clothes to vintage style patterns in really beautiful fabrics.

They are pretty expensive (out of my budget!) but thank goodness for Sample Rails eh?!

Sugar Skull Socks - £4

I had to have these!

And finally, some red glitter nail varnish. £2.99 from Barry M.

I've been wanting some of this since I saw a girl with a fab manicure at an alternative and burlesque fair that I did a few weeks ago. She had red glitter nails, with silver glitter half moons! Will be giving that a go for sure :)

All in all, a great weekend, roll on next year!

Potato cakes - the perfect Autumnal comfort food!

2011-09-21T10:15:00.000-07:00

Today, I made potato cakes. They are one of the easiest things to make, and great for using up leftover mashed potato, but mostly delicious and comforting food for when the weather gets chilly - like now!
Variations of the potato cake are made all over the world, and you may know it better as a potato scone, potato pancake or griddle cake. I am making the North West UK Version of course - available in many local bakeries as a savory breakfast or lunchtime snack.
The best thing about these, is that there is no measuring required!

You will need:
-Cold mashed potato (seasoned to your taste with salt, pepper, butter and milk etc.). However much or little you have leftover will do!
- Plain flour
-Butter for greasing
-Solid Flat metal baking tray

Method -
Its best to decide you are making these the night before - and so if you are having potatoes or mashed potatoes for your evening meal, you can add a few extra in the pan so you have some leftover for potato cake making. Prepare the mash as you would normally, to your own taste. I add salt, pepper, butter and milk.
Leave to cool, then refrigerate overnight in a covered bowl

When you are ready to make your potato cakes, firstly pre-heat your oven to 200c (390f), then simply tip out the cold mash into a bowl, and start to add a heaped dessert spoon of flour at a time:

Mix in the flour first with the spoon, then with your hands as it becomes more dough like. By only adding one spoon at a time, you get the right amount for your mashed potato. Its ready when it has a dough-like consistancy, but is still a bit sticky. It should not be dry and should roll easily into a ball like this:

Potato dough!

Next grease your flat based solid metal baking tray with some butter. I just used my (clean!) hand

It is important to use a flat, solid metal based baking tray, and not one of the mesh ones, or ones with holes in, or not to put it on foil - as the metal will seal and crisp each side.

Then split your dough into palm sized balls

And press into rounds (ish!) with your hands. No need to be precise, its more rustic that way! They should be around 1 - 1.5cm thick.

Then put on a middle baking shelf, and bake for 20 minutes.

After 20 mins, take them out and flip over on the other side. You will see how the underside has sealed and crisped up :) Return to the oven for a further 20 mins.

Ta Da! Eat warm with a knob of butter, delicious!

Surplus cakes can be stored wrapped up in the fridge for a few days, and simply reheated by popping in the toaster! You can also freeze them, but I can guarantee that they wont last that long :)

Magazine Queen!

2011-09-19T11:58:00.000-07:00

When the postman came today, I was thrilled to hear the loud slap of my Skin Deep Tattoo Magazine on the front mat. You see, I've always been a complete magazine addict, ever since being a kid. I don't know what it is, but I can just imagine lounging on the sofa with a nice cup of tea, while leafing through my magazine, and I know I will feel happy and relaxed when I'm doing this. Its my escape and some 'me time' in my often hectic schedule that is self employment!
I was very lucky as a child that I was allowed a magazine each week, or month (depending on if it was weekly or monthly). I used to be desperate for magazine morning to arrive, and couldn't wait to get home to get my head stuck in it! Here are the things that I have read over the years......

My first ever comic was The Beano! You were either a Dandy reader, or a Beano reader - and I was definitely Beano! May have been something to do with the free toffee bars on the front that I remember quite frequently?! I was such a Tomboy, so this suited me so well! And look at the price - just 14p!

I then progressed onto 'Mandy for Girls' - again, a comic but more girly!

The next magazine I got - for AGES was called Hi! But I cant find any pictures of it! It was pretty similar to 'Blue Jeans' that I progressed on to anyway. Its funny because I can actually remember this cover on this magazine, a snip at 22p! I used to like the posters you got with things like Blue Jeans, Hi! and Jackie. This one had Brother Beyond and Matt Goss, which would have certainly gone on my wall :)

They also had photo stories - remember them? I used to love them!

Which brings me on to 'My Guy' - absolutely full of cheesy photo stories about school and going out with boys! Sadly, I don't think they make these any more. Today's teens are missing out!

I then started reading Just Seventeen - which my mum wasn't very happy about as I wasn't 17!!!

Look at how young Kiefer looks here!

I then became music obsessed and got Select - which was all about Indie and alternative music, and usually came with huge posters and a free tape. A tape!! ha ha!

I think after Select, I became old enough that the free magazines stopped and I had to buy my own!

And over the adult years, I have read all sorts of things, buying at least a weekly or a monthly or two each and every month, though I didn't subscribe to anything until I moved into my own house.

I have always got to read double the amount of magazines that I buy too, as my friend Jo and I have always done magazine swaps. Jo gets Marie Claire and Glamour, which I swap with her when I've read my magazines.I'll also pick up Grazia or Company when they have it on offer for £1, which is quite often!

I dread to think the amount of money that I've spent over the years on Magazines, but as I said earlier, its my little treat, and way of escaping for a bit.

As I have worked in Fashion for 7 years, its also important for me to keep up to date with current trends and colours. When I worked for Underground Shoes in the design team, we used to get about 20 glossy fashion, alternative culture and lifestyle magazines a month. It was H E A V E N as we were allowed to take them home to read, bliss! I do miss that. I think we worked out how much getting the 20 magazines cost per month once. A lot! Many of them were imported from Japan and the States. I did keep a few of the Japanese ones as I loved them so much - Kera, which is a Gothic Lolita/Fruits magazine.

Obviously I couldn't read any of it, but the pictures were awesome.

I think I'll go and dig out my old copies when I've finished this post!

At present, I subscribe to two magazines - and they couldn't be more different from one another! Firstly, I get Easy Living which is a bit of a home/lifestyle/interiors magazine aimed at 30 somethings. They have great articles and recipes and nice home stuff and product reviews.

and the other one, as mentioned earlier is Skin Deep Tattoo Magazine. The best tattoo mag in my opinion. I love tattoos, and its all inspiration for Dolly Cool, so I count this one as business expense too!

