A little bit about Vintage Pink

My love of vintage started at a very young age where, at weekly flea market visits, I began a collection of little china jugs and vases. Though picked up for just pennies, each item was quite superior to the 'plastic tat' pocket money would usually buy and, of course, the thrill of the hunt and joy of the find meant that my seeking of vintage treasures endured.

The next logical step as I became a teenager and buying my own clothes was of course second-hand clothes and as I had already established that the best stuff was old stuff I would scour second hand shops. I loved jackets and pretty silk scarves, as I still do to this day. It’s called ‘vintage clothing’ now … a much more acceptable term than ‘second-hand’ (I certainly find it sounds a lot more socially acceptable at gatherings to announce your dress, bag, whole outfit as ‘vintage’ from a ‘vintage shop’ than ‘second-hand’ from a charity shop!)

And now I have a home it is naturally crammed with vintage finds – items that are precious to me in many ways. As a lover of history I allow my imagination to weave possible histories around each piece – the tea parties my china might have taken part in, the children who played with my old wooden toys, what life was like for the lady who embroidered my tablecloth. It really is the untold story that enthrals me.

There is also the comfort that something that has a slightly ‘lived in look’ brings: furniture from yesteryear is so much cosier and comfier to live with than something new and pristine that you’re in fear of using. I am also very keen on ‘vintage inspired’ and ‘shabby chic style’ because of the harmonious feel of those pieces even though they aspire to, rather than having true, time-worn charm. I freely mix original vintage with those of vintage style.

I appreciate the quality often intrinsic in vintage items as things were not only made to last in days gone by (after all 50, 80, 100 years and they’re still here!) some made to an amazing standard with talents that are rare nowadays.I can dwell on a drawn thread cloth for ages just marvelling at the patience, or a hand-coloured 1930’s tea-cup … such beauty rarely rivalled today.

Not forgetting of course that vintage is so affordable and can often be a fraction of the cost of a new counterpart. There is also the ‘eco-friendly’ draw of vintage – the old watering can planted with spring bulbs and looking beautiful was nearly landfill somewhere and lost forever.

But I’m not completely obsessed by the past – after a career in IT I welcome the future and ‘gadgety things’ so for me there is a harmony of blending those aspects of life with treasures from the past – a vintage floral picture hung above a modern hi-fi, the sleek laptop on a shabby desk. It is really then fusion of the past with present which sums up my style. No particular era wins – the beauty of the 1930’s with the kitsch of the 1950’s wrapped around and nestling co with modern living.

So where did my trading title ‘Vintage Pink’ come from – well the vintage bit is obvious if you’ve stuck with me this far and pink is my favourite colour, but not any shade of pink it has to be in a very narrow spectrum range I term ‘vintage pink’ (though is also ‘antique pink’) a peachy, faded pink, the colour often seen in regency era drawing rooms and mid-1900’s eiderdowns.

Now just to say welcome to my little shop: a fusion of vintage, vintage inspired and things that I've crocheted or sewn in my little craft room. Thank you for stopping by,

Louise