Wow!!! What A Week!!

This has quite simply been an absolutely amazing week and we cannot thank you all enough for making it so special!!

The Lily & Violet Vintage Boutique has been in business for one whole week and there has hardly been a minute of that time when we have been alone in the shop....there has been a real buzz in the air and we are very chuffed to think that we have helped to create that.

Everyone that has walked through the door has had something nice to say - and it is all so lovely to hear!! It seems that the little 'ol town of Dursley has been just waiting for something to happen....and we think that we are just the start of that (and about time too!)

Totally Fabulous!!

We have had the pleasure of meeting some really lovely people this week and make some new friends along the way we hope!! We also kicked off our advertising campaign - albeit a bit low key for now.  We know that a few of you heard us live on Radio Gloucestershire this week and people came into the shop because they had heard us on air!!!

We have had a great time watching and listening to everyone's reaction to our shop and to the clothes we are selling.  As you know, every piece is totally unique and totally gorgeous and it has been really rewarding to see you emerge from the changing rooms looking totally fabulous.

On occasion we have been a little bit green eyed though, when one of our favourites looks fab and gets snapped up!!! Actually, that has happened quite a lot..... My favourite '60s shift dress - gone!! Those gorgeous red '70s shoes - gone!! The poodle scarf - gone!! The ostrich boa - gone!! This list could go on and on, so I'll stop now!!!!

Lily & Violet Vintage has had the occasional doubter too - but we really could count them on two fingers!! We know that Lily & Violet Vintage is going to be a great success and we will build our reputation to attract visitors from further afield. We know its what you want - and it is amazing to hear people walking out of the shop saying what a great time they have had - fantastic!!

Hana - a vision in pink!!

This week we have started #thronecam on instagram so when you are in town, make sure you are in our shop getting your mugshot on the throne!! For all you instagrammers out there, you can find us @lvvintagemaz and @lvvintagelisa.
This weeks offerings include the lovely Mrs Claire Hooper , queen of the throne, Uleygirl Nicola Davies (with whom we had a blast finding an outfit for a weekend wedding), and the absolutely gorgeous Hana and Rebecca Masters who were kind enough to try some of our special dresses on and looked spectacular in them!!! #if only.......

Breast Cancer Campaign

Our windows and boutique went pink for Breast Cancer Campaign on Saturday and we put our burlesque showgirl corset outside of the door.  It was getting quite a reaction from the bus that had stopped outside.  We would have loved to have been able to hear what was being said - it was funny,whatever it was!!  We love changing the view from the outside so we will be putting different clothes on the mannequins at very regular intervals.  Right now they have two of our very favourite dresses on - but then, they are all our favourites....it would be impossible for us to get it wrong...

Our doors are open every day from 9.30am 'til 6.00pm.  Come in and browse, have a mooch around.  And, please if you have been following us on Facebook read our blog etc, then introduce yourself - we would love to meet you properly!!

Mary & Lisa x 

"We declare the Lily & Violet Vintage Boutique OPEN"

OMG!!!!! We are ready to open the doors of the Lily & Violet Vintage Boutique!!!! We are soooo ready for this......are you?????

Getting ready for this day has been a really incredible experience - and we have loved every minute of it!!! - Even though we have been sick with anxiety for the past few days!!!  It is amazing to look around the shop that has now been transformed into Lily & Violet Vintage.  

As you know, we have handpicked all of the garments, accessories, shoes etc, and we have done exactly the same with the shop interior... Everything has been chosen especially for the look we wanted to create - and we think we have done OK!!

We managed to get the last few jobs done that we needed to... we probably missed a couple of price tags but nothing major was left undone - quite an achievement we think!!  

We attracted a crowd!!

The Cats That Got The Cream!

 So, we cut the ribbon at 10am and were so chuffed to see so many people there to wish us luck!! It all got a little bit emotional at that point, but there was no time to dwell on anything as we had a store full of shoppers!! And, shop you did!!

Our window displays were finally revealed as we cut the ribbon and they look pretty spectacular (even if we do say so ourselves!!).  We will be changing the mannequins very regularly and they will both be wearing pink next week as a show of support for Breast Cancer Campaign.  Our window theme is, of course, Lillies and Violets (what else??). Impressive impressionist we think!!!

