Introducing Urban Vagabond

Welcome to Urban Vagabond where we mix old with the new! Some of the materials we use are vintage and pre-loved, therefore some variation is likely due to the nature of the products. All our products are lovingly created and handmade with care.

We are Val and Vikki, mother and daughter and have been crafting all our lives. Mum was taught all she knows by her Nan and passed it all on to me. Mum would make all our clothes and as a child and I would sit in my room making something and talk to the wall (my imaginary TV camera) and pretend I was on Why Don’t You!!

Our love of crafting comes from turning old into new. We particularly love old and vintage buttons and this is the thread which holds all our items together.
Lots of things inspire us but ultimately crafting is just who we are. We are always coming up with new ideas, but there aren’t enough hours in the day, as at the moment this is part time – but I have my dreams of a studio in St Ives to keep me going!

We are currently preparing for our first craft fair which is exciting and terrifying in equal amounts, but having decided that this is the year to put ourselves out there we are doing it in style by showing our wares at the Truly Scrumptious Vintage and Handmade Craft Fair, and if we don’t sell anything it will be a great experience and lovely to meet other crafters.

As relatively new sellers in this market place, bar the odd commission over the years, this crafting community is a lovely place to be. Everybody has been so supportive, friendly and helpful and are always there to spur us on and provide us with confidence.

urban vagabond - Folksy

urban vagabond -Facebook

Introducing the marvelous Mrs Marmalade

There is the most wonderful lady sewing away in Blackpool, she makes the most adorable pincushions with kitsch trinkets on top and gorgeous patchwork quilts that make you think of home, her designs are bright, cheerful and unique just like her, as a stallholder and a good friend I asked her about her crafting:

She said "The joy of homemade has always charmed me - reworking vintage loveliness into "new" and finding lost treasures appeals to the Mrs Marmalade in me. Making quilts is a pleasure I have been making baby and dolly quilts for 10 years and just can't stop :O] x!"

 Always on the look out for unusual finds she scours charity shops and boot sales looking for interesting pieces to add to her wonderful kitsch collection of trinkets .

She takes pieces of vintage and retro fabric and turns them into the most lovely fun

items for your home, she explains she was a late starter, just a decade of making and a dreadful sewing student at school she is only too happy to sew and make in place of everyday busyness, she is most happiest sewing, creating and reading blogs!

Her displays at craft fairs make you instantly smile, so cheerful and full of colour, she would love nothing more than to give up the day job and craft full time, she has got a keen eye and a natural flair for putting colours and fabrics together.

I asked her if she had three wishes what would they be?

Three wishes ........
1. Wear glasses that stay on my nose ! :o]
2. Remember to put felt tip lids back on ! :o]
3. .... and not to behave too starstruck ..... Oh My Gosh .... Dottie Angel :O] x !!
Joking aside, I really only need happy and healthy and my family and friends for my dreams to come true xxxxxxxx

When she isn't at home she spends time walking Walter the adorable family dog and being generous to her friends by finding just the right things she knows we like.

Lately she has made some gorgeous dresses for the girls at Children of Watamu, since the year 2000 the charity has been very hard working in Watamu in many ways, The Happy House opened in March 2010. It is home to children who have been orphaned, abandoned, and in some cases cruelly abused. It is a Happy home for children. When you stand outside you hear laughter and singing. When you come inside you see happy, healthy, smiling faces

Here are two of the girls wearing Mrs Marmalade's latest fashion range, she is also busy making bunting for the shelter charity shop and trying out new patterns to add to her range of crafty makes.

Her life motto is "Work hard and be nice to people :O]"

You can find her on facebook where it would make her day if you "like" her page and folksy where she sells her peg dolls and quilts x

lovley links

I spend ages looking at other blogs and would like to share some inspirational ones with great pictures ( I love blogs with pictures!), if you have any please comment and share, I'm always wanting more, "Hi my names Ruby and I'm a craft addict" - that would make a great T-shirt! Anyway enough rambling here are some lovely links x

                                 http://cinderberrystitches.typepad.com/cinderberrystitches/page/2/

                                                      http://carinascraftblog.wardi.dk/

                                                     http://www.printpattern.blogspot.com/

                                                          http://craftblog.com.au/

All photos above each link belong to the link underneath, they are owned entirely by the website owners and I have only used them in this post to show the kind of thing that is on each site x

Our fantastic line up for the fair!!!

This Fair is different, unique and special, it brings together handpicked designers, crafters and vintage dealers who either make wonderful Handmade items or sell gorgeous Vintage treasures.

If you love Vintage and Retro items and appreciate the love and time gone into creating unique items, then the vintage and handmade craft Fair is for you!

There will be a very talented lady doing face painting, we hope to secure a vintage car and lots of other lovely things to make the day special, come in vintage wear if you can, you will be photographed and featured on the blog like a starlet!