I also like reading the YOU magazine, free with the Mail on Sunday - which my sister saves for me, and The Stylist, which is a free magazine that they give out at the train station, that Jo passes on to me.

And then of course, there are the 'scene' magazines such as Milkcow and Vintage Life

and craft/creative magazines such as Mollie Makes.

I really could go on and on! So, you could say that I'm a bit obsessed really.

Does anyone else love reading magazines? Which ones do you like? :)

Some recent vintage buys - a fabulous initial pin & some Bakelite!

2011-09-14T02:30:00.000-07:00

Anyone who is a regular reader of my blog will know that I am a collector of vintage costume jewellery. In general, I only wear my own Dolly Cool pieces, and vintage costume pieces too. I don't really care for modern 'shop bought' jewellery! I don't really like metal jewellery either as it usually brings me out in a rash, so its vintage plastics all the way for me! How did I go for so many years without owning Bakelite?!
I have picked up a few fab bits over the last few months, from Etsy, that I thought I would share with you.
First up is this Bakelite cherry necklace.....I was soooo excited when I saw this!

Normally, original pieces go for $100's - however, this necklace is made from an original celluloid chain, and original Bakelite beads, but is newly put together. I got it from BakeliteBaby on Etsy. Rebecca, who owns BakeliteBaby has been collecting, and working with vintage Bakelite for around 10 years and she has some great original pieces, things she has created from vintage pieces (like this), and original vintage deadstock components - all at very reasonable prices. My cherry necklace was $49.50. The cherries are lovely and heavy, hang really well and make that Bakelite 'clunk' noise when they touch each other. It pretty much lives on my neck since I got it!

I also got this Bakelite Scotty Cabochon from BakeliteBaby - he was just $10 and I glued on my own brooch pin :)

Speaking of brooches, I am building up my initial pin collection and could not believe it when I found this lovely vinatge mother of pearl swallow with a 'C' initial on the scroll work! Hooray! This was $15 from TangoMouseandMe on Etsy.

And I also got this vintage deadstock lucite confetti clamper from RaimentRevival for just $12.50! The reason it was on sale is because it is actually a child's bracelet. It even came in its original 'To A Little Miss' box! This is good news for me as I have teeny tiny wrists (just 5.5" in circumference, yes really!) so it fits me perfectly :)

I do love shopping on Etsy, you really can find some awesome stuff!

Dolly is in Mollie (Makes!)

2011-09-11T05:39:00.000-07:00

Hurrah! I've been very lucky with my press in the last few months, and I am so thrilled to be featured in the lovely new craft magazine that is Mollie Makes.
Its a UK publication, that is currently on issue 5, and if you love crafting and thrifting then you must go and get yourself a copy! I think that they now ship internationally, are beginning to get stocked overseas and you can also order a digital copy, too. There is always a cute ready-to-make free craft project on the front, and the content is full of craft tips, inspiring designer/makers and inside creative homes. Its printed on that lovely touchy-feely matt thick paper too and is a real quality magazine.
The cover - check out those super-cute crochet peas!!

Mollie Makes kindly featured my Hello Sailor Pin (also available as a hair clip), priced at £7 with free worldwide p&p. Here is the article (click to enlarge);

New Tattoo!

2011-09-09T08:04:00.000-07:00

I've been at the ink again....this one had been booked in for ages, but I wanted to wait until after last weekend's show so that I wouldn't have a manky arm to deal with!
As with most of my other tattoos, I designed this one myself, and it was inked by the fabulous Beany at Middleton Tattoo Studio, Manchester. I chose the worst time to go - 9.30am on back-to-school Tuesday, dur!. I don't normally get tattoos that have a 'meaning' as such, I just love tattoo art so much its all about the pretty pictures for me, however this one is personal to me as its about who I am and what I do.....

And here is my lovely new craft tattoo which I am soooo happy with :))

Its on the back of my arm and slots nicely around my other work (took ages of faffing about and tracing paper!)

Kustom Kulture Blast Off - Show report!

2011-09-07T11:46:00.000-07:00

My cyber-stalkers (aka parents!) were asking me where my weekend show report was today! So just for you mum and dad, here it is! :)
The weekend got off to a good start as I had a nice clear run down to Spalding, via an old Uni-friend's house where I stopped off for a hearty lunch and got a huge bag of Bramley apples from her tree!
It was actually, dry and sunny so perfect for putting up the dreaded tent (I hate camping!) and then get in the main hall and get the stand set up and on with the show!

I had a full stand to myself this year....probably my largest space yet, which I of course filled every spare inch with spots, and merch!

One lady told me it was making her eyes go funny! ha ha!

My buddy Kate aka Clumsy, doing some tattooed wood at the show. You may of heard of Kate, as she writes the Kustom Kulture features in Milkcow Magazine

Remember the cool pinstriped bag that I had done at the show last year by Sweet Jane Pinstriping? Well, this year, I took along a pair of fab red shoes for Jane to stripe for me..

Ta Da! I love them!

There was all sorts going on during the day...Wall of Death

Hot Rods

Vintage cars

And trucks!

And artists - many from Europe and the US - taking part in the Pinstriping Panel Jam

Sunset over the site..

And then we made our own merriment in the evening by making some rum and coke ice cream floats! You may remember Kate from Every Day is Like Sundae (original 50s ice cream van), who also does the Tutti Frutti Festival from my earlier posts. We ate tons of her delicious ice cream over the weekend. My favourite flavour is the Stem Ginger, yum!

My friends Nicola, Kate and I with yet another ice cream!

There were so many cool trade stands there too. I was very restrained and only bought myself two things over the weekend;

This beautiful Mexican blanket from Senor Tiki

I picked one with blues in it to match my car! Here it is in situ

And I got myself this awesome Lux De Ville Sin City Motor Tote from Hot Rockin' Belle:

In my fave colours of Red and Black! Its sparkle vinyl too, mmmmmmmmm!

So all in all, a great show! The weather was good, I had good sales, met lots of really nice people and had fun. And.....the camping wasn't too bad either ;)

In the Press and this weekends show

2011-08-31T10:01:00.000-07:00

Hooray! I've been featured in the latest issue of Pinstriping and Kustom Graphics Magazine with my new Rosary Collection;

In other news....I've been super busy this week getting ready for one of the biggest annual shows that I trade at, Kustom Kulture Blast Off. Its a Kustom lifestyle show featuring everything from Bands, Hot Rods and Kustom cars and vans, Pinstriping and airbrush live art, Tiki, Tattooists, Burlesque shows, Rockabilly and Rock n Roll! I had a great time last year (apart from the camping, I hate camping!).

