My artwork is being exhibited!

Hello everyone!

Sorry I haven't posted in literally months... woops.. I've been so so busy!

Firstly, I have just started my final year at Uni so been bogged down with dissertation stuff. I've also been getting really back into my fitness regime after a super greedy Summer.. but lastly, I've finally started expanding my portrait business!! I am so so excited about this. Up until now I've been doing the odd bespoke commission for people.. but now my little venture has taken a new direction - my stuff is being exhibited in a shop!

After being approached by Violet Rose Vintage in Shrewsbury, I've started to put together a small collection of pieces based on 50s and 60s icons. Here are a few of the pieces that are now up in the shop!

"Audrey Hepburn in blue" A3, watercolour and marker pen

"Elvis" A3 in gouache and pen

"Marilyn in pinks and whites" A3 in acrylic and marker pen

'Twiggy in blue' A2, in gouache, oil and watercolour paint.

Please please please pop in and have a look! I am really hoping that some of my work sells. :)

10A St John's Hill  Shrewsbury SY1 1JD

01743 232831

My favourite items at the moment...

My loooovely housemates had a little surprise in store for me the other day. Coaxed to the Bullring despite a hangover from Hell, I was greeted upon my arrival with a...

PIZZA HUT BIRTHDAY PARTY!

No joke, salad bar, ice-cream factory: the lot. I am not lying when I say I was moved to tears.

And to top it all off, they bought me a prezzie too... This gorgeous rucksack.

 

 

Upon asking where it had been sourced from, I was answered with an ambiguous "somewhere" - which gives me a sneaky feeling it may be from U.Outfitters. (Getting stuff from there as a present is a delight - don't get me wrong. I just disagree with their business morals. I do not disagree with this bag - it's amazing.)

As well as this bag, I've treated myself to a new "school bag." Getting a new school bag was always one of the few perks of going back to school.

Year after year I would pester my mum for the latest must-have bag - which were mainly, in hindsight, horrendous. I endured the Warehouse epidemic, the Jane Nor fad and I even have faint memories of being the envy of my friends with a (somewhat dykey) Animal rucksack. But any way - here it is...

 

Only £18 in the monsoon sale. YUM.

Now, just because it's snowing does mean you shouldn't look G. I've been LIVING in my pink Timberlands. Great grip, eye-catching.. I get a lot of sticks from the housemates for looking like a single mum called Shaneekwa but I love them. They're so sturdy. And make me feel a bit less white. :)

Pat Butcher, eat ya heart out

I have been a very very spoiled girl this year.

 

I don't really know where to start - but I think it all really started a few weeks when I was round at my Grandma's house. It was the start of the Christmas holidays, and I was happily chilling with Grandma when the inevitable question arose:

 

"Have you thought about what you want for Christmas?"

 

I hate this question because I always feel like I'm being really greedy by asking for something. My Grandma has always been excellent at presents, but as I've got older she's asked me what I want so that she knows it'll be something I will actually wear/use.

 

So I bit the bullet.

"I really really want a fur coat."

 

My Grandma smiled slightly put down her sewing.

"That's handy," she said.

 

Now I should give you some background information here. My Grandma, having had my mum at 19, is a pretty young Grandma. She's very feisty, and is never seen without a full head of highlights. In short, she's a very trendy (ew, hate that word) Grandma, and cares a lot about what she looks like. Which I guess is maybe where my mum gets it from, and in turn, where myself and my sisters get it from.

 

"I have one up in my loft. I was planning to send it to the Hospice Shop with Grandad."

 

 

 

This is my Grandad. ^ My Grandad is the love of my life. He's very soppy and silly and has spoilt us girls rotten all our lives. He's retired but he works in a charity shop for the local Hospice every Friday. Before I knew it, Grandma had dispatched Grandad to crawl around in the loft to look for the garment in question. I waited in excitement until I heard the words:

 

"Here it is! I've got it!"

 

It. Is. Perfect.

