Miss Ruby Rockabillys Beauty School!

Aloha my cherry pies, so if any of you lovely readers follow me on social media you'll have seen that on Saturday I was lucky enough to head to Birmingham to attend Miss Ruby Rockabillys Beauty School. If you don't know who Ruby is then I suggest you have a sneaky look on Instagram as she is one amazing lady, not only does she work with one of my favourite brands Pinup Girl Clothing (jealous much!) she is also a model and one heck of vintage hair stylist, the things that woman can do with hair gah! It was like watching a magician work their magic on Saturday and all the girls who attended were just in awe! It was also so lovely to just meet Ruby in person after following her (did someone say stalking?) on Instagram for so long and she was so nice, down to earth and funny.

The class itself was hosted at Le Keux Vintage salon which was just the perfect place. All us ladies attending got to the venue pretty early (too eager I guess) and watched while Ruby finished off setting the models hair into pin curls and then the magic began!! Ruby styled three hairstyles on the day which I've documented in photographic form below and each was as magical as the last. There was even a prize draw and I amazingly won something! (that never happens, trust me!) and happily came home with some Le Keux black Cadillac eye liner paint. The atmosphere was lovely as it was great to be in a setting with so many like minded ladies and just having a blast.

I had an amazing day and if Ruby comes back to the UK another year I definitely recommend you attending yourself! Hope you enjoy the photos.


Coco Von Vintage x

Interview with Emily Dupen of Dupenny

Aloha my cherrypies, I've been madly in love with the company Dupenny for a while now and if you check her illustrations out you'll completely understand why as they are out of this world. You can purchase her designs in so many different ways from mugs to tea towels but I have to say what I truly love about Dupenny is that you can get her cute retro pinup girls in wallpaper form! I seriously need her wallpaper in my life and with moving into a new flat soon you totally know it's on my wish list! So I was lucky enough to interview the amazingly talented Emily Dupen behind Dupenny for my lovely readers to find all about this fabulous company and the lady herself!

1. Your illustrations are amazing, what first got you interested in illustration?

At school I always loved creative subjects like Art, but Music was my passion and I wanted to be a singer. When I was 18 years old I lost all of my hearing and was diagnosed as profoundly deaf. I had to give up Music and chose to study Art instead. I was interested in interior design but my teacher said I’d get bored too easily and urged me to study illustration instead. It was still a relatively new subject at the time but I trusted his opinion, so I went to Brighton University to study for a degree in Illustration – a subject I knew nothing about!

2. You have turned a lot of your designs into wallpaper and fabrics, which I adore, how did you first come up with this idea?

For my final degree show at uni I was given a project about telephone boxes, and created my first ever wallpaper – Call Girls! At the time of my university project (2004) the wallpaper boom had only just began and I found it was all still too traditional for my liking. I wanted to create something new and fresh, but it took me a good 5 years to get my act together and find my niche.

 
3. Your designs obviously have vintage influences, have you always drawn with a vintage edge?

After uni I became fascinated with the Burlesque and Cabaret scene, which was getting really popular in London. I started performing as a burlesque artist in my spare time and did a lot of retro pin-up modeling. After 4 years of being stuck for ideas with my wallpapers, I finally decided to draw something I liked myself, in the hope that someone out there would like it too! So I created my Burlesque Wallpaper, 50s Housewives Wallpaper and Time For Tea Wallpaper in 2008/2009. These are still my bestsellers today! I chose a monochrome pallet because I wanted to create something bold and eye-catching to stand out from the crowd. I always loved the style and simplicity of Coco Chanel and I adore all the old black and white movies. There’s something very classic about monochrome. It’s timeless and it works with any color scheme. I only started adding color over the years because customers would request it. When I do add color to try to keep the shades retro to fit in with my themes.

4. Are you a lover of all things vintage yourself? And if so what do you love most about it?

Yes! I’m literally obsessed! One day back in 2006 my mum’s friend gave me bags of her old clothes that had been in her loft. Those bags of dresses changed my life and gave me so much confidence. I just can’t say no to a good 50s dress. People treat you differently when you dress like a lady. I started collecting vintage dresses, home-wares, music, and everything in between. I very rarely buy anything new, unless it looks like real vintage. Now I pretty much live and breathe vintage!

