Sunday 29 April 2012

When I grow rich, say the bells of Shoreditch (This is a long one, sorry!)

I have had a bit of a random adventure weekend! Was really nice actually, I'll summarise it then expand so hopefully I make a little more sense. I'm not hopeful. XD Friday evening I had a random catch up with an old acquaintance, Saturday (i.e. yesterday) morning saw the Avengers (Awesome!), Saturday afternoon I went to The Shoreditch Vintage Fair and I spent Saturday evening/night with one of my best friends, who I haven't seen since before my Easter holiday, hanging out at her sisters and now today I've been sleeping, eating and revising on and off (currently off :P). God damn Molecular Biology why won't you go in my brain!

So Friday evening I basically had a random visit from someone I hadn't seen in years, still can't quite work out how it all came about but it was basically with the aim of seeing the Avengers (Alright it's meant to be called 'Avengers Assemble' in the UK but I'm gonna ignore that because it sounds crap :P) first thing on Saturday (since my friend had to get to work for 3pm). So a nice 10am showing- woop! A free Hulk keyring mega woop! And one awesome sauce, action packed film... so much happened I don't really know what to say about it though! Except there were some exceptionally funny little bits of banter between the characters that I really enjoyed... I know a lot of people love the Hulk, and I do too, but my favourite is definitely still Thor (I really loved the movie of Thor as well ^_^), he is just gorgeous and awesome. Don't get me wrong Captain America is also pretty hot but something about the outfit is a little bit comical and off putting (more so than a Viking :P). I'm glad I randomly took the opportunity to catch up with my friend too because it was a lot easier to just chat to them than I thought it could have been and it's always a great feeling to regain or make a new friend!

So, now for my Shoreditch adventure... I have to say I've never really checked out that part of London much before, excepting a museum visit in Bethnal Green when I was much younger, but I keep meaning to take a good look round Brick Lane/Petticoat Lane/Spitalfields as it's something I've missed out for some reason. I found it ok anyway, nearly tried walking the wrong direction from the tube but worked it out thankfully! I'll include some pictures and then blabber on about the fair some more.

This one is sort of meant to represent my success in finding the fair (thanks to the wonders of the internet :P)

A rather blurred hand stamp... should have taken it before I got rained on!

Some of the lovely features of Shoreditch Town Hall (perfect venue for a vintage fair me thinks)

Lots of clothes, it was still pretty bustling even when I turned up around 4pm

More pictures of the ceiling

Scarves by the suitcase! This seemed to be the ultimate storage solution but this one was by far the largest/most stuffed

The Façade of Shoreditch Town Hall 

A really cool billboard for The Avengers I spotted on my way back to the station

Cool Building!

Huge shiny new buildings I felt the need to record!

Overall, I'd say I enjoyed taking a look round the vintage fair, it was something a little different and a good size, there was plenty to look at but equally it wasn't massive so you could just pop in and have a browse (there was an entrance fee but it seemed pretty reasonable, especially for a London event, at £2). It a little had the feel of a Church fete what with the old hall and the quaint little makeshift tea room though it was predominantly clothes, jewellery and accessories with the odd bits of Haberdashery, magazines etc. EDIT: And the smell I was completely forgetting the distinctive smell of old stuff in and old hall... I love it :D

Though I will comment, as I often find with Vintage clothing and hence was expecting,  things seemed fairly overpriced though I think in a lot of cases I would be more willing to pay out if I really thought it was something special. I understand the concept of things being one-offs/hard to find/handmade unique etc but equally all this stuff is second hand and if you are savvy you can often find some real gems at car boot sales and charity shops (though charity shops are beginning to discover the vintage phenomenon and have their own higher priced vintage/retro sections)  for a fraction of the price which is probably where traders pick up a lot of their stuff (I'm imagining house clearances would be a gold mine as well?). This is especially true of stuff from the sixties onwards but perhaps I would be more willing to pay out for vintage from the 50s and earlier. I did pick up a nice silk scarf for £3 though because it was so multicoloured and pretty!

I would say there was a pretty cool selection of clothes and a selection of new and old jewellery, including a stall from Sour Cherry which sells really cute and quirky  handmade jewellery (see http://shop.sourcherry.co.uk/epages/es133228.sf, they also have a facebook group) though I resisted buying anything from there, I don't think I could have decided anyway and can get everything online! I'm thinking when I finally get my ears pierced I will buy some earrings from the site, the prices really are quite reasonable and they ship internationally which is cool (though not a problem for me). Things that did keep cropping up were scarves in old battered suitcases and racks and racks of vintage Levi cut offs and general shorts, I clearly need to get into that business because you can sell those for a fair amount and I'm sure they're something that could be picked up cheaply at boot fairs :P Don't get me wrong I like both those things, I especially love a pair of shorts (though I have to admit the sheer amount of girls I see in vintage cut offs/shorts is growing a little tiring) but it did make me giggle somewhat, especially as I have bought similar vintage shorts for 40 pence before...

All in all the vintage fair was well worth taking a look at and it's something to remember for next year and also to keep an eye out for their vintage fairs around the country (https://www.facebook.com/VintageFair). It was also cool to find somewhere in London I'd never been before, there's so much to see and discover I feel it's time to stop going to the same old places though some places such as the Zoo, the Royal Academy open exhibition, the Science and Natural History museums and the Tate galleries always deserve a re-visit (planning on going to the Damien Hirst exhibition with my mum as I haven't been to the Tate modern in a very long time!). And there's certain shopping destinations (Oxford Street, Covent Garden and the wonderful wonderful wonderful Camden that are alwaysss on my list!

I then spent the evening with my wonderful friend being random and awesome and perhaps a little mad and talking about guys of course. I also met a lovely if crazy little Dachshund/jack russell cross who I massively want to steal... I had missed her massively and it was soo good to catch up, gotta give you a lot of love my dearest! :D Seriously we always have fun, the day we don't have a laugh together will be the end of all things... so that isn't going to happen :P

Rainbow Hugs!!!
xxx




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