Our fitting room was in use all day long and at 6pm closing time we still had people trying things on!!! Our first day could not have been any more perfect... Marj our Totally Tropical Caravan was gracing the Farmers' Market and receiving the attention she deserves, and the Boutique itself created quite a stir!!

What was really rewarding for us was to see people emerging from the changing rooms looking fabulous and feeling fantastic in the outfits they were trying on. Although we did have our eye on a couple of those pieces for ourselves.....(oh well, we will have to be quicker next time!!).  A few of our favourites have left the rails and are now gracing your wardrobes - just make sure you wear them!! and make the world a more unique, gorgeous, glamorous place!!

All of the comments we have received have been really positive. We were right .... Dursley is ready to ring in a few changes and we hope that we have contributed in some small way to that.

Bristol house 2014

Bristol House 1926

Everyone has said how pleased they are to see us in Dursley and what a different ambience we have managed to create.  We are offering a wide range of ladies vintage clothing and accessories but already we are being asked about adding to this.  It seems that the menfolk out there want a bit of a change too.......

Our doors will be open Monday to Saturday from 9.30am til 6.00pm.  We will probably review this in a couple of months time but would hope to stick with these hours and we plan to keep the caravans coming to the Farmers' Market once a month.

If you have got any suggestions for us, then please let us know..

Mary & Lisa x 

Its The Final Countdown!!

The Countdown Begins……..

Boxes everywhere!!

10……..With 10 days before opening we have been working our socks off to make sure that everything is exactly how we want it to be.  So we have all the stock in - (Phew!! at last you can move in my house!!!).  All of the shop cabinets etc have been brought in from storage.  It is all systems go…

9………So, we thought we knew exactly where all of the clothes rails and shop furniture was going to go… but, guess what??  When we started shuffling it around it didn’t look quite as we imagined!  But it was oh so close! So, after a couple of hours of deliberation we decided to flip all our ideas around and try a mirror image - and it worked!!  (And, we have managed to get a caravan in ;)

8………We put all of our boxes in our stock room and then started to fill the rails with the garments we wanted out first.  (You wouldn’t believe how much stuff we have got!!!!! )  We had already completed much of the labelling and measuring, but it still took ages to sort out. Then we got onto how to make it all look good - luckily Lisa is a pro at this and needless to say it looks AMAZING… 

7……….OK - thats today!! (scared / excited / shattered / emotional / excited / lucky / nervous / did we say excited??) We now have all of the wall hung stuff on the walls.  We were given a plate mirror and together with a couple of ‘rescued’ doors, it now looks absolutely fabulous.  We have wifi but yet have to try out ‘accepting card payments’.  And, we still have one light to fit - it arrived today but isn’t the right colour!!! AARrrrrrrggghhh.

6…..5…..4…..3…..2…..1     We will see next week if everything now goes to plan!!! This is the plan….although, it looks more like a massive to-do list!!

Slightly macabre - but we love them!

We have to finish a bit of labelling and still have to set out all of our hats, shoes, jewels and accessories.  Many hands will make light work of this one ;)    (come in and see what we mean!!)

We have our music to sort out. Sadly, we just won’t have the time for the old record player, or the cassette player that you had to press play and record at the same time if you wanted to tape anything! (remember those?) So we are going wireless techy…

Have you noticed how big our windows are???? They will be filled with a stunning window display (to be revealed on Saturday - to be made on Monday - fingers crossed our amazing plans work !)

Our sumptuous fitting room still needs a bit of soft furnishing to finish it off.  And the curtain tie backs need to be fitted - look out for them - they will not be like anything you have ever seen before!!!!

That must be about it…….We will let you know next week if the plan worked…

Wish us luck…..
Mary & Lisa x 

Introducing Marigold (soon to be the best exotic Marigold hotel / caravan)!!

Lily & Violet Vintage has been all about the shop just recently and we have not been spending as much time as we would like with our beloved fleet of vintage caravans :(

There are just not enough hours in each day to do all the brilliant stuff we want to do!!!

So this week we thought we would talk caravans and introduce you to Marigold (the newest addition to the family). And telling you about her will remind us of the work we still have to do…..and we can’t wait!!

Marigold - Just Rescued!!

Marigold is a true rescue caravan who came to us in the back of a skip!!  She is a very sad case of ‘caravan neglect’ and when we eventually re-home her it will be a very happy day!!! 