Also there will be a cafe area serving delicious homemade cakes as well as a selection of teas, chicory drink and coffee on vintage tea ware. We also cater for dairy free and gluten free dietary needs.

Please do come along and support us, free entry. There is on site free parking.

We know have the line up of stalls that will be selling there beautiful items:

Dotty Delightful  - handcrafted delights

Melodie murphy  - felted teasets and other lovely things

Mrs Marmalade -  peg dolls, pincushions and beautiful bunting

Achtland Boutique         -   vintage clothing, bags, shoes and more

Elizabeth Gomm -  Happy house bracelets, bags and more

Beadzilla        -  Beadzilla, lovely jewelry and watches

Beverley Salisbury - gorgeous vintage cake stands

Birds on the beach - vintage tea sets, felted items and more

Sugar treats       -   Yummy scrummy cakes

BellaBoos attic  -  Raggedy dolls, softies and lots of great sewn items

Collette Halstead - Fused glass

Violets for your furs - vintage jewelry

Please tell all of your friends to pop along to this unique day x

Introducing Boo-tique......

My name is Steph, I'm from Blackpool, I recently graduated from UCLAN having studied Product Design for 3 years.

I looooooooooooove to craft, day or night! I have been crafting since I was a tiny tot and think I will be forever.

Over the last few years I have moved from making jewellery from beads to card-making to crocheting and knitting and now I find I most enjoy working with 100% wool felt. I started 'felting' using a technique called needle felting when a barbed needle is jabbed in an out of a ball of fluff a million times to bind it together. I still use this method occasionally ( when I'm feeling adventurous) but tend to prefer working on a larger scale so now a work from sheets of felt. I like the idea of mixed media so try to incorporate other materials and techniques into my work.

I am always on the look out for inspiration whether walking the dog in the park, on holiday even on a night out in town, it can come from anywhere, and it's the best feeling when it does!! :D

I'm always on the lookout for new outlets to sell my crafts, up until recently I had some at The Garden Place, Cropper Manor but due a business take over this is no longer an option. I now currently sell my crafts online at www.facebook.com/bootique82 and as many craft fairs as I can, hope to see you at one!!! :D

Introducing BellaBoos Attic.......

My name is Paula, married with three kids aged 15, 19 and 21

I live in Warrington, Cheshire. I am a self confessed craftaholic.  I love making things, especially sewing and knitting.  My Mum taught me how when I was a little girl and I have been crafting ever since.

 

 

 

 

I recently started volunteering one day a week at a place called Long Lane Garden Centre which is a charity which helps adults  with learning disabilities to access gardening and crafts.  I make lots of things for them to sell at craft fayres and in their shop as well as getting stuck in with the gardening and crafts when I go and do my volunteering.  Their claim to fame is that they appeared on an episode of Secret Millionaire (long before I started there), so are well known around Warrington.  It is a truly lovely place to spend a day and we have a lot of fun.

I have sold a few of my crafty things on ebay in the past, which is ok, but what I really want is to do a few craft fayres, partly to sell some of my ever growing collection of makes but also to meet other like minded crafty people.  I recently started my facebook page called BellaBoos Attic where I can show off all my things, but also find other crafters and admire their work.

Introducing Mrs marmalade, one of our stall holders.....

My name is Claire and I live and work in Blackpool. I am married to Bob and am mum to my lovely children, Sophie and Harry.

My family nickname is “Mrs Marmalade”, because I love to craft, it makes me happy!

My favourite things are preloved treasures and vintage lovelies and when time allows I make.

In the beginning my true love was patchwork, now anything goes.

I would like to add what a lovely person Claire is, I have only known her a short time but she is a true gem, her quilts really are lovely and lately she has been making fab lampshades and custom pieces for the home, check out her makes for sale at folksy

also make sure you visit her facebook page and click the like button, her stall is featured in our crafty vintage logo top left x

Truly scrumptious vintage and handmade craft fair, 10th september 2011. Blackpool

This Fair is different, unique and special, it brings together handpicked designers, crafters and vintage dealers who either make wonderful Handmade items or sell gorgeous Vintage treasures. If you love Vintage and Retro items and appreciate the love and time gone into creating unique items, then the vintage and handmade craft Fair is for you! Also there will be a cafe area serving delicious homemade cakes as well as a selection of teas, chicory drink and coffee on vintage tea ware. We also cater for dairy free and gluten free dietary needs. This is going to be held at Claremont community centre, Claremont Road, Blackpool, UK, which is a great space in a lovely area, the building opens out onto the park. If it is sunny we may even have a marquee outside for extra seating and stalls. Please do come along and support us, free entry. There is on site free parking. If you would like a stall please get in touch with a link to your website or a photo of what you do. Stalls are £10, set up from 12.30.