So last week's Free Love Friday went down well, so here are 2 more fabulous shops for you- The Dorothy Days and BlackRain4. These are two amazing vintage shops which we absolutely love.
While studying for an Art History degree and while pinching the pennies at university the owner of this divine shop discovered that high street shops not only were expensive but lacked individuality... from there the vintage bug was born! "For me, buying vintage is not so much about collecting but rather having beautiful items from days gone by that I can wear and use at affordable prices. This really is recycling at its best!"- so true and lives up to our own maxim of wearable and usable vintage. The Dorothy Days shop has been born out of a passion for vintage, as a seller offline for sometime the move to Etsy selling is a recent one.
What a fabulous shop- I love how it makes me feel when I open the link. It's just getting going as a shop having opened up in August so is not overstuffed with items but what is there is a pure delight and the presentation and photography is amazing. There is an amazing selection of vintage teacups form all era's which makes you want to host a tea party purely so you can get them all out! They'd make great gifts or would be a brilliant self-indulgence!!
My personal favourites have to be the cocktail forks from the 1960's... how often do you see cocktail forks nowadays, especially in such vibrant colours. Such a rare item and a bargain to boot.
One of the other charming items I love with a real British retro vibe is the Coronation cup and saucer- so beautiful and obviously it's already caught some eyes as it has featured on Etsy Lush.
As a lover of all things vintage and Brighton I just had to feature this shop! The shop also has a few handmade bits and pieces too- at the moment juts the gift tags, but if this is a sign of things to come it will be fabulous as the quality is great. Please have a nose around this beautiful shop.. before you know it you'll be having English tea parties!
This shop is run by Diane McQueen, who has to be one of the hardest working Etsians I have met since opening our own shop. Not only does she have BlackRain4 on her plate but she runs several blogs reflecting her other shops and she also runs 2 Facebook pages- Luv2LuvAntiques for her other shop, and Old Fashioned Charm- which is an amazing page on Facebook where Diane is truly "spreading the love" Etsy style. On this page you can post 2 item from the Victorian era to the 1960's every day from your shop... if she likes what she sees she will quite often tweet them for you as well! She is truly a trooper!
As a collector, and restorer, of vintage/antique linens, quilts, bedspreads, and furniture, she like to reuse damaged vintage / antique items to create new decor items; and her passion for vintage is not restricted to work as she is furnishing her home with vintage and antiques- another believe in "usable" vintage!
Opening up the page to go into her shop is a delight with an eclectic mix of all things vintage and antique, we love it (I can only imagine how beautiful her house must look!), items range from clothing to kitchen wares to linen (which is a passion for her- being a member of the Tablecloth Lovers Club).
An item which jumped out at me was the caramel yellow lucite 3 strand necklace, it just seems so elegant and gorgeous I love it! i can see it with a beautiful day dress and a pair of gloves (just like they wore in bygone eras)- very Mad Men!
It is almost too hard to choose something else to feature as I love everything in the shop so much, but as I know how much Diane is a fan it has to be a tablecloth! The one I picked is this simply amazing Calla Lilly pink table cloth, so unusual! Although anyone who knows me would know I don't like the colour pink as a rule this just shows how truly fantastic this piece is!! So retro, we love it.Do go and look around this delightful slice of history.. you can see how you can transform your house into a vintage gem with just a few of these gorgeous pieces.
Finally...
If you are interested in featuring in another Free Love Friday please contact me via the blog or convo me via the shop on Etsy
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Janine...I am totally blown away with your write up of my etsy shop and about me! Wow! Thank you so much! You have me blushing! :O)
ReplyDeleteIt is so coincidental, that the 1960's seafood forks, and Coronation Teacup and saucer, are two of my favorite items at The Dorothy Days Etsy Shop! Take care, Diane :O)
Thank You so much for the feature. Such a great write up :). Diane- You have beautiul items in your shop :). I have been enjoying having a browse!
ReplyDeleteThanks again Janine :)
The Dorothy Days