Marigold’s previous owners were past their caravanning days and didn’t really know what to do with marigold - so they left her - ignored and lonely :(

Marigold is a very exotic fold down caravan - a 1960’s Portafold to be exact.  She has been languishing at the bottom of a garden for many, many years and has a very impressive array of flora and fauna living and growing in and around her!!!  

A member of the Marigold family

She is a bit of a haven for spiders at the moment (making her a bit of a no-go area for Lisa!!).  And, she also has her very own bird life living inside!! - little Robins are nesting in her!!! That probably means that we will not be working on her for some time - at least until the robins have flown the nest! - much to Lisa’s relief (due to the spiders not robins)!! It also gives us time to plan what she is going to look like…..

We do seem to attract Robins and it is a bit of an ongoing theme for us.  Perhaps we were a bit too hasty in declaring our love of the Poodle…..a robin wouldn’t have worked though (although it does have its own flash of red - which we like).

Marigold is a 1960’s plastic construction that basically comprises of a trailer that forms the floor, 2 fold in sides, 2 fold in ends (one with the door) plus the roof. The roof was made with ‘wings’ and looks a bit like a ‘50s American car - this was so that you could store your all important dinghy in it…..an absolute caravanning must have for every family!!

The good thing about clip together plastic is that rust and damp are not an issue so, thinking positively, this should be just a repair and paint job.  It could never be that easy could it???

Obviously, this sort of construction is going to have an impact on the final ‘look’ for Marigold.  Lisa was loving the idea of a big chandelier but what happens when Marigold is folded down??? Can you hear the tinkling crystal…

Check out the gold quilted walls!

The inside of the caravan is really pretty special!! Marigold needs an awful lot of work but she still retains her gold quilted walls which were probably very sumptuous at one time.  When she is ‘ready for bed’ and her seats are converted, she turns into one gigantic bedroom - ok. gigantic is probably overstating it just a little!! 

So, what colour do you think Marigold should be?? At the moment we are thinking (predictably) oranges, yellows and golds. But we are open to suggestions - maybe she should have a woodland theme and we could paint in trees to replace the actual trees we remove… Or maybe she should be a vision of gold - simple!!  

And what about the inside? - should she have a retro feel (more in keeping with her era) or should we give her a complete makeover?? 

We would love to hear your ideas and you can take a look at the Lily & Violet pinterest boards to see our latest thoughts on the subject!! We have a little time before Marigold is due her revamp, so get your thinking caps on and let us know what you think!!

Mary & Lisa x 

A Sign of the Times

The time has finally come when we can show off to the world and have ‘Lily & Violet Vintage’ written above our shop front!!!! 

Luckily, we knew exactly what we wanted (and have known this pretty much from the start) - glittering letters in gold! What else???

Julie Vernon's Gromit - Love it!!

We were inspired by our very favourite Gromit - the gold mosaic one by the very talented Julie Vernon; the one that sat outside the Victoria Rooms in Bristol.  Stunning!!!  (Did you know that 10,000 tiles went into the making of this Gromit - probably about the same amount as our sign!!) 

Being a bit of a dab hand at the old mosaic herself, it was down to Lisa to come up with the goods and make our fabulous sign. And fabulous it most certainly is!!!! 

But making the sign was only the beginning - the fun really started when we went to put it up. You would never believe the stories we could tell you about the weekend we put up the sign…….

We started on Saturday and decided to spend the day cleaning the front up a bit, removing the old lettering and repainting the main board.  

Our first problem -  our favourite Bailey’s Paints shop didn’t have the right paint - Aarrgghh - How could that happen?? They always have every F&B colour known to…., well, mown to Messrs. Farrow and Ball (just not this time).  If you haven’t been to Bailey’s Paints, it is a bit of a decorating heaven!! 

They mixed us up some Little Greene paint - and it is an exact match!! So, next time you are told that F&B paints cant be copied, don’t believe them!!! 

Whilst visiting the paint shop it is compulsory to have a rummage through the antiques and salvage centre - brilliant little finds if you keep your eyes peeled and put your bargaining hat on!! - but it does make the paint a tad expensive - it is impossible not to buy that must have rickety step ladder with missing rung…. a snip at £120….they are antique after all…

Eventually we made it down to the soon to be Lily & Violet Vintage boutique armed with step ladders, fairy liquid, clothes, paint and brushes.  We had a bucket but no water. Nick (our fab new Landlord) - oooo Lord Nick maybe?? - was busy working on the floor just behind the door, so when we knocked requesting water he could only open the door an inch or two.  Our bucket is at least a foot across!!!

