Tuesday, April 12

vintage fabric heaven and Caravan...

i must confess to being distracted over the past few days by my little office space.

no longer Our #1's bedroom,

no longer a catch-all for my crappity crap

no longer with mauve walls to do my head in.

things are coming along a peachy treat and as i tippity type this little post in the corner of my new office space (gosh that does sound terribly businessy busy like doesn't it!) i am looking at freshly painted walls, old frames spiffied up, a nicely made bed in one corner for when Our #1 visits and in t'other corner, a place to house all my collection of lovely things to do with dottie angel stuff.


i will be sure to show you more but first shall we carry on with the thrilling adventures of Tif, Debbie, Lou Dearie and Our #1 in the big smoke? after all it is a day which will be forever etched on my little brain...


after our pottle around Spitalfields Market, Lou Dearie took us to 'vintage fabric heaven'.

now perhaps i need to tell a little tale within this tale for you to truly appreciate this moment. when the lovely Lou turned up in Seattle last September, she bought with her a suitcase full of vintage and retro fabric goodness, the likes of which i have never set eyes upon before. when she opened the lid to her case i can only liken it to the moment a lid is lifted off hidden buried treasure and a glorious light shines from within and angels chorus all around. well that was Lou's suitcase and as she lifted out the most wonderful bark cloth curtain with perfectly peachy rose clusters upon it, 13 dearies and myself gasped 'thee gasp'. after which Lou told me of a place, a place so splendid in it's retro vintage glory fabric goodness that she just knew i would think it was the closest thing to fabric heaven this side of the pearly gates.


roll on several months and here i was in London with my lovely day trip companions and embarking on what was to become one of my top ten all time besty best days ever. first Spitalfields Market and now a trip to vintage fabric heaven.


i have no idea where vintage fabric heaven is, Debbie and I dutifully followed Lou Dearie as she weaved through the side streets of London, Our #1 choosing to catch up with us later as she wished to check out the vintage stores along the way.

what can i say dearest readers, Lou did not disappoint. vintage fabric heaven was in a little side street, in a little shop crammed to the ceiling with piles of secondhand fabrics. all clean and folded and treated as they should be. sorted into piles of 'likeness'...

drawers overspilling with doilies and lace, granny blankets in a rainbow of colors, retro curtains and bark cloth yardage, all of which brought tears to my eyes.



we left vintage heaven with my purse a lot lighter and our hands a lot fuller...



feeling a little faint from two peachy ports of call and knowing we still had one port left to go, we found a lovely cafe to recharge our batteries and for me to yabber on and on about what we had seen and done whilst everyone else ate their lunch.


after which Lou had to leave, so we said our 'fare thee wells' and the three of us continued on our journey. our final port of call being the world of Emily Chalmers, Caravan. stepping off the street into Emily's shop was like stepping into a little imaginary world, Emily's lovely world. if you ever get a chance to visit then do so, for it is beautiful and interesting and quirky, just like Emily herself.

Emily was waiting for us, looking perfectly peachy whilst we looked windswept and bedraggled from our day out in blustery London, but such details did not matter, no sirree, what mattered was the wonderful couple of hours spent sitting and nattering over a cup of tea in Emily's room above the shop, marvelling over my vintage fabric haul, 'ooohing and ahhhing' over Emily's lovely collections and spending quality time together.


before we left the wonderful world of Caravan, Emily and myself had our photo taken by Leonard and he did a pretty good job considering the awe of the moment he needed to record. you will be able to see the results of the photo in my 'dottie angel' book alongside of Emily's lovely foreword she so kindly wrote for me.


and then we were on our way, off to catch a late train home to the suburbs. as we sat amongst other train travellers eating our M&S sandwiches and munching our crisps, i could but only marvel at how fortunate i was to be able to share this incredible day in my life with my soul sister and my eldest daughter.