I'll be setting off on Friday, and will be there for the whole weekend. If you are nearby, then do come down as its sure to be another great show....here is the flyer with some more info about the event;

Website is here: Kustom Kulture Blast Off

Click to enlarge the flyers.

I'll be doing my show report early next week so I will make sure to take some good photos of the weekend's goings on :)

This weekends charity/flea/car booty

2011-08-28T05:28:00.000-07:00

Hurray! Michael and I actually managed to go out flea market/car booting this weekend. First time in what feels like ages, it always seems to be rained off at the moment!
Firstly, I went to the Charity shops on Thursday with my sister Elaine who I met first for lunch. Got a few cool bits, with the grand total spend of 90 pence!

60s plantpot - 50p, Salvation Army

I am so happy with this! I never see plant pots but always look for them. This super retro leaf design is by Hornsea Potteries. This is a new home for Colin the cactus. Michael has owned Colin since he was at school!

60s glass - another intake for our vintage glass orphanage! 40p from YMCA

Yesterday morning, we went to the Saturday Flea Market at Earlestown. What a disaster! It was quite bright when we set off, but as soon as we got there, the downpour started. It was torrential, and we got soaked! I had ballerina pumps on and had squelchy feet for the rest of the day, yuk. Needless to say we didn't get anything, boo!

We decided to try again this morning with a visit to a large field car boot that we haven't been to since last year. I'm so glad we did as we got some great bargains! :)

Repro 50s style chrome Salter scales - perfect for weighing my parcels! A complete steal at just 50p

Alfred Meakin 60s side plates - 25p each.

I usually 'Google' the style name of the crockery I buy to find out more about it, however I have been somewhat cautious with these plates......

Can you see why? Goodness knows what would come up on a Google image search for these! ;O

he he!

I also picked up a few new bits for me....

Red and pink flamingo dress (originally from Next) - £1

Close up of the print, so cute!

And...I've been looking for some of these for ages....seek and ye shall find...

Leather Converse boots, never worn - £13.

The seller wanted £20 but I bartered and wore her down and got them for £13, hooray!

Very pleased with this weekends bargains :)

Vintage curtain revamp

2011-08-25T03:19:00.000-07:00

If you are a creative person, especially one who sews, it is very likely that you will have a "projects" pile lying around somewhere. Things that will only take 10 minutes to do, but still get left lying around for months! This is very true of myself, but I finally got round to finishing one of them last night.....

Remember the vintage curtains that Rascal gave me for my birthday?

She gave them to me as she knew that they would match my front room and that they would make awesome cushion covers. They have been on the 'to do' pile for (Ahem) 5 months!

Rascal was right anyway, they look fab, and they only took me 10 minutes each to make.

The completed cushions

And in-situ on my sofa. Very happy with them and they go nicely in a clashy-matchy way with our 50s barkcloth cushion covers that I made for our other sofa and egg chair. Just wish I'd done them sooner! :)

Red hair and blue toes!

2011-08-22T10:02:00.000-07:00

I'm so busy sometimes that I forget/don't get round to doing things like dye my hair and paint my nails! I took a bit of 'me' time this morning and put that right with some much needed red hair dye and some electric blue nail varnish. I've been dying my own hair red for many years, and have tried everything going! I do love the foam colours, but at the moment, the colours are a bit drab - they need to get some brighter shades in there.
I decided to give the new own-brand range at Superdrug a try -

Colour Vibrance in permanent hot red, shade 77:44

It was easy to apply and nice and thick, so no drips or splats! I left it on for an hour (1/2 an hour longer than recommended, but I always do that!)

Ta da! The finished result.

And a close up....really love this colour, and It hasn't ran into my blonde. Result!

It was on offer too when I bought it for just £3.29. What a complete bargain :)

And my blue toes.....

I usually always go for red or hot pink - but I felt like going with electric blue today.

The polish is Barry M, shade 116

£2.99 from Superdrug :)

Gorilla Hunt!

2011-08-20T13:02:00.000-07:00

Firstly, a big THANK YOU to all my lovely followers who left me a nice comment after my troll post :))
This week, after having a few hectic weeks, I took a few days off and went to visit family in Bristol. It was extra fun as Bristol Zoo, who are celebrating their 175th anniversary, have organised a mass public art event over the summer in the form of 'Wow! Gorillas'. 61 Fibreglass gorillas have been placed around the city, each one decorated by different local artists. You can pick up free maps and do a 'Gorilla Hunt', which we did over the two days of my visit! Here are some of them that I saw on my visit.......

'Noah' who is outside Bristol Zoo and painted with pictures of animals

Lipstick Kisses Gorilla - not its real name! ;)

Brunel Gorilla - on the end of Clifton Suspension Bridge. Named after Isambard Kingdom Brunel who designed it. (The bridge, not the Gorilla!)

Tea and homemade cake break - yum - from a deli/cafe in Clifton.

(Triple layer carrot and lemon drizzle, if you are interested!)

Me with Dee Dee the gorilla. I texted this picture to my Best Friend, as the company that she works for, sponsors Dee Dee!

Gorilla painted with harbour scenes

One of my faves - Street Art gorilla! Cool Sugar Skull detailing on its face

And finally - this awesome Elvis gorilla! He is in the Bus Station.

When the exhibition ends, all the gorillas will be auctioned off for gorilla conservation charities, and Bristol Children's hospital.

The exhibition runs until 7th September and is a great free and fun family activity if you are close by :)

Trolls!

2011-08-17T15:10:00.000-07:00

So, I got my first "Troll" comment on my blog....well, it was going to happen sooner or later.
Just for future reference to any other trolls.....your comments will be deleted without comment from me.....I have absolutely no interest or time for online nastiness, arguments or bitching.....That is all!!

Introducing the new face of Dolly Cool.......