We popped in to the lovely ladies in Glow (fab hairdressers just up the road from us) who kindly gave us some hot water. At last we could get to work….

As we are on a bit of a slope, the step ladder that was perfectly fine at the top was just a little on the short side towards the bottom!! The situation was made all the more precarious with the addition of pedestrians!!

The mobility scooters - they really do motor along!! We spent a lot of time moving the ladder for them and their occupants, walking sticks, bags,baskets etc. etc. And every time  we moved the ladder they stopped exactly where the ladder had been to chat to us!! Lovely to be so friendly, but it made for slow progress!!

you'll have to imagine the scoot!!

We do love a scoot and thought we might have a window display with one at some point.  Probably more like a Lambretta or Vespa than a Mobility though….Picture the Eiffel Tower, a Lammy and a poodle - thats what we are thinking….

The Oldies - Dursley on a Saturday has its fair share of unstable walkers!!  We had never really noticed this before but they did seem intent on trying to knock us off the ladder when they grabbed hold as they ambled by!!

The Beepers - you know who you are!! All of your heckling and tooting made us smile but on occasion made us jump a mile!! (not very good when you are on the top of a ladder!).

Whoop!! Whoop!!

So, after scrubbing cleaning, peeling and repainting on Saturday, all that was left to do on Sunday was fix up the lettering!! Easy!! We had expert help from Bri and it went up like a dream!!

We are totally thrilled with the result. And we think that it gives you a very good idea of what to expect from the Lily & Violet Vintage Boutique before you set a foot inside the door.  We know from all of the amazing, wonderful comments that we have received that you like it too.

Next stop: moving in!!!! Soooooo exciting!!!

Mary & Lisa x 

Going Live!!!!

For the past few months we have been busily gathering stock, securing premises, renovating caravans, planning our shop opening and very importantly sorting out our branding and web site.

The ‘branding’ - yes, this is what the showcasing of our business is called (we didn’t know that either!) - well that was something that would be quite easy to do wouldn't it???  We thought “how hard can it be??”.  Surely, it is just a case of putting together a few words and a few photos, decide what the sign above the shop and on the web site should look like and there you have it!! Half a days’ work  at most….

How very wrong we were!!…

Our Lady in Red - She helped shape our thinking

Firstly, we needed to decide on the look and feel that we want for Lily & Violet Vintage. This was really the easy part for us because we knew that we wanted something glamorous and opulent looking, but also something a little bit quirky - as you know, this is no ordinary vintage venture!

So next up was researching lots of other web sites and shops just to try and figure out what we do and don’t like. This resulted in quite a lot of ‘days out’ scouting the local high streets for inspiration....

Honestly, that is what we were doing!!...   Although we were occasionally distracted and ended up ‘shopping’, we were (for the most part) very focused.  
No, really - we really were!! We only bought a couple of pairs of shoes and the odd scarf or two between us!!!

Next up - agreeing the content for the website…We are having all the usual - About Us, Contact Us, Clothes, Caravans (if you call that usual) etc.. That bit wasn’t too bad but filling it up with words and pictures was a whole different matter….

The words…

We have spent hours pondering over the wording, is it too twee? does it sound too ‘friendly’ ? Are we just talking rubbish?  And the answer to all of these was (at times) yes!!  

You would think that words would come quite easily to us - those that know us personally would never expect either of us to be stumped for a word or two!! But actually, sometimes we were!!  And, other times we just wrote gibberish (mmmm?!?!)

Lovely Models
 - Rubbish Photographer!!

The pictures…

Oh come on!! We can all take brilliant photos, can’t we?? With today’s new-fangled digital technology, of course we can all take a few great photos of a few great outfits! 

No, no no - it is so much harder than the professionals make it look!  Firstly, we shot into the light (wrong!!) Then the outfits were for Winter (wrong!!)  Then the day was overcast (wrong!!) Then the indoor light was too harsh (wrong!!)  - you get the picture - ha... ha...That said we are improving with age (in every respect but particularly in the photographer stakes)!

