Vintage buttons and beads

We have a second website - Jewels and Finery Craft that is slowly being stocked. It has vintage buttons and beads, as well as other vintage and second hand craft material.

Here are some of the unusual buttons and beads available in single or small amounts.

  Vintage police buttons. Officer or the superintendents would wear these. Old style with a pin. This allowed the buttons to be removed for washing the garment or if promoted there was not need to give the man another jacket (waste not, want not of old)!

1960s vintage beads in plastic. Bright pink and white in mixed sizes and shapes.Love plastic beads as the 1970s Hong Kong beads are gorgeous as well as many of the unusual shapes and colours that are not available today. Our beads come from damaged jewellery or craft beads that someone no longer has use for, they are cleaned and packed for use straight away.

We have called these lumpy vintage beads. They are made of glass with a lumpy surface. There is probably a technical term for this technique!

Vintage buttons made in England still on the original card. They are quite thin and slightly irregular in shape.
This card has buttons of caramel or toffee colours. Made of an early plastic, which we have not tested.There are a few of these cards available in different colours.

Now here is our gallery of beads for Monday...

We will be adding more over the whole Jewels and Finery Craft website this week.

Craft Show NEC November 2010

I love going to the different shows at the National Exhibition Centre, just by Birmingham's airport.

Clear rhinestone 6 mm

So last week, my daughter and I took our selves off to the Craft fair which also had Christmas craft gifts and Art supplies included. It was an ideal opportunity to visit many craft stalls and see lots of different things that can be made.

 Panda sew on patch to list shortly

My daughter likes paper crafts and art, so she was in her element buying things to use for Christmas cards and for her scrap booking. Although there were less knitting, beading and sewing stalls. I still found plenty to see and buy!!.

 Vintage buckles

Came back with lots of ideas that I want to try out but now need to find some time.....

At long last Google shopping has stopped blocking Jewels and finery Craft and our items are now appearing in the directory (some even on first page)
Have a good week.......   
 

Jewels and Finery Craft Now online

Just a quick update

Jewels and Finery Craft is now online with a payment gateway (At Last)

Took a lot longer than expected. Now we will start to add lots of vintage beads, buttons and craft supplies.

We did start to add a few weeks ago, but found that some people were trying to buy things as Google was indexing them. However they were not contacting us to pay and so made the decision to wait for the main payment gateway first.

We will be adding Paypal at some point also. Google checkout is already working.

Just a few of the items we will have for sale soon

Replacement pins for brooches

Craft books that are used and maybe out of print

Vintage buckles

Vintage glass foiled beads

Vintage buttons

Tidying Up Today

Finally got round to tidying up my corner by our bed. As an avid reader, within a short time my corner gets cluttered with piles of books and magazines.
But the real reason was to unearth my sewing box. When work was completed on our central heating in May, everything was hastily cleared out of the way and my sewing box was used as a side table instead of my actual side table that ended up where my sewing box should have been!

Just sorting through my old vintage sewing box (which must be from the fifties), I thought that with so many interesting vintage sewing equipment, I have acquired through the years I must show soon in this blog. So made a note to myself for future blogging and to get some photographs.

Found a book that I brought at a book sale earlier this year "Rose Buckner's book of HOMEMAKING"

Written in the fifties for women especially new brides, the complete instruction on how to create the perfect home, a happy husband and contented children. Love this book it takes you back to an era - before women went out to work and they had children and stayed at home, cooking, cleaning and darning socks!
In the sewing and Knitting hints were the following ideas:

• Buttons will stay on longer if you rub your thread with beeswax before sewing
• If you desire a decorative button for a blouse, belt or hat. Choose a large coloured button, then crochet around the button with coloured silks. to the required depth. 
• Wooden buttons can be bought and painted to match any dress colour scheme

Large swirl buttons

And how about this for "Carrot sandwich spread"
Take equal quantities of mashed cooked carrots and mashed cooked apples and mix with a little marmalade.
Mmmmmmmm let you know!

   

Make Jewellery Issue 7

Jewels and Finery appeared in the Make Jewellery magazine issue 7.


Earlier this year we were asked to send a few samples for the magazine to photograph.
So we were delighted that we were given 3 separate mentions through out the magazine.
Since the magazine article we have sold many of our vintage beads, buttons and findings.
Now we are in the process of restocking.
Most of our packs are unique made up of antique, vintage or vintage modern items.
But you have to be quick as many sell out straight away!
Thank you to the magazine for the features. This issue is available in shops now and has instructions to make the glamorous necklace, bracelet and hair slide with vintage parts.

Jewels and Finery

New Autumn Review of Vintage Jewellery on Jewels and Finery.

As the summer fades and autumn approaches, Jewels and Finery have been very busy with organizing our website for the party and Christmas season.
Having read another blog by a competitor (who also sells vintage jewellery), we are also looking back over the last year and some of the vintage jewellery trends that we have seen.



Sparkling Victorian scatter pin

Last September Jewels and Finery had been online for about 4 months. Through out last year we expanded to sell vintage buttons and craft books. Lastly earlier this year we started our line in vintage patterns.

Every month we have been delighted to say that our visitors to our site and sales have increase. Antique and vintage jewellery, beads and buttons are selling well. With a slower selling trend on vintage books and patterns as expected.
Even in the quieter recession hit months of May, June and July of this year our sales grew. This August far from being a quiet month has been brilliant and we are looking foreward to September and onwards.


Vintage jewellery trends have seen a surge in vintage brooches and clip earrings.

