I always try to attend a couple of vintage fairs every year, just to see what’s new on the vintage scene (yes, it sounds strange!) and to get some very interesting bargains!
But this time it was completely different! First of all it was my first vintage fair in London ever! And I knew it was going to be different for someone used to attending Italian fairs!
But more than that I was so excited to meet Maxine, the creator and organizer of the Pop Up Vintage Fairs, and all those wonderful ladies I’ve been tweeting with for months! All those faces and Twitter names were going to be real people with real names and I couldn’t wait to meet them all!
Because Daisy and I knew it was going to be very exciting and emotional at the same time, she prepared a very British breakfast to strengthen me!
When we arrived at St. Stephen in Hampstead, the first thing that caught my eye was the beauty of the place: a beautiful old church with a soft yet amazing décor inside! It was a couple of days before Valentine’s Day so loves and hearts were all around!
I was very touched to see how different it really was from an Italian Fair: soft lights, live music (with the beautiful sound and voice of Miss Scarlett Cuffs), amazing clothes, accessories and antiques and the funniest and sweetest sellers ever!
The first person I looked for was Maxine Stonehill, the creator of the Pop Up Vintage Fair and one of the sweetest people that I’ve ever met! Stallers adore her (I’m not surprised!). She really received me as a VIP and she took some time to talk to me and to tell me more about her story. Pop Up Vintage Fair is a very young company, it was created only a year ago, but Maxine’s passion and willingness to develop and spread the vintage love word made it quickly one of the most important and well known vintage fair organizers in town.
A very special mention goes to Vintage Tea Time and her delicious tea and cake corner! Salina and her family were at their last fair and it was a bit of a sad moment, but I enjoyed spending time with them and tasting fabulous cake and real British tea!
Another thing that I adored about the Fair was the vintage hair and make-up corner! Dolly and Rhonda styled many customers with amazing retro hairstyles and make up! I choose a cute victory roll style and Daisy went for a 60s backcombed chignon!
One of the stalls where I probably spent the most time was Auntie Aviator’s! Her collection of amazing vintage frames was to-die-for and I think I tried every single one before deciding which to buy!
(Pictures courtesy of Auntie Aviator)
Here is a picture from JBD London stall… with amazing handmade head dresses from original vintage jewellery in perfect retro style! Louise was so sweet and her mum was so cute!
This wonderful cape and original Missoni dress and 40s suit come from Karen Philips personal collection… Karen was amazing! She’s a real vintage woman! Selling her things for love of vintage and not as a real job, not friend with social networks or technology I had to explain to her what a blog was, but she was really excited about it! You can contact her at karenphillipsuk@aol.com for more information!
So here we are, all together (Daisy, Salina, Maxine and I) in our vintage furs, after an amazing day together! I love my new wonderful friends! If you want to know the next dates of the Pop Up Vintage Fairs, you can check their FB page here
Tired but still hungry, we ended the day at the Priory Tavern in Kilburn where we had a tasty roast in perfect vintage style tradition!
Looks like a fabulous day out.