2011-08-12T01:52:00.000-07:00

Finally I have had time to update my website with my new range - The Rosary Collection - which has been modelled for me by the beautiful La Dama. I could not have wished for a better model, La Dama was fantastic in every way and took so much care and effort in making these photos look as fabulous as they do. All the styling, hair and make up was completely done by La Dama, with photos taken by her husband, Buddy Wayne. She is one amazing lady, so if you don't already follow her blog....then go and do it now! Without further ado, here she is;

Day of The Dead Rosary Necklace

Cherry Bow Rosary Bead Necklace

Nautical Rosary Bead Necklace

Tattoo Rose Rosary Bead Necklace

Zombie Heart Rosary Bead Necklace
Each necklace is made from a wooden heart base, with a lacquered exclusive Dolly Cool hand drawn design in the centre, on a beaded rosary chain. They are priced at £16.00 each, which includes FREE worldwide p&p and are available now on my website; www.dollycool.co.uk

Mods & Rockers, and my new Miss L Fire shoes :))

2011-08-08T11:46:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I was trading at the Mods and Rockers show at the historic Piece Hall in Halifax, West Yorkshire;

It was organised by the same people who did the Ink, Iron & Hotrod show so I thought I'd give it a go.
I was looking forward to it, as about 15 years ago I was into the whole Mod thing in a big way! I used to dress up 60s style and go out dancing every week at a Northern Soul club night. (I'll do a post on this at some point!). Obviously, I'm more into 50s stuff now, but the love of the 60s Mod culture and music is still definitely there.
The day didn't get off to the best start to be fair as it was outside, and as we set off at 7.15am, it was raining really heavily! It carried on like this for most of the morning - stopping and starting raining. I braved the main show area hiding under my umbrella and went out to take some photos of the bikes;

Tons of Scooters and Bikes!

These fancy ones were in the 'best in show' bit.

Love this - very Quadrophenia!

We are the mods, we are the mods, we are, we are, we are the mods!*

(*See Quadrophenia!)

I'm so glad that I went out early to take these photos, as about 11am - the heavens opened fully and it started to downpour torrential rain....

View from under my stall! Thank goodness that the stalls were under gazebos! You can see everyone hiding under the buildings at the sides of the show area. This pretty much carried on for about 2 hours :(

Which resulted in this.....about 60% of the scooters packed up and went!

Michael took this shot of the scooters leaving En Masse. Its a great shot isn't it?

So, it was a bit of a washout really! By the time it actually cleared up, about 2pm - most people who probably were going to come, didn't. And loads of the bikes had gone anyway. Still, I can't complain as I still did ok on my stall. I made most of my sales after 2pm, though!

View from the side of my stall and the main stage

And an outfit post - showing off my new Miss L Fire shoes! ♥♥

Red & White Polka Hairtie - Dolly Cool

Jacket - 50p from a car boot sale

Cherry Cardigan - Thunder Egg, Affleks Palace, Manchester

High Waist Capris - Lady K Loves (Yes, I have the Capri's too - and they fit just as well as the jeans!)

Shoes - my newest purchase from Miss L Fire ♥♥♥ my new shoes!!!

And a close up! They are sparkle vinyl like 50'd Diner booth seats. Truly amazing, and very comfortable too!

So, it was a pretty wet day, all in all - but I still enjoyed it and the music was great. Loads of Motown and Northern Soul classics, with some rockabilly and rock thrown in for good measure!

Tutti Frutti 50s Festival - Day 2

2011-08-05T13:12:00.000-07:00

Hello and sorry for the delay in posting day two from last weekend! To say that this week has been manic would be an understatement! I'll not bore you with that however, and will instead show you some photos from last Saturday day and night at the Tutti Frutti 50s seaside festival!
It was, the best possible day you could have for an outside event by the way....beautiful sunshine, no wind and lots of people enjoying themselves with some loud rock n' roll music as a backdrop - awesome!

Some cool cars! I was speaking to the lady who owned the green one who was lovely!

Me and my stall! I'm wearing my fave vintage gingham dress that I got in Florida, with a matching vintage gingham fabric Dolly Cool hairtie!

Folks enjoying the sunshine and music

Some old school Teds! Lots of these at Tutti!

With my sis and bro-in-law enjoying an ice cream, yum

Rock breakfast! YUK!

Black Cat Trio - live on stage. Took it in b&w by accident, oops! (but adds to the effect!)

And some dancers in the main square. All in all, a great day!

It was then pack up quickly, back to the hotel for shower and change, and back out to the night event!

Elaine and I in our outfits. I'm wearing my bargain vintage Hawaiian sarong dress, from Florida with my Swedish Hasbeens for H&M. Elaine's dress is from Primark

Evening entertainment, The King Cats.

On Sunday morning, we packed up and headed home, but not before stopping at the local car boot sale. I'm glad we did as I managed to pick up this fabulous 50s fruit bowl for just 50p!

And a view from the side.....

It was shoved upside down in a box with lots of junk when I spotted it. Covered in dust and yuk. I soaked it in water and stardrops for a few hours, then scrubbed it with an old toothbrush and it was good as new! Two of the three black feet were missing, too - so I made some out of black polymer clay to match the remaining one. Ta-Da! Good as new :))

Tutti Frutti 50s Festival - Day 1

2011-08-01T11:46:00.000-07:00

On Friday, Michael and I headed off to Morecambe for the annual Tutti Frutti 50's seaside festival. Its on for two nights and a day, and I have a stall at the day event. First of all we checked into our B&B, dumped our stuff and headed out to check out the charity shops and have a walk on the prom.

It was lovely and sunny so I wore the Henry Holland retro print dress I got last week from the charity shop.

On the way down the front, we spotted this fab vintage bus! We were headed down to the Midland Hotel, and to check out the antique centre that we went to last year, however the antique centre had been shut down...gutted! :(

Not to fear however as we had a look round the charity shops, and found this in the middle of them all:

All I can say is WOW! The lady who owns Dotty's has only been open for 9 weeks and she had some seriously amazing stuff. I often mention on my blog about how I don't really like much vintage stuff for myself. Well, maybe I just didn't go to the right shops! I could have spent a fortune. There were so many lovely genuine 50's dresses on her racks, and I was in love! The prices were also fair too, and the shop was decked out so nicely and the dressing room was awesome!

I got a few things....

50's day dress - £35

Detail on the collar

Concealed front zipper

Winged pocket detail and fabric.

I tried it on, and it fitted me perfectly, so it was meant to be!

I also got this really cute 60's sleeveless blouse, £9

And a close up of the print. Both pieces are in excellent condition and I can't wait to wear them!