5. What are your plans for the future of your amazing company?

I’ve made some big changes to my business over the past year, so that I have more time to spend on illustration and creating new content. In May I’ll be launching my new collection in New York, including my Coney Island, Mermaids, Vogue, Mid-Century and Atomic Wallpapers. I then have some designs lined up for the men later in the year but I won’t reveal these themes yet! I’m also working on a Rockabilly Colouring Book set to launch this year. And I have a range of giftwares launching next month in collaboration with The Really Good Company. I also plan to buy a decent camera so I can start vlogging. No rest for the wicked!

6. You hail from the sea side town of Brighton, is there a big vintage scene there?

I feel really luck to live in Brighton because the vintage and retro scene is huge and there’s always cool stuff to do. I love the fact that I can dress up all retro and people just love it. And there’s usually a nice classic car parked somewhere to get a quick snap with! The only downside is that I still don’t own a classic car since I don’t have a garage and I live on Hove seafront so the salt would be no good for it. I do have a beach hut though, which I spent last summer ‘Dupenny-fying’!

7. You have won a lot of awards for your art, what you say is your biggest achievement so far?

Don’t get me wrong, it’s great to win awards, but they don’t necessarily pay the bills! At the end of the day I’m just another normal person with the usual problems, stuck paying far too much rent for my tiny flat and struggling to make ends meet! So far, my biggest achievement is the fact that I’ve worked my seamed stockings off for years through thick and thin and have somehow managed to carve a career for myself, which I am still trying to make sustainable for the future. When you’re self-employed doing this sort of thing, you never know what disasters or delights are coming next. It keeps me on my toes. I never get a chance to be bored. Nothing beats the fact that I’m working for myself and doing something I love.

8. If your not drawing pin ups, what else do you love to draw?

I’ll draw absolutely anything, but my favourite has always been ladies for some reason. I just love the female form. I’m obsessed with people and characters, and character is all about what makes people different. I’m currently finishing off my Coney Island Wallpaper ready to launch in May. I’m having too much fun drawing all the sideshows!

If you'd like to have a gander at the website and duh who wouldnt the link is: http://www.dupenny.com/

Coco Von Vintage x

Judy's Affordable Vintage Fair Manchester

 Aloha my cherrypies, so this morning I woke up to my boyfriend suggesting we go check out Judy's affordable vintage fair and when your boyfriend suggests vintage shopping you know it's going to be a good day! So I took my pastel self down to Judy's fair to check out all the bargains I could find.

Judy's hosts many fairs around the UK so if there is one in your area I definitely suggest you check it out. Judy's is great for students who are on a tight budget but I also think they are really good for people just starting to dip their toes into vintage and don't want to spend a fortune until they are sure on their style.

There are many stalls to look at and they all have great prices, I managed to pick up a cute lilac shirt dress and a beautiful crocheted pastel throw to go over my sofa when we move into our new flat. The fair also has a really yummy cake stand with super loads of cakes to choose from.

Era wise I would probably say that it's mostly clothing and wares from the 70s to the 90s as it is an affordable vintage fair but there is always a chance of finding that 50s hidden gem in there! All in all I had a really lovely day out at the fair and will definitely be going again the next time the fair is in town!

To check out when Judy's is coming to a town near you visit https://www.facebook.com/JudysAffordableVintageFair/?fref=ts
 

Coco Von Vintage x

Interview with Katy of Luxulite!!! <3

Aloha my cherrypies, so I'm pretty sure that if you're into the vintage scene you will have come across the absolutely amazing company that is Luxulite. I for one have been a massive fan since I first discovered Katys creations on Instagram, it's been wonderful to have seen her company go from strength to strength over the last few years and it's no wonder when you see her fabulous designs for jewellery. If you have a love for novelty brooches, earring or necklaces then this company is the way forward for you, as my regular readers will know I'm a huge fan of novelty so I adore all the Luxulite brooches and have quite the collection growing myself. So I thought I'd do a little interview with Katy and find out all about the amazing world of Luxulite.

1. Your jewellery is simply amazing! What first inspired you to make jewellery?

Thank you! I think it's a combination of a huge love for the fashion and accessories of the mid 20th Century, and the problem of being able to firstly find it, and secondly afford it! When I started out I was making the jewellery for myself to wear as you just couldn't get good repro jewellery anywhere at that time - the vintage and rockabilly scenes were saturated with tattoo-inspired plastic jewellery (which is fine but it just wasn't my bag!) I wanted to wear jewellery that looked like the originals from the 1940's and 50's. The more I made, the more friends and family wanted things and it just grew from there!

