The Vintage Bazaar at Devizes

Well, two weeks after doing my first ever Vintage Bazaar, I am finally writing my blog post about it.
I have to admit I was pretty nervous about this one.  Not long after I booked it we found out that Mark was going to be in Russia, Siberia to be precise (as you do!) for a Kettlebell competition and training camp so there was absolutely no way he was going to be able to come with me.  So what, do it on your own I hear you say but let me let you into a little secret.  I've never driven further than London and I've only done that about 3 times, late at night with hardly any traffic.  That's right, in 20 years of driving the furthest I have driven is about 70 miles!  In the lead up I kept half heartedly saying I was going to cancel but never got round to it and then my good friend Eve very kindly said she would come with me.  Now I had no choice but to man up and get on with the driving as I was responsible for someone else now.  I would also like to point out at this point that I was in considerable pain as a week earlier I had kicked the fridge and the fridge won.  I hadn't been to the hospital but I knew that I may have broken my big toe and as its turned out I have.  So all in all not the best start, I'm really nervous about driving and I have a broken big toe, brilliant!

My left foot!

Anyway after picking Eve up at 4.45am and having to go round the roundabout again because I missed the turning before we'd even left our home town, we were on our way.  I have NO IDEA what I was worrying about!  It took us about 2 hrs door to door and was such an easy drive.  I almost couldn't believe it when we got there, parked right outside and had time to go for some breakfast and a pot of tea at the hotel next door.  Completely stress free and that became the theme of the day, NO STRESS!  After we unpacked I moved the car just round the corner to the all day car park, hobbled back and helped Eve set up.  The fair was being held in Devizes Corn Exchange.

The Corn Exchange in Devizes

What a fabulous venue this turned out to be.  It was central, parking was easy and after you'd perused round the fair you could go and have another rummage in one of the many vintage and antique shops in the town.  There were also plenty of places to eat and enjoy a drink or two plus if you were traveling from far away, Devizes and the surrounding villages are the ideal locations to enjoy a short break.
As for inside the venue, it was light, airy and had a lovely atmosphere about it helped by the 1940s music playing which provided the perfect vintage ambience.  One thing I noticed later on in the day was that there wasn't a tearoom.  I actually felt this was a good thing not only for me, my purse and waistline but it meant that the vintage was the main attraction.
After we set up, we went about having a look at all the other stalls and this is where I got excited.  There were so many dealers that I hadn't met before and that could only mean one thing, that there was a whole load of new goodies to buy!

Peagreen Furniture Co.

Peagreen Furniture Co.

Sam from Peagreen Furniture Co. was there with her candles in vintage cups and saucers and other vintage loveliness, perfect presents.

Hesta Nesta

Hesta Nesta

Hesta Nesta

Jo from Hesta Nesta was there with her beautiful array of French fripperies.  I could spend hours at Jo's stall just touching and looking at all her wonderful items.  Not sure how she'd feel about that though!

The Washerwoman

The Washerwoman

The Washerwoman

The Washerwoman

Lizzie from The Washerwoman was there with her tantalising array of items.  Lizzie co organises The Vintage Bazaar fairs with Clare from Daisy Darling Millinery and they make a formidable team.  Organised, well publicised and a high standard of seller made this fair a pleasure to be at.

Louise Taylor Bowen

Louise Taylor Bowen

Louise Taylor Bowen was there with her gorgeous handmade jewellery and accessories.

Lois Pinnock

Lois Pinnock

Lois Pinnock

Now I know I mustn't be biased but Lois' stall above was my favourite and I could have bought an awful lot from her.  She deals in Decorative and vintage pieces for the home and garden.  In fact I emailed her afterwards as she had had the most beautiful embroidered picture that I couldn't stop thinking about and I asked her to keep it for me until next time, I don't think that will be the only thing I buy from her!  She was sharing a stall with Rebecca Engels who makes bags, cushions and accessories from Vintage material.
Last but not least was..........

Moments Remembered

Moments Remembered

........Moments Remembered who had some great things including the little knitting basket above with vintage fabric that Eve beat me too.  I hadn't even seen it but if I had I would have wrestled her to the ground as its exactly my type of thing!

Above is just a very small selection of the wonderful stallholders who were there and the goods on offer were excellent.  The fair even attracted a famous face Pearl Lowe.  I was very excited about seeing her so I got geared up for her to come over, fall in love with all my items, get Eve to take a photo of her at my stall (discreetly obviously) and...............she just walked past without even glancing at the stall :( My only consolation is that I at least recognised her, I normally only manage to see a famous person when they're 100 yards down the road with their back turned and Mark's pointed them out.

Pretty Nostalgic magazine were also there selling subscriptions and copies of their magazines and I had a quick chat with Jo the Editor.  If you haven't read the magazine and you are a vintage fan then next time you are in WH Smiths treat yourself to a copy.  Go home, put the kettle on, turn your phone off and enjoy everything it has to offer from cover to cover.

As I said at the start, I did manage to partake in a little buying myself.  I managed to spend money before I'd even made any.  Here is what I bought and I know you'll agree that I just had too!

Lois Pinnock - 1850s embroidered box

Lois Pinnock

Lois Pinnock

All things Vintage and Beautiful - Vintage duck with original made in Brighton label

All things Vintage and Beautiful

All things Vintage and Beautiful - Vintage French skittles

All things Vintage and Beautiful

Daisy Darling - Old quilt

Daisy Darling

Daisy Darling

Hesta Nesta - French sewing basket

Hesta Nesta

Hesta Nesta

Hesta Nesta

The fair was busy as soon as the doors opened and there was a constant flow of people all day and the atmosphere was excellent and inspiring.  Many buyers came dressed in vintage clothing and it really added to the day.  There was a real buzz about the fair that just made you feel enthusiastic and it really helped that a lot of people were there who truly love the vintage lifestyle.  They were interested in what you had to sell and wanted to know more and I also found that a few of the buyers were telling me about an item I had which was a lace making cushion in its original box.  One lady who happened to make lace explained to me exactly how they used the cushion and I came away more knowledgeable and happy that someone had been as enthusiastic as me.  She also told me that it took about 5hrs to make an inch of lace so I don't think I'll be doing that anytime soon!

All in all The Vintage Bazaar was a wonderful fair that I can't wait to attend again (next Devizes fair Saturday 31st August).  It was made all the better by the excellent organisation, location, enthusiasm of sellers and buyers alike and the fact that I was doing it with my lovely friend Eve who also took the brilliant photos of the fair above.  In fact as Eve said "I don't think there were two seconds we weren't chatting."   Considering we were together for 17 hours, that's pretty good going!!!