After shopping, we headed back to the hotel and had tea and biscuits sat in the window of our hotel room. This was the view;

Morecambe Bay really is stunning!

We then got ready and headed out for the night event. This year, my sister and brother in law came too, which made it even better!

My big sister, Elaine and me

I forgot to take photos of the bands, oops. I did however get this fetching photo of my bro-in-law, Geoff, wearing the prize that he won on the charity raffle...

Nice cinch belt!!!

Rockabilly Riot!

2011-07-26T02:52:00.000-07:00

Last night I went to see Brian Setzer's Rockabilly Riot. Without gushing too much, he was pretty amazing! The support acts were excellent too, Vince Ray and The Boneshakers (who I really like anyway) were first up, followed by The Jim Jones Revue, who I had never seen, but will be going to see again!
Brian started off with a string of his solo material, before really rocking out the show by bringing on Slim Jim Phantom, 2 double bass players, and some honky tonk piano for some Stray Cats favourites!
I had tickets to see the Stray Cats back in 2008, when during the London show, Slim Jim fell off the stage and broke his arm, so the Manchester gig was cancelled, gutted! After seeing SJ in full action last night, I can see why.....the man has so much energy and jumps around like he is possessed! ;)
I went with my sister, Elaine and we managed to get right near the front, whoop! Here are a few pics;

See, told you I had a good view!

Super cool green glittery Gretsch

With Slim Jim

Double bass-off!

Definitely one of the best gigs I have ever been too. Mr Setzer knows how to put on a good show!

Weekend Thrifty Bargains!

2011-07-25T03:49:00.000-07:00

Firstly, hello to my new followers! I seem to have shot up to 170 in no time at all, it must have been the giant courgette! ;) Following up on this....I made the monster into an italian courgette and parmesan soup, which was delicious, and the big bag of broad beans that I got were made into a broad bean and pea houmous. Both recipes were off the BBC Good Food website, both really easy and very tasty. I actually enjoyed the challenge of making something new from ingredients that I would not normally buy or use in this way.
This weekend, the weather took a turn for the better and I managed to go charity shopping on Saturday, and Car booting on Sunday. I didn't get tons, but its quality not quantity anyway, right?! Here is what I got on Saturday;

2 x 60s plates. Oakwood by Washington Potteries, England. 30p each :)

They are a nice (unusual) oval shape too, and slightly dipped in the centre, almost like a bowl-plate. I think they were probably originally intended for use as small platters/servers, but they make great dinner plates too!

And a close up on the pattern. Love the geometric look and colours on these.

H by Henry Holland shirt dress (new with tags), £3.99.

I was initially drawn to this on the rack as the pattern looked quite old, so I thought it may be vintage.

I was pleased to see that even though it was repro rather than old, it was actually a lovely style, brand new and in my size - yay!

Close up on the print. Definitely a vintage inspired print I would say.

And now on to what I found at the car boot yesterday...

About 2 metres of 60s fabric from a nice old lady, 50p

And a close up on the print. This will be perfect for making hair ties with for a mod/scooter show that I am doing in the next few weeks!

And from the same old lady, this lovely 60s bag. Mint condition with lucite trim to the top. This is going to be embellished with Dolly Cool Swallows and taken to one of my shows :))

Mutant Veg!

2011-07-21T13:09:00.000-07:00

I interrupt my usual blog patter to bring you something that has amused me greatly today....
I had my friend, Emma, over for lunch today. She had just come from visiting her parents who have an allotment, with a current surplus of produce - which she kindly brought for me. I got a big bag of gooseberries, a carrier bag full of broad beans, and this......

A mutant HUGE courgette (or zucchini for my US readers). I have honestly never seen anything like it! I took a photo of it next to my foot so you can see the scale. It weighs 1.8kg (nearly 4 lbs)!!!

I looked up some recipes online, and I'm going to make most of it into a courgette and parmesan soup, and then use the rest in stir fry or as a side. It really is a monster!

Magazine feature in Vintage Life!

2011-07-20T02:58:00.000-07:00

Hooray! My Vintage Life magazine has finally turned up! I can now finally share with you the behind the scenes feature of the Dolly Cool and Lady K Loves photo shoot that appears in the magazine as a 3 page spread, (July edition, Pages 28-30).

Click to enlarge the pages.

I'm really thrilled with the article. As a small business, getting press coverage is always really exciting (well, it is to me anyway!) and Vintage Life is a great independent magazine to be featured in.

I'm currently receiving images from the lovely La Dama, who is modelling my new range of rosary necklaces that I will be launching on my website in August. For those of you that already follow La Dama, (and if you don't already, make sure you do now!) you will know to expect super creative and original photos, and she certainly does not disappoint! I am very happy with all the shots, and can't wait to share them all with you in a few weeks time :))

Cream Tea ♥

2011-07-18T09:59:00.000-07:00

I went round to my sister's house on Saturday, where we always have tea, cake and a good old natter and a catch up on the week. I was in for a treat this week, as she had laid the table with her new charity shop purchase of a yellow rose bone china tea set, and we had a traditional British Cream Tea.
If its one thing we do well in England, its a cream tea! And its absolutely one of my all time favourite treats...

The feast that greeted me

Close up of the vintage china, and my scone which was loaded with clotted cream, strawberry jam and strawberries, yummy. Going back to being a tea bore again (after my complaint last week on the Manchester Cafe that sells tea in glasses - yuk), for a tea lover, tea drunk out of Fine Bone China is the pièce de résistance!

Cheers! And yes, I did have two scones, and two cups of tea! :))

The rest of the weekend (and today) has been spent cowering inside as this pretty much sums up the weather where I live at the moment;

So, no booting and no bike rides for us. Boo :(

Summer, where for art thou?!

