The Ladybug Wakes Up in a Beautifully Bizarre Dream Come True: The Store Opening of Bizzaria!

This is not the story of a cool party with cool people for a cool shop. This is the story of a dream come true: the dream of Camilla Oliosi, one of the most talented handmade jewels creators that I’ve ever met.

Speaking of meeting her, I can still remember the day we met: it was the Christmas edition of Il Circo delle Pulci in December 2012. I was there for a tour (actually my first time at the Circo) and I was in such a bad mood. The place was cool; the stallers were great, but I wasn’t in the mood for handmade shopping or vintage hunting, that was- until I saw her! Her stall full of amazing collars, enormous funny studded bow-ties, attracted me immediately. We started talking about her creations and her plans, and I can clearly remember Camilla saying that one of her dreams was to open a store in her area (she’s from Veneto).

Well, after that day Camilla and I stayed in touch and I have been one of the hugest fans of her creative work: she also created a special piece for me, a beautiful cuff with vintage buttons that she found in an old haberdasher. I have followed with enthusiasm the development of her online store and her success- then came the day that she announced to me the next level of her dream coming true: she was going to open a shop in Peschiera del Garda … and I was invited to the grand opening!

I felt so proud and excited about the news. And I had this feeling, you know, when you feel that success rewards the right people and you are happy because you know that it is well deserved because of talent and hard-work… This was both my feeling and my inspiration, seeing those keys unlock the door of success for the Bizzaria brand.

I further lavished in this feeling when I saw the great job she did at the opening (with the help of Sara from News Eventi Como!): everything was just perfect! From the location, to the store, the party, the food (…the drinks!) and the great collection exposed in a lovely adorable dotted retro style shop that I fell in love with (actually the shop and the collection!). It was great to party with my fellow bloggers and as you can imagine, I left with my favorite piece of the collection… but I will unveil what it is when I wear it!

I think that my words aren’t enough to explain the creativity and talent of Camilla, so check the online site www.bizzaria.com to see with your own eyes! Congratulations Bizzaria!

For the occasion I wore a vintage silk skirt from the Montagnola market in Bologna, a beautiful lace and crochet vintage shirt that I bought in a wonderful vintage shop in Ljubljana – Vintage Divas – as the amazing little vintage bag that I am wearing. The fascinator-hat is a handmade creation from Olivia Iron.

 

The Ladybug Becomes the Ringmaster: Il Circo delle Pulci in Milan (Circus Station)

The Circo delle Pulci in Milan is now on the list of my favorite recurring events in Milan: I always love their locations, atmosphere and sellers even if sometimes I still have something to say about the pricing… I know, it’s my regular complaint but believe me; I hate when stallers overprice their beauties, especially when it comes to vintage.

This time the location for the event was the former train depot of Porta Genova, where the Circus Train stopped for a beautiful event in a dark surreal atmosphere where food, creativity, handmade goods, vintage and music mixed in a perfect combination!

The fun and great decorations were part of the game and I thoroughly enjoyed the circus atmosphere that reigned all over the place! This time there were a bit more handmade goods and handcrafts. And the Italian DaWanda site (the biggest European platform dedicated to handmade) was launched with grand pageantry- offering discounts to those who registered for the circus. If you have never tried you should definitely have a look as you may find real beautiful and unique handmade pieces.

I also bought a lovely ring from Buttons, the lovely stall of Cristina Rastelli, who creates beautiful jewels from vintage buttons: I fell in love with this beautiful silver ring with an oval white button, so I couldn’t resist!

I must say that it was hard to resist the food too: our friends from Vintage Bakery were there with their delicious cupcakes and the local cuisine (yes, I mean polenta and gorgonzola!!) was present too. And of course… liters of beer!

For the day I wore a white vintage ’80s cardigan with lapin and small pearls (from Deuda Vintage at the Padova Vintage Festival) as a jacket, black Zara top and shorts with Max & Co. black riding boots. I added a black clutch from Topshop and a vintage emerald green hat from Humana Vintage in Milan.