We have had a number of photo shoots and have now got a great ‘look’ - but this has been a long road and we are improving all the time! 

The branding aspect of setting up Lily & Violet Vintage has proved to the one thing that has really shaped our thinking and helped us to understand what it is we are all about. It has made us consistent in what we are doing and has meant that we have not gone ‘off track’.

Luckily for us, we have the most fantastic designer you could wish to meet.  Kirsty McGibbon of Sharper Marketing has been our guiding light!  And this is no overstatement - she has completely understood what we are trying to achieve and translated this into a fantastic web site, created our logo, designed our business cards, created our facebook page…the list goes on….

We really need you all to go and have a look at our web site and tell us what you think of it.  It has links to our facebook page, our Oodles of Poodles blog (you are reading it!!) and to Pinterest. This is particularly cool because it means that we can take snaps or our new stock and upload them to our Pinterest boards and you can all see them right away. And we have mood boards for the caravans so you get a glimpse of what is inspiring us!!!

If you, or anyone you know of is looking for this sort of thing, we cannot recommend Kirsty highly enough. Don’t try and go it alone - speak to Kirsty.  She is based in Stroud and can be contacted through her website http://sharper-marketing.co.uk  or you can let us know and we will be very pleased to put you in touch..

We are totally thrilled with our website and everything that goes with it.  Thank You Kirsty!!  We would really love to know what you think too so please put a note on here or on our Facebook page and let us know what you think of it…

Mary & Lisa x 

Yay ….. Aaarrrrghhh - It’s Market Day for Marj!!!

Before………

This morning we are feeling just a little bit nervous!! Today is market day and we have decided that the time is right for Marj's grand unveiling.  

The forecast for today is….you’ve guessed it! - rain!!!! And it has been chucking it down all night!! Luckily, Marj has been water tested on a number of occasions recently and has survived the bombardment of weather that Mother Nature has been able to throw at her.  So, we can’t let a few potential (hopefully!) showers put us off!!  We are more worried for us than for Marj….

Marj is taking everything in her stride - her paintwork is looking as lovely as the day she was painted, her cushions have been plumped, her curtains have been straightened and she is ready to be unveiled to what we hope is her adoring public!!

As you know, Marj is the first of the Lily & Violet Vintage fleet and she really is our baby.  When we first got her she was just a little bit hard to love (a little bit battered and tired looking to say the least), but with all of the tender love and care she has received, she has blossomed into something very special!! 

I guess this morning we will find out what others think of her…

We spent the day yesterday making sure that Marj is ready for her grand unveiling, but that has done nothing to calm our nerves.  

We will be putting Marj in place in just an hours time and hope that some of our friends and followers will stop by to take a look and say hello…… 

Now, have we got everything???? Memory is not a strong point for either of us so we survive with randomly scattered lists - the list for today is pretty short: 

• Marj (she is essential), 
• the photo record of her transformation (to aide our memory and show you all the before and afters), 
• chairs (we aren’t as young as we used to be!!),
• our business cards (we have to keep reminding ourselves that Marj is for sale :(  and that we are actually in business). 

Personal number plate too!

Life is just so much fun though, it is easy to forget that we are supposed to be working!

OK its time! - we are off to Dursley Farmers Market with our little Marj….

And after……

Phew!!! That was such good fun!! 

Our experience this morning just goes to prove that we are not totally mad!! 

All set up at the Market

Maybe the concept of the rescued vintage caravan is a bit ‘out there’ (especially a caravan that has a name and is really one of the family). But when you step inside Marj your imagination runs wild!! 

Marj had a blast meeting everyone and finding out how they would incorporate her into their daily lives!! She is a complete star and loved by everyone who sees her. 

Thank you to everyone who stopped by and made our morning so special.  We have been overwhelmed by the support we have received and are so pleased that you all love Marj. That said, Marj is one special lady and so we aren’t really surprised at everyone’s reaction to her… but still very, very chuffed.

Any time is Cocktail time with Marj

The only thing we could have done better was to give out totally tropical cocktails and had some grass-skirted models… 

Actually, I do have a vague recollection of the promise of a grass skirt and coconut shells….. you know who you are!!!

You can check out more pictures of Marj on our shiny new web site www.lilyandvioletvintage.co.uk 
Mary & Lisa x