 

A dark mahogony brown, with a small, single latch to fasten it at the front. The sleeves are just long enough for my lanky arms - which is always a pain for me when buying jackets. It's a size 12, but that's okay because I can always wear one of my big chunky jumpers underneath to pad it out.

 

 

The photo just doesn't do it justice... but I'll upload some photos of me wearing it soon! (It's not actual fur by the way. Just in case you were wondering. I know I have admitted before that I am all for fur but this is faux-fur, and therefore even better.)

 

I've worn this coat to death ever since Grandma gave it to me. I've worn it out for meals, I've dressed it down with jeans and boots in the day... I even wore it to bloody Morrison's for God's sake, and I have never felt more middle class in my life.

 

 

 

I've been called everything from Pat Butcher to Cruella but the truth is - when I wear this coat I feel fabulous. and it has that gorgeous 'Grandma smell' that we all know and love.

 

So thank you, Grandma!

I have been made a very happy girlie with this coat.

Ode to thrift

At dawn I wake, with good intent

To make sure all my money's spent

I'll head to town, I will not wait,

Knowing my day will surely be great.

don't have a job, hence little cash,

To squander on this worthy trash.

But what I've got, I must make sure,

Is destined for velvet, silk and fur.

I head to Digbeth, knowing full well that,

There I will find my abundant tat

I'm greeted by satin in all patterns and shades,

My desire for bright colour never fades.

Before I know it, my hands are full,

With denim jackets, blouses, and wool

It smells of must, but I don't care,

Some are even a little threadbare.

I try them all on and to my delight,

They all fit wonderfully, perfectly right!

It's amazing how, in piles of junk,

One can find such wonderful funk.

I dash to the counter, tenner in hand,

This escapade has gone just as planned.

So remember this, my frivolous friends,

A real fashionista customises and mends.

Are Student Lock-Ins worth the hype?

Student lock-ins are shopping events held frequently around Birmingham - enticing all students in the city to squander their loans by taking advantage of big discounts and offers.

Shopping on a Saturday in the Birmingham Bullring is, for most, as enjoyable as attending a 9am seminar with a hangover. Personally, I believe that student lock-in events can be a similar experience.

Lock-ins tend to run outside of day-to-day shopping hours (usually between 6pm and 10pm) and involve the big-name chains such as River Island, H&M and Topshop offering out-of-the-ordinary discounts for students.

But here's the catch (well, one of them) - it is key to sign up online for these events, which involves a tedious online form. Then, upon arrival at the Bullring, there is a queue to pick up your confirmation of registration before you can actually start shopping. This whole routine is what one might call - for want of a better word - a "faff."

Granted, if you are willing to go through the motions, lock-ins can be brilliant when it comes to finding bargains. For example, Forever 21 - a huge high street store exclusive to Birmingham and London in the UK - has, on several occasions, offered a huge 21% discount for students. So, if one had seen something in there prior to the event but couldn't justify paying full price, these sort of events can make buying a treat less of a blow to a student purse or wallet.

However, with some of the shops (Mango for example), there is a further requirement - having a standard University ID Card is not enough. For a few of them, you'll need an NUS card - so it is a good idea to check the small print before setting your heart on something.

The main thing that personally turns me off is the sheer amount of people. Topshop during a lock-in can get pretty claustrophobic, and if you're more of a 'browser' the packed shops are not ideal. In addition to this, it's near impossible to try anything on as the queues become ridiculous.

On the other hand, lock-ins can be a great way to socialise - making a refreshing change to a night out. And for some, a lock-in may prove to be a cheaper alternative! As well as the shopping perks, a lot of food chains also offer deals during these events - big names such as The Homemade Burger Co. usually make an appearance on the list. So it does provide a cheap meal out for a group of housemates who don't fancy 9p noodles for the 4th night running.

Lock-ins can be fun. But if you are looking for an easy amble around the shops then you're better off going on a weekday. If, on the contrary, you are a ruthless bargain-hunter with your eye on the prize, you could find a real gem. Or a pair of gems.

My new houndtooth jeans.

Look at my new houndtooth jeans.

Aren't they just da bomb? I was bored of wearing blue and black jeans all the time so I thought "bollocks to it" and bought these little beauties.

