Yesterday I met up with one of my steampunk chums in Bristol. She lives in South Wales and I live in Wiltshire, so Bristol makes a great meeting point - and the Gloucester Road has some fab charity shops (including a couple of specialist vintage ones) and all sorts of interesting places to eat, so that was our destination. It looks like there might be some interesting steampunk stuff going on later in the year, so hopefully I'll have some fun things to write about.
I didn't buy masses of stuff yesterday. I got a modern blouse - white with embroidered polkadots in black, beige and navy - that will be great next summer. And in one of the charity shops, rummaging through a basket of evening bags, I found this little 1960s number. I don't need another evening bag, but the sorry state of this one and the knowledge I could fix it fairly easily made me feel quite sorry for it. After all, if I left it behind, would another person prepared to mend the beading come along to claim it, or would it get more and more battered till it ended up in the bin? As it was only £2.50, I bought it to add to my mending pile.
The front of the bag is in the best condition; there's some wear on one corner, and a couple of flowers in need of fixing. The way the flowers are done is interesting, as they're all made of clear beads and it's the thread they're strung on that gives them their colour. I don't have any clear beads, but it should be no problem to get some.
Round the back it's the whole lower edge of the bag in need of restoration. I think it looks worse than it is, however. Not much of the random area is damaged, and the front has a straight line of beads along the corner, which is mainly what's missing from the back. My plan is to work out where all the stray threads go and anchor down the loose beads first, as there are a lot that are wobbly and I don't want to lose any more, then replace the missing ones.
The other thing I got was this dish. Melanie Folly Bird, I remembered you liked carnival glass and wasn't sure if this was carnival glass. If it is, and if you want the dish, let me know (email crinolinerobot AT yahoo DOT com) and I'll post it to you, otherwise I'll redonate it.
Sweet little bag, good luck with the repair job!
ReplyDeleteTa! At worst it's a £2.50 learning experience.
DeleteMim - that is a truly beautiful bag. Clever old you being able to repair it and restore it to its former glory.
ReplyDeleteDo you use all your bags or do you just collect them?
Have a great week
Veronica
vronni60s.blogspot.com
I use them all. I have pretty limited space, so most things have to earn their keep if they're going to get house room. Sometimes I think, "What if I wear them out?", but as with my perfumes, things were made to be used and enjoyed, and if they get used up, so be it.
DeleteSo splendidly pretty! I love carnival glass, but don't own any yet myself. I've bid on pieces more time than I can recall at auctions in person, but haven't won one yet. Someday, I'm sure. It's so sweet of you to pick that up with Melanie in mind. You're a good friend.
ReplyDeletexoxo ♥ Jessica
Is there anything special you would like me to look out for for you? I know you will now need to replace everything, so if there is a particular dinner service or set of kitchenware you will be collecting, let me know and I will keep an eye out.
DeleteWhat a gorgeous bag.
ReplyDeleteWhether /that's carnival glass or not, that a beautiful bowl.
It is very pretty! I'm struggling to find a box for it.
DeleteAs I have told you before, the first time I saw the bag: it is such a marvelous find, my dear. It needs a bit of touching-up, some reconstruction on a minimal scale, and you will have a lovely, lovely treat. :)
ReplyDeleteThe glass dish looks positively radiant! I absolutely love it's shiny structure.
Marija
Yes, I think the bag is salvageable. I'm more worried about the loose beads than the missing ones, as I don't want to repair it, then have more of them fall off.
DeleteThat's a super bag, Mim. Good of you to save it from the bin. Good luck with restoring it. xxx
ReplyDeleteEven beaded bags deserve a second chance!
DeleteSuch a cute bag and perfect for 60s evening outfits. It'll go with lots of different things too, which is always a bonus, especially at £2.50. xx
ReplyDeleteYes, I've got a pink dress it would work with, and I'm pretty sure it will look good with the crimplene too as that's partly neon green.
DeleteI spent a large proportion of yesterday resewing teeny shell beads to a 1960s kaftan, it took an age but so rewarding when I'd finished.
ReplyDeleteThat bag is gorgeous and well worth the restoration involved. I was amazed by the vintage shops on the Gloucester Road, they were cheaper than the chazzas. xxx
Yes, there are some decent ones up there.
DeleteI just don't like to think of things being thrown away when a little work could put them right. Vintage is a finite resource, and while there's plenty of 60s around now, there probably won't be in another 10-15 years - just look at the scarcity of wearable 50s nowadays compared to a decade ago. Plus I'm naturally someone who looks after stuff; I think it comes from having been hard up as a kid and not being able to replace things easily.
I love a visit to Bristol. I always used to stop off and meet friends on my way down to my mum's. The chazzas are good but much more expensive than in Nottingham. That's a sweet bag. Bit of a winter project? Xx
ReplyDeleteI think so! In among all my other winter projects. (I don't know how people get bored, I really don't. I can't imagine having the time to be bored.)
DeleteCharity shops down here do seem more expensive than the midlands ones. In Trow, where I live, the prices are lower than in the surrounding cities - Bath prices are generally ridiculous. Do you have the curse of the 'charity chazza' where you are? All the good stuff gets siphoned off into them (in the cities, tough titty if you live in a town/village) and the prices are higher than vintage dealers charge. I'm amazed they stay open, frankly.
Beautiful bag well worth rescuing.
ReplyDeleteI'm no expert, but that does look like Carnival glass from here.
It was a day of bargains!
DeleteAs already established, yes, it's carnival glass and looking even better on the computer screen as opposed to my phone! Thank you again for thinking of me.
ReplyDeleteThe little beaded bag is so sweet. Those glass beads are really easy to find, I used to use glass beads for jewellery, I have some lurking around somewhere, though heaven only knows where, I'll have a look, see if I can locate them xx
I'm still trying to find the right box to post the dish in... at this rate I'm going to hop on a train and deliver it by hand! But I WILL get it to you.
Delete