2. I love the vintage inspired design of your pieces, how did you first come up with these designs?
I first set up my etsy shop as I had sourced a large lot of original 1950's confetti lucite stones, which I made into earrings. As I was gluing earring backs onto the lucite pieces I decided to try and replicate the appearance myself, and started to research ways in which to cast the pieces. I have always been a huge fan of brooches, especially novelty designs, so this was a natural progression once I had mastered the processes. It's lovely to look back at some of my first cherry brooches and see how they have evolved – my early ones have super-long stems and they look so funny to me now! They have come a long way and have been carefully refined and improved over time.

3. I have so many favourites from the flamingos to the elephants, do you have any particular favourite theme/design?

I think my favourite piece to date has got to be the little yellow corn cob brooch with chickens! I love how my carving came out on this one. I also wear my brown horsey brooch quite a bit. I think both of these brooches look great with casual day wear – dungarees, plaid shirts or western shirts. Being in my workshop all week means I rarely get to wear nice dresses, so these two brooches are my go-to pieces to perk up my daily outfits.

4. You've had some pretty big achievements like your jewellery being sold on Pin Up Girl clothing, what would you say is your biggest achievement so far?

Seeing my creations for sale on Pinupgirlclothing.com is definitely up there on my achievements list! When I'm browsing their gorgeous dresses and one of my brooches pops up I always get a little fright and think... I made that! I think my proudest achievement has got to be the moment I decided to ditch my day job. It was the most terrifying, exciting and emotional moment of my life. Getting to that point took a lot of hard work, late late nights and early early mornings (and there have been lots of late nights and early mornings since then too), but not a day goes by where I don't feel very lucky to be able to do this as my job.

5. Your jewellery is pretty massive in the vintage scene! What do you love most about the scene?

The music will always be my first love, (followed closely by alllll the dresses!) We are really lucky in the North East as there is a fantastic rockin/rockabilly scene, with tons of gigs, DJ nights and events happening every week. I love the sense of family that this scene provides too – you're never too far from a friendly face and its always so great to meet up with friends that you haven't seen for ages at the weekenders – I wish I could go to them all!

6. Does anyone in particular inspire you?

Looking at style icons such as Carmen Miranda, Lucille Ball or Jane Russell has been great for my work, I find their style and beauty mesmerising!

The work of jewellery designer Martha Sleeper is a constant source of inspiration and ideas, but I also love to look at novelty prints and designs from the period – there are so many amazing (and some utterly insane) themes in fabric prints, it really is a treasure trove of inspiration.

7. Luxulite is going from strength to strength, what are your next plans for your amazing company?

I have some exciting projects and collaborations in the pipeline for this year – I am so excited about them I'm finding it really hard not to blab about it! I am constantly testing out and experimenting with new techniques and processes in my workshop too, so who knows what might happen next... You will have to wait and see.

You can find Katy's etsy site by clicking this link https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/Luxulite

Coco Von Vintage x

Interview with Wake up Little Susie

Aloha my cherrypies! I recently did an amazing photoshoot using some wonderful night gowns supplied by Susie of Wake up Little Susie. I absolutely adore this ladies company as all her nightwear is so beautiful! So I thought I'd do a little interview with Susie to find out about the woman behind the magic!!

I love your business Wake up Little Susie, what inspired you to start it?

Thank you! Well, I’m a lifelong lover of vintage stemming from getting into 1950s & 1960s music at an early age & everything that followed on so I have always collected vintage clothing for myself, and around five years ago when the idea of vintage fairs started to really take off in Norfolk & when I was going through a spell of being desperately bored in my day job, I was looking for a creative outlet & decided to give it a go myself. I couldn’t have done it 20 years ago as I would have wanted to keep everything, but after a long time of collecting together with my husband Simon (who is able to express his love for vintage through his artwork!) we have a house crammed with stuff so now I am able to still enjoy searching out goodies, but am happy to pass them on to other fans! My first vintage fair was brilliant & it took off well, so I ran it as a sideline alongside my full time work until I was made redundant in December 2014 – while this was a massive shock to the system, it has given me the chance to make a real go of my vintage business.