Especially the filigree and brightly coloured glass brooches from the twenties and thirties. Scottish themed jewellery has also seen a revival, along with mock jade or real jade jewellery from the seventies. Sparkling vintage diamante brooches, necklaces and earrings have always been a favourite; and we have now sold out of vintage St Christopher pendants, that have been popular over the spring and summer. The vintage shoe clips and new shoe clips have also been very popular. Now we have only a few Gothic shoe/boot clips left. Vintage cameo jewellery of brooches, earrings and necklaces continue to retain their popularity.

Vintage cameo choker necklace

This autumn there seems to be a trend towards vintage dress clips and scarf clips. Also multi strand and long beaded necklaces.

Making jewellery and embellishment has meant a growth in the vintage beads, charms and findings that we sell. Vintage buttons now closely follow with more people turning to making their own clothes or re-fashioning vintage clothes. In fact we find it difficult to keep a high stock on Jewels and Finery as many of our packs sell out very quickly.

Vintage and second hand craft books had two areas of growing interest - soft furnishings and toy making. The recession has meant more people have not moved but redecorated their homes. Choosing to make many of the soft furnishings, because with the closure of many shops and stores, it has made it difficult to find furnishings suitable. Plus it is often cheaper and certainly more rewarding to make your own.

In vintage pattern section, jumpers, skirts, jackets and cardigans in Fair isle and Shetland styles are set to be big this autumn. Australia must also be having a cold spell as we have noticed thick jumper and jacket patterns are being most requested from there.

This autumn we are excited to be mentioned in an article on upcycling vintage jewellery and beads in a bead magazine. We will be posting this on our blog when published

Also launched last month a customer loyalty discount and a two monthly prize draw. The first winner will be announced next week in this blog and we are looking foreward to announcing many more special offers.

Rare vintage brooch by Miracle - Welsh dragon

Vintage craft book - spray and stitch soft furnishings

June Roses and Romance

Roses are linked with love and romance.
Every Valentine's day red roses appear in abundance.
With roses starting to flower in June (here in the UK). Many a summer bride has a bouquet of roses in cream, red, yellow or what ever colour coordinates with their wedding scheme

The rose in the language of flowers much favored by the Victorians meaning "Love and joy; a paragon of virtue; beauty and fragrance; the queen of flowers; used to treat headaches, hysteria and other complaints"

Roses are depicted on fabrics, paintings and jewellery. In fact roses are timeless

Time of Roses

It was not in the winter
Our loving lot was cast;
It was the time of roses-
We plucked them as we passed!

That churlish season never frowned
On early lovers yet:
O no - the world was newly crowned
With flowers when first we met!

'Twas twilight, and I bade you go,
But still you held me fast;
It was the time of roses -
We plucked them as we passed!

Poem by THOMAS HOOD (1799 - 1845)

Roses remained popular through the Victorian era and beyond. Antique and vintage jewellery has reflected this. To wear a vintage brooch on a dress or bag always makes me think. Who wore this before and were they given this piece of jewellery by a loved one? Romantic fantasy I know, but it does not hurt!


Vintage rose necklace and earring set Golden rose bracelet by Sarah Coventry vintage rose buttons

Roses are red, violets are blue, sugar is sweet and so are you!

Bank Holiday Sunday

It has been glorious here. For a bank holiday when it usually rains, the weather has been exceptional. Saturday and Sunday have been sunny. By keeping out of the hottest part of the day and sunglasses, managed to keep my normal gremlins with heat at bay.

On our site we have some great vintage jewellery to wear to complement summer clothes, necklaces, bracelets, chains and brooches to brighten a sun hat.

vintage jewellery

Also have added some knitting patterns for cotton tops for summer. Will be adding many more over the coming weeks.

Vintage patterns for knitting, crochet or sewing

Want to change last years outfit add some beads or buttons. Quick and easy and can be done whilst watching TV

Vintage beads vintage buttons

We have been buttoning it this week!!

Mark and I have been adding lots of packs of vintage buttons. All colours and styles in single quantities or larger amounts

The March issue of Button Lines arrived last week - The journal of the British Button Society. Full of interesting articles: cut steel and Suffragette buttons for collecting. If you collect or have an interest in buttons the society is well worth joining

Now have a growing mixture of antique and vintage buttons for sewing, embellishment, jewellery making, soft furnishing, craft projects and also some for collecting

Mustard Brown Buttons

White Feature Buttons

Sewing, Knitting, Crochet and jewelry making

Every year we have enjoyed attending the fashion shows at the NEC. The clothes show here in Birmingham runs the first week in December.
In fact it is now a tradition for us,a place with lots of retailers selling clothes, jewellery, make up and other accessories with regular fashion shows by top designers and those designers of tomorrow. Many ideas for today and tomorrow. The clothes on the small catwalk were the ones that stood out the most, especially the Gothic designer. Unfortunately I could not hear the designer's name or read the logo. Would love to know who he was??

This year I was really pleased that my legs were okay for the day. I was dreading the possibility that I could not get around. Two days before I could not even drive because my legs were so wobbly but on the day a bit of stiffness but the wobbles kept away!!

One trend that was evident was the crochet hats, scarves, knitted and sewing embellishment on clothes. The button jewellery. All so simple to copy and make your own. We went round saying I can make this?

In the last few weeks, we have added many antique, vintage and used craft books to our website.
Many are out of print and have the know how for many of the "fashionable" pieces that were evident at the Clothes Show. What better way to spend those freezing, wet dark evenings but making your own clothes or jewellery.

We still have a huge pile of sewing, knitting and crochet patterns. More books and even more buttons, beads and jewelry.

Our favourite books are those from the early twentieth century as the patterns can be adapted but these books contain in depth know how.


Vintage, Used, Out print craft books
antique and vintage brooches