New Lady K Loves high waisted jeans - My review

2011-07-14T03:05:00.000-07:00

I've been waiting for a nice day to do this review and today is a nice day, so here it is!
I received my much anticipated Lady K Loves high waisted jeans in the post last week, and I have to say that they have not left my backside since!
Jeans are one of those things that the vast majority of us really struggle with. Hands up who has been jeans shopping, tried on about 10 pairs, and still have gone home empty handed?
Although I love high waisted clothing, its something that I struggle to get as the fit is never right on me. As much as I love the look of Freddie's jeans on other people - they just do not fit me. The hip to waist ratio is just not big enough for pear shaped me, meaning that the correct hip size, leaves about 6 inches gaping on the waist. I also don't like the leg width on them, the wide leg makes me feel short and dumpy. That's not to say that I don't like them, Freddies are great (and I have a few of their tops),the jeans - just not on me, unfortunately!
I met Kessie from Lady K last Christmas as we had stalls next to each other at Kustom Kristmas. I tried on one of her high waisted black skirts at the show and was amazed at how well it fitted me! I have gone on to purchase another HW skirt, and some HW Capris too, all which fit me great. When Kessie announced that Lady K were going to be doing HW jeans, I pre-ordered straight away! (I just wanted to make clear, by the way that although, yes, I do know Kessie, she has not asked me to do a review on my blog, and I pay for all my clothes in full, and buy them of my own free will. I'm doing this because I genuinely love the fit and style of her products - and it may help others who also have the HW fit problem like I do!).
So anyway - here are the jeans;

They fit so well, and I love the fact that they have a slim leg. Much more flattering on me than wide leg jeans :)

(I'm also wearing my Lady K Hawaiian Shirt, too. Another firm favourite in my wardrobe)

Back view. Not so easy to take on self timer, but you get the idea!

And the proper photos, taken from the Lady K Loves website;

The denim is nice and crisp, without being stiff and uncomfortable. It also has a slight stretch to it too, which definitely adds to the comfort factor.

They are available in sizes XS-XL (with full sizing and measurements on the website), and in two leg lengths , 23" and 33", so you can have them as Capris or as jeans. I went for a size Medium, in the 33" leg.

You can get them off the Lady K Website here.

My weekend

2011-07-11T02:32:00.000-07:00

This weekend was a pretty quiet one really, spent with friends and family. The weather was ok on Saturday, so I headed off for my monthly craft meet with the Made in Manchester ladies. We were thrilled to be back "home" in the Manchester Craft and Design Centre - after a 4 month break (due to the lovely Cafe Aromat going out of business.)

Manchester Craft & Design Centre

And the inside. It used to be a Victorian Fish Market, and is now home to lots of independent designer/makers in the heart of the Northern Quarter.

I am very happy to report that Cafe Aromat's replacement - Eat Homemade - is lovely, and much nicer than the cafe we went to for our last few meets (that shall remain nameless), but served tea

in GLASS - which in my opinion, you just don't!!

Tea should always be served in a light coloured cup or mug. Preferably a china cup! It just tastes better! Eat Homemade get extra points for serving their in a vintage china tea cup and saucer :)

On Sunday, the weather was wet and thundery, so booting was out. What change from last weekend when we were slapping on sun cream and going to the car show! This is England folks!! Michael and I went for our "quiet" sunday morning bike ride instead;

Me in my biking gear!

I say it was a "quiet" bike ride, as unknown to us, it was the Manchester to Blackpool charity bike ride, and our usual route - was on their route. Cue about 500 other bikers hijacking our peaceful morning cycle!!

Excuse grainy photos - taken on my phone!

And these were just a few of them! It was quite nice actually to cycle along with them all for a few miles. They were all super fit serious biker types though, and I certainly would not fancy a 45 mile bike ride on a Sunday morning!

In the afternoon, we went to visit Michael's mum who has just got some new kittens......

Aahhhhhh, aint they sweet? :))

Magazine feature in Milkcow!

2011-07-07T01:49:00.000-07:00

I am very excited this month to be featured in not one, but TWO magazines! Yippee! I knew about one of them (Vintage Life), but the other was a surprise! It was only when Boo Boo Kitty tweeted the article to me that I knew anything about it, so thanks BBK!
I am featured in this months Milkcow Magazine, in the London Lowbrow Kustom Ko-op, Kustom Klub event article. Its a photo of me and my stall at the event and an article about the show (click to enlarge);

I'm still waiting for my Vintage Life to arrive, so when it does, I'll bore you all with that too ;)

Stars and Stripes American Classic Car Show

2011-07-05T14:56:00.000-07:00

On Sunday afternoon, Michael and I went to the Stars and Stripes American Classic Car Show at Tatton Park. They have been holding this event here now for 23 years, I have probably been going for about 5 years - and each year it rains. Sometimes its a bit sunny, then rains - but its always usually pretty bad weather. Well, not this time - it was absolutely beautiful and we made the most of it by taking a picnic, and getting some photos of shiny cool cars!

My outfit for the day; 80's Hawaiian wrap dress, Etsy. Shoes, Swedish Hasbeens for H&M, bag, Primark - embellished with an orchid & cherries by me! :), Bangles - Bamboo & Bakelite. Necklace & Earrings, Dolly Cool of course!

I love this colour of turquoise

Loved this Buick Dynaflow ♥♥

The detailing on all these 50s and 60s cars is amazing. Modern cars look rubbish!!

Bel Air - one of my all time fave 50s cars! There were a few of these at the show :)

And a cool purple hot rod!

he he! I like it when people do stuff like this! There was also a car that had Elvis sat in the back, and one with Marilyn too!

We finished off the afternoon in a queue for the ice cream van :))

Yesterdays Car Booty!

2011-07-04T07:14:00.000-07:00

Hooray! It was actually a lovely day yesterday and we went to the car boot, which filled the entire field as it was so nice! I didn't get loads - but certainly got a few bargains to satisfy my cheapskate habit!

Vintage vanity case - 50p. This needs a bit of TLC but its nice and clean inside and well worth 50p!

3 x bamboo bangles - 30p

Another pineapple bowl - a friend for my other one! 50p

New wicker bag.....this one is going to be decorated in a tiki theme and sold on on my stall :)

Vintage dinner plate - 20p. Love the pattern on this, and its a nice big plate too! Not sure if its 50's or 60s - I can't find anything online about this pattern - "Sandra" Washington Pottery Ltd, Hanley, England.

To me, it looks more of a 50s pattern than a 60's one...but I'm really not sure. Any ideas?

And a close up...nice isn't it? :)

We also went to a Classic American Car Show yesterday afternoon, but I'll do that on a separate post!

Hairties now available on the website!

2011-07-02T04:11:00.000-07:00

I've been selling these at my shows for over a year now - and they always go like hotcakes, so I thought it was time to add my best sellers to my website!
Priced at £6.50 each, with FREE worldwide shipping - they are the perfect accessory for summer to deal with your bad hair day or for that cool rockin' up 'doo! You can find them all here.