Where can people buy your gorgeous nightgowns from?

Well, I can be found at vintage fairs and events all around Norfolk, including wedding fairs where I have lovely stalls of nothing but vintage nightwear & lingerie, which looks so lovely when it’s all displayed together!

For anyone who’s not local, I also sell online from my Etsy shop ( www.etsy.com/shop/WakeUpLittleSusies ) where I list as much as time allows, and nightwear fans can also check out my Facebook page ( www.facebook.com/WakeUpSusie ) or follow me on Twitter ( www.twitter.com/wake_up_susie ) for news of what’s for sale and where I can be found next.

I also occasionally host my own Vintage Nightwear Parties in small intimate venues where you’ll find an evening of cocktails, music, fab decorations, nibbles and of course LOTS of nightwear to browse and for sale! These have proved really popular and I’m looking to hold more exclusive nightwear evenings and boutique pop-up sales in 2016.

What do you love about vintage nightwear?

When I started my vintage business in 2010, I added ‘Specialising in Vintage Nightwear’ on my business cards at the very last minute as a bit of a whim, not really knowing how it would work out – in the stock I had been collecting up for my first fair there were some nice bedtime pieces, and it is something I’ve always loved myself from twirling around in full length nighties as a little girl, to falling in love with 1950s cute PJs and glamorous gowns as a teenager!

After wondering if it would work, I quickly found that I was able to source out lovely nightwear really easily for some reason (I’m like a magnet to it!) and because there are a lot of very good vintage dealers in my area, I also quickly found that it served me very well to have my own unique selling point and it didn’t take long before collectors & dealers started to associate me with nighties and the idea caught on and blossomed really well.

Growing up with a love of all things ‘50s, I think the combination of cute & sexy found in so many of the night garments that I love, like the lovely Baby Dolls Nighties, really epitomises fashion in this decade.

I also love the challenge of finding new ways to market vintage nightwear and like to plan photo shoots around different ideas such as the 1950s slumber party, nightwear as daywear, nightdresses as festival dresses and so on.

Also, I like pretty things.....

What would you say draws you to vintage?

I was first drawn to vintage clothing as a young teenager when I fell in love with 1950s and 1960s Rock ‘n Roll music which I became obsessed with from listening to my parent’s records, and also from the popular culture around when I was growing up when we were lucky to be influenced by the likes of ‘Happy Days’ and ‘Grease’. A passion for the music of an era then led to wanting to wear the clothing from that time too, and getting more & more interested in everything about the time from cars and movies to art and culture. This has stayed with me all my life and developed over the years and I now appreciate fashion from all eras, although I am still a 1950s girl at heart in my own look! Nowadays it’s lovely to see so many new people getting interested in vintage clothing for all different reasons, but for me the root will always be my love for Rock ‘n’ Roll music and being part of that music scene as I grew up, and naturally that’s how I met my husband Simon, also a Rock ‘n’ Roll fan and now a lover of vintage clothing from various decades.

I think I have also always had a desire to be different and individual, and having a vintage look is a great way of expressing myself creatively too.

How did you come up with the name for your business?

I wanted something to stand out & that people would associate with me, and being blessed with a very Rock ‘n’ Roll name (thanks Mum & Dad!) it made sense to incorporate ‘Susie’ into it somewhere & my hubby Simon actually hit on ‘Wake Up Little Susie’, of course from the 1957 Everly Brothers song which ties it back to my Rock ‘n’ Roll roots, and as it turned out, also fits in very well with the idea of waking up wearing fabulous nightwear! So perfect all round.

What do you love most about the vintage scene?

Currently, I think it’s the diversity of it nowadays that I love, now that the idea of wearing vintage is not necessarily tied to music scenes people seem more comfortable with wearing any kind of vintage that they want, looks from any decade and in any combination – I love fashion in general so it’s nice to see people mixing things up and combining vintage with modern clothing too to get a unique look. I always love to see people being individual and it’s lovely to see that developing a vintage look can give some an identity and confidence that maybe they didn’t have before, and of course anything that brings people together is great! I have made LOTS of great friends by being involved with the vintage scene.

