introducing....the vintage drawer

...is now officially.....

...ta da....after many many long hours and 1367 miles of stitching we have made it!!! We would like to present to you our brand new collection 'THE VINTAGE DRAWER'.

The influence behind the collection is a development of the trend ‘make do and mend’, and the love of all things vintage and eclectic that is currently inspiring us all. Each piece is made from vintage and retro linens and haberdashery, all made by hand with love and care, here in the sewing corner of the studio. It is perfect for those of you who are searching for stationery that feels and looks as if it has been made in the 1940’s/50’s – a little piece of nostalgia on your day. Whether that be to choose the whole range or one product......You could also mix both of our Printed and The Vintage Drawer Collections together, The Embroidery Collection and The Fauna Collection works particularly well with the linen range and can also be re-coloured...

...there are many products to select from and we couldn't possibly place images of them all here within this post. But if you browse through the last few months pages of this liitle blog, as well as our 'daily record' blog studio snippets, you will be able to see a whole scrapbook of images that have been taken, documenting it's journey. Invitations, menus, place names and numbers, washing line seating plans.....we have also produced a collection of gift, reception and home products, all showing over at the new web site. So if you have a spare 5 minutes today then pop over and have a little browse through the pages.

...all of the information for each product is there but if you have any questions at all then please email us here at the studio, info@vickytrainor.co.uk and we will be happy to help!

...we have lots of products that are already made and ready to be sent out to a new home and owner. For non personalised products such as table numbers and receptions signs, gifts and favours as well as our new door signs, we have brochure sheets (see below) to be emailed through to enquirers, each product is numbered so you only have to let us know which number you have selected, the process of ordering is so easy.

For the more personalised products such as invitations and menus, then we will need to have a little chat about your requirements and timescales etc so again, email or telephone to discuss your wedding/celebratory plans......

well, lets get onto the fun bit....our little giveaway...

...we would like to offer two readers their chance to win one of our reception or door signs of their choice from our brochure annnnddd, as an additional bonus, if you don't see a sign that is appropriate for your abode or special day we will make you a more personalised sign, whether that be a specific reception table sign, your business name, a nickname, a cheeky little message.........the choice is yours.... ...all you have to do is leave a comment below to let us know why you would like to win one of our little appliqued signs and tell us also your favourite product from the new vintage drawer collection....simple....

closing date for the giveaway is Valentines Day

the winners will be posted here on the 15th February

...good luck to all who enter and we can't begin to tell you how excited we are about our new little collection....why not become a follower of the blog and always be up to date on news, happenings and any future offers or giveaway..!!!!

6 hours to go...

...no rest for us on a Sunday, tomorrow is a very big day here at the studio. Our new collection launches with it's own little web site and we are just putting the finishing touches in place, organising samples and general trying to have a tidy up!!!! So pop back tomorrow and celebrate with us as we are having a little giveaway too....

These images were taken only a few hours ago and every single inch of the studio currently looks like this!!!.......products and labels everywhere, and it looks amazing....see you tomorrow!!

cotton and lavender

...the next task that I am looking forward to working on (once the vintage drawer is all catalogued and completed) is to re-work the cotton and herb collection so that we can offer it as a printed collection and collaged collection, above are some of the stitched collage panels produced today for a sample set...

the emails that made my day...

...I have had two lovely surprises today. The first were these lovely images sent to me by Julie from Vintage & Cake - she won the name tie in our last giveaway and I made her a special little sign for her kitchen. She was so happy with it that she decided to use it in her latest shoot of her latest sweet vintage bakings.......

The second was a wonderful surprise and absolutely made my day - we received our first order for invitations and reception stationery for the new vintage drawer collection. As you know this is a little early as we are not launching until Monday but Lisa wanted to ensure that she was first in the queue and we welcome her aboard and look forward to working with her which will be documented over at Studio Snippets!!!.

"We are having a wedding reception at a very old english cricket pavillion (the birth place of cricket) and we are holding a 1940's style tea party along the veranda (weather permitting!) We are hiring vintage crockery/ ice cream tricycle/ and traditional garden games. We are having a pimms reception and a jazz band... I thought the invites would fit perfectly with 1940's 'make do and mend' ethos! (Shame I don't have the time or patience to do them myself!)" (a little snippet from the email)....