Black & White Spot

Cherries

Vintage heart gingham

Leopard

Red & White Spot

Black & White Star

Dire Domestics & Some vintage cheer!

2011-06-30T13:19:00.000-07:00

Had some issues with dire domestics this week, firstly the oven packed in on Monday. Great! We got someone out to fix it, but it was going to be the same price to fix as to buy a new one, so we got a new one - Unexpected expense #1. Then today, my embroidery machine hoop broke, its basically a cheap piece of plastic that you can't fix, and you have to buy a new one - £30 plus shipping - Unexpected expense #2. Rubbish!
So this afternoon, a bit fed up after boring oven and hoop buying, it was off to the charity shop and local market to pick up some vintage goodies to cheer me up!

Mini Cactus - looks fab in this vintage coffee cup. Cactus - 50p, Cup 20p

Two 60's plates from Hospice shop - 20p each

And a close up of the pattern

And joy of joys - a retro sweet stall has opened on the market selling all sorts of nostalgic sugary treats! Michael treated me to some of my all time favourite 'penny' sweets (now, not a penny!) - white chocolate mice. I've always had a thing for white chocolate. Its really sickly and sweet, and these white mice taste just like they always have done, yum :)

Trip to London!

2011-06-27T03:08:00.000-07:00

Last Thursday, I took the train down to London for a few days.The reason I was going originally was to go and see Reverend Horton Heat on the Thursday night, but I decided to make a mini break out of it and do some sightseeing on Friday day as well. So here are some photos from my trip;

The Rev! They were awesome!

On Friday, my friend Kate had to work, so I had the day to myself to tootle round. My first trip of the day was to go to the Tate Modern. Somewhere I have wanted to go for ages....but only just got round to..(it opened in 2000, oops!)

Walking up from London Bridge Station towards Tower Bridge. I then walked all along the river front to the Tate.

Views of outside, and the Millenium Bridge

The gallery (unsurprisingly) is HUGE! There were quite a few different collections to look at, I loved the Pop. I've always been a bit of a Lichtenstein fan, and for years through school and Uni, I had a print of "Wham!" on my wall, so it was great to see the real thing.

In the Cubist section

Some modern sculpture - made from vent parts

And so not so modern sculpture - Rodin, The Kiss

There was also a room with the Gerhard Richter 'Cash' painting series (left). I took some photos for Michael as he is one of his favourite artists. And some Rauschenberg (right).

After being cultured, It was time to head back up Oxford Circus way...not for the faint hearted at the moment, as the sales are on and it is bedlam! I met up with Kate for lunch and we headed down Carnaby Street;

And down to to The Diner in Soho for a burger and chips! I had the portabello mushroom and swiss cheese 'burger'. It was delicious!

YUM!

I then walked Kate back to work, and I then went shopping in Camden (which is pretty rubbish to be honest - its all tourist crap in the shops, rather than the alternative mecca it once was), so I headed back to the bustling Oxford Circus and had a look in the sales. I didn't get much but picked up a few staple bargains;

2 Breton tops - cant go wrong with a Breton! £5.99 each from Pull & Bear

Spotty polo shirt dress - £6.99 from Uniqlo

That evening, I was so knackered from walking about all day, so we just chilled out at night at Soho Joe's where we had pizza and wine (healthy day I was having!!) It was really good pizza, and at £6 for a full pizza in central London, a real bargain too!

Saturday was coming home day, but I still had time to fit in a quick trip in the morning to The British Library, where they had an "Out of this world" Sci Fi exhibition on.

Outside the Library - you can see the beautiful St Pancras Station in the background.

Me being a big kid - doing my own 'draw your own alien'. It even beamed it up and put it up on a big screen!

And so this weekend was spent catching up on orders and chilling out. No boot sale again, but I'm hoping to get my charity shop fix this week as not been for ages so watch this space :)

A bit quiet....and some new make-up!

2011-06-21T15:09:00.000-07:00

Hello! Sorry its been a bit quiet on the old blog front - I've not really done anything very exciting to blog about to be honest in the last couple of weeks! No boot sale AGAIN on sunday due to the persistant bad weather. Instead, Michael and I went for a bike ride in the drizzle!
I have actually been very busy (work wise) as I decided that I needed to 'tweak' a few things on my website, so have been taking some new photos, updating information, organising a new photo shoot.....which will be featuring the lovely La Dama (which I am very excited about)....more info on that coming up soon.....and also I changed my domain name from the Moonfruit address I have been using for the last 2.5 yrs, to www.dollycool.co.uk, which is more professional - even if it means I now have to change ALL my branding and promo material (and there is a LOT of it!!)..... I know it will be worth it though and I feel much happier with the .co.uk taking things forward.
I've also in the past few weeks become an avid tweeter! Something I dismissed for quite a while, as I didn't really "get" it - but now I do! I think its great to interact with other like-minded people on there - there are a lot of inspirational creative people with great business advise, independent brands, designers and crafters, and people into vintage, so for me its been a really positive thing to do. I'm @dollycool if anyone wants to follow me :)
So, enough waffle and onto the lovely new Make-Up that I treated myself too last week. I had a coupon code (of course!) for Beauty Bay, and I wanted some new eyeshadows - so I bought this fab palette by Urban Decay;

The Vegan Palette. Completely cruelty and animal product free. I'm not vegan, but am very against animal testing, so anything like this gets the thumbs up from me! You get 6 very highly pigmented eyeshadows, an eye primer and an eyeliner. The set retails for £23.50, but I got it for £18 with the coupon.

This was quite a splurge for a bargain hunter like me, but I don't buy very much make-up, but what I do get has to be good quality. I especially hate cheap, nasty eyeshadows!

And just look at the pretty box!

And a close up of the shadows. They are all a pearl/frost finish which I love (I don't really like Matt finishes). The gold and bronze colours are my fave. The bright turquoise is for brave days!

I am actually doing something interesting later on this week, so promise more interesting posts coming at the weekend :))

Belated Brand Feature!

2011-06-17T13:48:00.000-07:00

Oops - something I forgot to post! Right before I went on holiday, I was featured in the Summer 2011 Attitude Clothing magazine.
Attitude are one of the largest alternative retailers in the UK, and I am very proud to have them as one of my main stockists. They sell some really awesome clothes and accessories as well as some cool jewels (he he!), so well worth checking them out if you like your stuff rockin'!
I was totally thrilled that not only did they feature a whole page of my products, but they also did an interview with me too! So they gave me a whole double page spread in total, yay! Here is the article, click to enlarge!