They were actually only £15 in the River Island sale (although I've just looked again and they've gone down further to £10... FML.)

Nice little crotch shot there.

So yeah, I'm in wuv. I wore mine with an oversized, red, woolly jumper and I looked like a massive Scottish haggis but I don't even care. Long live Scotland. And long live my new jeans.

Mr. Bird's Emporium



So this place looks brilliant.

Check out the latest addition to Digbeth's vintage clothing scene, Mr. Bird's Emporium.



Was given a flyer in Urban Village and I cannot WAIT to get down there. I've heard very good things. My housemate came back with a lovely, cosy-looking Christmas jumper covered in reindeers. So I better get down there sharpish!

So this is happening. Wow. Goodbye money, was nice knowing you.


Will let you know how I get on and what bargains I find. I have needed a velvet burgundy blazer for ages now...

And a bow tie.  :)

Birmingham Vintage Fair

Today was a big day in Birmingham.

The Vintage Fair arrived! 4 times a year, The Custard Factory in Digbeth is overrun with vintage-sellers flogging their wares to people looking for something new. (Or looking for something old? Works either way.)

Such a good vibe here. There's a few little boutiquey shops set up in actual shop fronts by various sellers, which are really fun to look around. There was a particular one that had a lovely little section devoted to vintage pyjamas and nighties... But the thought of someone's naked boobies on a vintage night-gown gives me the heebie-jeebies. They were pretty to look at though. But more in a museumy way.  The best established shop by far though is Urban Village. (But I will bore you more about that in a bit.)

Me getting my tourist on just outside. Backpack and all.

  

I'd heard about The Custard Factory Vintage Fair last year and had really wanted to go, but the usual hurdles of first year (namely stonking HMV-hangovers) had meant that I 'never really got round to it.' So this year I vowed that I would go.

It pretty much was what I expected. My pet peeve about these sort of events is that sometimes, when something is given the 'vintage' title, some sellers take the piss. My housemate found the Primark blouse that she was actually wearing on one of the rails (incidentally - she had paid £1 for it.) donning a pricetag of £12. You've got to be kidding me. If you were to find the same item in a charity shop it would probably be being sold for what it is genuinely worth. Not playing on people's willingness to pay to follow fashion.

There were a mix of stalls in the actual fair, some specializing in certain areas such as jewellery/costume pieces, and others that were more like jumble sales. One glamourous granny was selling all tops for a fiver, which in my eyes is reasonable for on-trend second-hand clothes. At the other end of the scale were sellers who had 'reclaimed' older pieces by splash-dying them and sticking studs on. For a quick fashion fix these sorts of stalls are brilliant - studded Levi's shorts going for £20, when people are paying £40 for an identical pair in sodding Urban Outfitters. (Fucking hate that place.) However, the skin-flint in me would never actually BUY anything from these stalls unless something really stood out. A lot of the things you can do yourself if you put your mind to it. But if you can't be arsed, then this sort of thing is perfect.

 

To be fair though, even if you don't BUY anything, the Custard Factory is a pretty cool place in its own right. I mean, look at this massive wooden scarecrow. Makes The Bull look like a crock of shit.

So in the end I only bought one item from the actual fair (a lovely silky smock top with silver and black flowers all over it... I envision it worn with leggings and Cons.) for a fiver off the aforementioned Glam-Gran. But I couldn't help popping in to Urban Village on my way out to look at the camo jackets...

A Lesson In Purchasing a Camo Jacket

This camo-jacket is being sold on the Urban Outfitters website for £48.00. Similarly, in Topshop there are a few going for over £50. I got my genuine, gorgeous, lovely lovely lovely camo jacket from Urban Village for £12. I shit you not. I am in love with my new jacket. They have a rail devoted to them in there, all different sizes and styles. Granted, mine had a couple of German badges on the arms, but they were easy to quickly unpick when I got home. Moral of the story? Don't buy one from a high street store. You'll get ripped off.

Will upload a picture of it tomorrow... All that rummaging has worn me out.