We have already sold a few items from the collections - so if there is anything you would like to see or discuss before Monday please email me at info@vickytrainor.co.uk and I will be happy to help.......and remember to visit the blog on Monday and follow the link to the new site, we will also be having a teeny weeny giveaway!!!!

mad ol' stationer

I feel as if my head has been in a haberdashery mist for the last few weeks as the final products are finished and the fine details of the new collection's web site are put to bed. I have loved every single minute of the journey, gathering ideas and creating the new stationery for the vintage drawer. I am now rather quite tired (visually exhausted), I have been working very long hours every day since new years day and I am ready to get straight back into a routine on Monday morning when all will be launched.

An exciting 2011 is ahead, already lots of new enquiries, the order book is looking healthy and future magazine and blog features to look forward to. We only took on a hand full of orders for January so we could commit to the development and promotion of the new line of stationery, so apologies if the Studio Snippets blog seems to have been a little neglected, but we are slowly getting back up to pace....and thank you to all of you who have taken time to continue to stop by (and our new readers too!!!) and see, on a daily basis, what this mad old stationer is getting up to!!!!!

the latest addition...

...another working weekend, here's the latest addition to the Vintage Drawer Collection although this is the only product that will be made from card and is a development of our printed Embroidery Collection. The individual flowers will be available to buy and will be £3.00 each. You can buy a bunch for the centre of each table or use them individually against napkins or message tags. And...as they have a wire stem you can even wrap them around 'things'...let me know what you think and how you may use them...love to hear your ideas...

...there are some more images over at Studio Snippets if you want to take a peak....right off to embroider and then embroider some more........photographing the collection for some marketing features tomorrow - so a very very exciting week ahead.....

the late shift

obsessed with desert island discs

...there are nine whole days before the launch of the vintage drawer collection, (gulp!) a list 2 metres long, of tasks, still to be done. Been working very long hours this week, ensuring that we are on top of orders, sample packs, enquiries before we even start the finer details of photographs, brochure sheets, web pages, marketing, and this week have been answering interview questions for Brides up North which was a refreshing change from the norm and very exciting and I will be starting an interview for Rock n Roll Bride next week which I think will be posted on the 1st February......so here's a peak into the finished sewing cases and other bits and bobs. Hope you are all doing something a little 'enriching' this weekend. I will not be venturing far and will mainly be sat in my sewing chair working on products, catching up with i-player, particularly 'Hattie' and I am a little obsessed with Desert Island Discs, may compile my own list for pure personal indulgence one day, re-visiting music that I haven't listened to for a while - currently can't stop listening to Bob Dylan and Lisa Hannigan. What are you up to this weekend, let me know and try and make me jealous while I sit here stitching yet another 21 miles!!!!?

a little announcement regarding our prices

...I have, for the first time this January, a day off!!!! - tomorrow will be spent rummaging around local vintage and charity shops in search for little vases and vessels and I will try very hard to not buy anything for the house - and although the purchases are for the studio it won't feel as if i am working, although each day never feels like 'hard work' - just a simple dance between paper, card, fabric and thread...

I also wanted to make a little announcement that as from the 1st of February our prices will be increasing. We have fought so hard to keep the increase to a minimum but as all of our suppliers have been increasing costs over the last 6 months we too now have to do the same. So for those readers who were thinking of placing an order soon, you may want to send in your order form by Monday 31st January so you can take advantage of the current prices, you do not have to receive your stationery immediately, but we can place your order on hold and retain stock for you...you can email me at info@vickytrainor.co.uk if you have any questions.

87 miles of stitching

...yesterday I worked late into the night, bringing a sense of order to the new products made for the vintage drawer. We are launching the collection on Monday the 31st of January so all needs to be ready and catalogued and I still have a further 87 miles of stitching to do...we will also be giving away one of our little signs as a mark of celebration and this will be posted on launch day too.