Tuesday Night - outfit post

2011-06-16T04:16:00.000-07:00

Really busy this week with orders, wholesale and new collections, so just time for a quick outfit post...

On Tuesday evening, I went out for a family meal and this is what I wore....

Lake dress and spotty tights, Primark,

Cardigan - had this since I was 18! It was originally from Topshop. Certainly got my moneys worth out of it, as its still my fave as I love the fit!

Earrings and Bangles, Bakelite

Necklace, 60s vintage milk glass

Brooch, Vintage Rhinestone 'C'

Shoes, 50s deadstock

And a close up of the shoes which I bought last May for £1, (see my earlier post here.)

Ink, Iron & Hotrod!

2011-06-14T04:58:00.000-07:00

This was supposed to be a great post, full of cool bikes and hot rods, but alas no! The Great British "Summer" weather put a big stop to that I'm afraid!

This Sunday, I was trading at the Ink, Iron & Hotrod show in Batley, West Yorkshire. I set off at 7am to get there, sun was shining and it looked like a beautiful day. I got unpacked at set up on my pitch, which was INSIDE (thank goodness!). When the doors opened at 10am, tons of people came in, and it was really busy! I met a lot of nice people and had a great time trade wise on my stall, but I had no chance to go outside to get some photos of the bikes and 'Rods on display. When it calmed down a bit around 2pm I thought I'd go outside and get some snaps, but lo and behold - it was absolutely hammering down with such heavy rain, and it stayed that way until about 10pm that night! Bummer! So no nice photos to share I'm afraid :(( I did snap a couple of the inside however;

Flyer for the event

Lou, my helper for the day (Lou is also my hairdresser and a drag racer!) and me. We are of course both wearing Dolly Cool everything.....self promotion and all that! ;)

Picture of my stand - wooh! Super reflective arm band on that guy's jacket!

Entertainment on the main stage by the Hicksville Bombers, who were awesome!

The show was co-organised by the Satan's Slaves Bikers and Originals Hot Rod Club. I really had no idea how the two would come together, but it worked so well! There was a really good mixture of people, and a mixture of rock and rockabilly music and merchandise. Special Thanks to John from the Originals HRC who invited me along to the event after seeing my blog on The Kim Show! Both the Hot Rod and the Biker guys were great on the day, helping us unpack the car, checking up on us during the day to make sure we were ok and the event was really well organised. I'm hoping this will be a regular feature in my trade calender...and hopefully next year will be better weather!!!

Glamour/Benefit Freebie time and a new dress!

2011-06-10T02:57:00.000-07:00

Its that time again when Glamour magazine (UK only, sorry overseas ladies!) are giving away some fab Benefit freebies! Woo Hoo! I love Benefit, so I make sure I write down in my diary (yes, sad I know!) when the issue is out, and then I go out early and snap up my freebies! The Benefit issues always sell out really quickly, so if you are not fast, you are last!!
So, for a £2 magazine, you can get either a Benetint, Posie Tint or High Beam product. The products are 1/3 of their full retail size, and worth around £10 each. Bargain! Considering a full sized Benetint is £24.50, this is a great deal, especially if you are new to their products and want to give them a try, without spending a fortune.

This months UK issue with choice of 3 products

I got 4! 2 x Benetint, and 2 x Posie Tint....I'm massively into lip stains at the moment, so wearable for daytime without worrying about lipstick smears. I didn't get any high beam, as its not something that I'd really use. Well, I had to leave some things in the shop for someone else! ;)

Me wearing Benetint

I got the magazines from Asda (UK Supermarket) and had a quick look at the clothing when I was in there and picked up this really cute sun dress;

Cherries and hearts with raspberries & pineapples in the background! ♥♥

Detailing on the bust

And a close up of the fabric! ♥♥

And a complete steal for just £10 :)

My Deco Celluloid Necklace Super Bargain!

2011-06-09T01:53:00.000-07:00

I got some exciting post yesterday....a beautiful 1930's celluloid charm necklace!
When I was on holiday in Florida a few weeks ago, I was on the hunt for two things - Bakelite bangles and a celluloid charm necklace. I found the Bakelite, but didn't even see any celluloid necklaces in any of the many antique shops we went into. I see them on Ebay and Etsy, and they always go for £100+ if not more, so I was hoping to get something in the States for a good price, but alas, none were to be found.
On returning home, I searched again for some, and found one on Ebay, from an antique store in California with no bids on, and it was ending within the hour! So, I waited and placed my bid within the last few seconds - yep, I'm one of those Ebay sniper types ;) -and I won it! Eeeekk!!! Here it is;

White leaves and bunches of grapes, with contrast red/brown leaves on the top

And a close up...the charms are all in brilliant condition

Has its original clasp....I think I may add a lobster clasp on to it however as the celluloid is quite brittle, and the way the clasp fastens, it may put too much strain on and break. The chain is mostly in good order, with a few cracks here and there, so will just have to be careful when I wear it :)

It even came with two extra grapes - the seller said they were in the box when they got them from the estate sale. I have made them into earrings of course!

And so, how much did I get this for? $25.00! (about £15.00) What a bargain! :))

Quick Outfit Post and some new curtains!

2011-06-06T14:01:00.000-07:00

This weekend was a bit of a funny one....it was really hot and sunny on Saturday - and freezing cold and rainy on Sunday! Thats the great British weather for you!!
On Saturday, I went for lunch at my parents, and wore the vintagedress I bought in Florida:

This is my absolute new favourite item of clothing! It is so light and comfortable to wear. As soon as I've worn it, it gets washed and its straight back on again!

In the morning, Michael and I went to the Flea market at Earlestown, and I picked up some great vintage bags - to revamp for Dolly Cool - and we got an absolute bargain, which was a pair of Sanderson Dandelion Clock curtains, new in pack - still with the John Lewis tags on for just £5. They are £100 in store!!

♥♥ this print - you can see more of the range here

Sunday was a bit of a washout.....I was up and out early and at the car boot for 8. I just about missed the rain, but I bought nothing.....it was full of rubbish this week, boo. Better luck next time!!