You sell a lot of different types of nightwear, such as gowns and bed jackets do you have a favourite?

That’s a tough one....I really love the cute, pretty bedjackets (which sell very well) but in terms of what I tend to wear myself, I do love a cute pair of PJs! (and yes I sometimes work in them...) I have to say I love it all though, from the cute & frothy to the elegant & glamorous pieces.

What are you plans for Wake Up Little Susie in 2016?

2015 was my first year of Wake Up Little Susie being my sole income and gave me the time to try lots of different things, now a new year has started I’m really thinking about where to go with it in terms of what works and of course what I enjoy and I think 2016 will see me at less vintage fairs, but organising more of my own events such as pop-up sales and evening Nightwear Parties – I organised a big fashion show last year with a friend who deals in vintage wedding dresses ( www.the-wedding-shed.co.uk ) which was really hard work but went really well, and I’m getting the bug for event organisation! I can also see myself gradually heading away from selling general vintage (I do sell daywear and homeware as well!) and concentrating more on the nightwear and lingerie aspect, sourcing out really special pieces and coming up with new ways of showcasing it. I like the idea of showing collections in fashion shows, and I also hope to concentrate more on my online activities ( www.wakeuplittlesusie.co.uk ) which will include working with different models & photographers to get some great images, which is something else I love to plan. So, definitely watch this space as Wake Up Little Susie is aiming for bigger and better! Secretly, I won’t be happy until I have everyone going out in their PJs the whole time.... 

Coco Von Vintage x 

Vote for me to be the new face of Le Keux Vintage Salon 2016!

Aloha my Cherrypies!

So I recently entered a competition to be the new face of Le Keux Vintage Salon. If you haven't heard of this salon then I massively suggest you checking them out, it's the perfect place for us vintage loving gals and it's like stepping back in time to a 50s beauty salon when you step inside. It is literally the salon that came out of my dreams so winning this competition would be a dream come true for me and it would mean being on their posters and their cosmetics range. This would be a huge achievement for me and it would mean the world to me if you could take a second to vote for me by clicking 'like' on the Le Keux Facebook page and both their Instagram pages. I will put the links down below.

Thank you so much and here's to an amazing 2016!

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LeKeuxVintageSalon/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lekeuxvintagesalon/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lekeuxcosmetics/

Coco Von Vintage x

Lindy Bop with Portraits & Pinups and Amy Bliss

Aloha my Cherrypies, I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and I hope the new year brings you lots of joy! So recently I was lucky enough to be sent some gorgeous dresses by a wonderful company that I am sure most of you lovely bunch will have heard of by now which is Lindy Bop. I am totally in love with this company as there as so many gorgeous styles of dresses to choose from, be it the classic 50s swing dress or a Marilyn style wiggle dress.

I also recently took my northern girl self down to London to do a photoshoot with John of Portraits and Pinups who is an amazing photographer! So I thought it would be a good opportunity to get some snaps in my gorgeous Lindy Bop dresses. I was also joined by the amazingly beautiful Amy Bliss and you can check out her blog here: Old is Now Vintage (and I recommend you do ;) )

 So the first dress I wore was this Black Polka dot number, I absolutely loved the fact that it came with a matching bolero which is a cute bonus as I'm not always keen on showing a full arm. I opted for the wiggle dress as I don't own many of these but I really wanted to start wearing them so I thought this would be a great opportunity. The dress was made of really good material and I really liked the black and white polka print as it's a dress that you can either dress up or down so it's very versatile which is great.

The next dress I wore was the fantastic cocktail print swing dress, I have to say the first thing that drew me to this dress was the amazing print. As you'll know by now I'm a sucker for novelty print so this was the perfect dress for me. As much as I love a wiggle dress I think my heart belongs to swings dresses as I just think they are so darn flattering and I love feeling like a cute 50s housewife twirling around in my petticoats haha. I loved this dress so much in fact I wore it on Christmas day which if you follow my Instagram you will have seen. Again the fabric of the dress was good quality and the fit was true to size so it's all thumbs up from me.

I really recommend this company if you are just starting to get into vintage and you are unsure of where to start as they have such a variety of dresses and they are very affordable so they wont break the bank, (Or they might if you buy multiple dresses like me haha).

Hope you enjoyed reading my lovelies and a happy new year to you all.


Coco Von Vintage x