knowing when i am old and grey, with perhaps a few marbles missing, i will be sure to tell the tale of this day to any passing random strangers who happen to pass by my granny chair in my old folks home. recalling the day i got to visit SpitalFields Market, Vintage Fabric Heaven and Emily Chalmer's peachy Caravan World many many moons ago. and when those passerbys doubt my 'tale' i will merely nod in the direction of the granny chair next to me and say

"if you do not believe me, then ask my soul sister, for she was there too..."

and we will smile the knowing smile that only soul sisters can smile who share a lifetime of memories


she is happily playing with her little forsaken souls and hopes to have results of said playing in the shop soon ~ Tif

footynote: upon my return to the shed i have noted gremlins are playing around with my shiny place, hence the lovely wide spacing between the sentences and other such mischief :)

33 comments:

Zita - Mlle Magpie said...

A most brilliant and splendid day, Tiff! Most excellently described by you in this peachy post.

Connys Cottage said...

that is the paradies....


sooooo fantastik....


Conny

Itchin' Stitchin' said...

Oh my I would love to go to that fabric heaven someday!!

ColinTheComputer said...

Hi Tif,
Glad you got back to Mossy Shed OK, after your spiffing time in old Blighty. My master says to tell you that he thinks it is a compliment to me that my namesake has been promoted to your #1's former bedroom. I think he is just trying to cheer me up! Keep on blogging and crafting! Hurrah for Dottie Angel, say I.
Lots of love, CTC

Karin said...

I envy you about your fabrics. Tese are great!

kind regards
Karin

6briony said...

I soooooooooooooooo want to visit this shop! The fabric looks truly scrumptious! Can anyone tell me where it is so I can travel there immediately?
Kim

Hello Matilda! said...

Hi!
I love your work... It´s so lovely!!!
Hugs from Argentina ♥

Rose said...

Vintage Fabric Heaven? I think I just fainted.

Sounds like a perfect day to me!

figwittage said...

This does sound like heaven, oh my! I love that photo of the bed in the corner with those adorable frames. What paint colour was used for them?! xxoo

Heldasland said...

It all sounds wonderful,do you think you could find out the name of the vintage heaven shop.Thanks

Unknown said...

wow, so glad you had a great trip over here. Love the fabric shop. I will be trying to find it myself on my next trip to London.

Sharon Stanley said...

once again i am agog...i am transported to an envious place i rarely go....i am drooling at the thoughts of so much english goodness. thank you so kindly for sharing this trip which i can so vividly travel to vicariously in the dottie angel caravan.

Donna -Little Tiny Stitches said...

Oh my, oh my, I recognise some of those prints of fabrics as being in my stash :o)

This is good news, as it means that I, too, have good taste :o)

A lovely, splendid day you had that day. Thankyou so much for sharing Tif... XX

Hoola Tallulah said...

OH! How could you? How could you talk so of vintage fabric heaven and not share the address?! Dear Miss Tiff, please, very kindly, let me know where this most perfect place of fabric perfection might be. I live in suburbia and pass through London quite frequently. If you do not tell me then you will be entirely responsible for my probably resorting to becoming a travelling vagabond, trawling the streets of London come rain or shine, blisters upon my toes and london filth beneath my nails. Passersby shall look upon me with great pity as I drag my sorry ass from pillar to post, babbling wildly about Fabric heaven. Such behaviour might even lead to my being sectioned and straight jacketed. Can you really rest with that on your conscience? CAN YOU?!

Tracy Glover said...

It looks like a great shop and you look super cute too and very happy. Dottie Towers looks smashing too. x

Helena Hinz said...

Yes, you do look soooo very happy. I am sure there are shelves of goodness in heaven. Angels need to maintain their sanity also. All the chaos in the world,goodness is necessary. Love the giant rabbits....I do see long floppy eared rabbits hanging out at Mossy Shed. Hope you had great fun.
XOXO Helena

dottie angel said...

oh my dearies, how could i not know of its address? quite simple really, i just go where i am told to go. if i am with anyone other than myself i allow them to lead, partly because i always have my head in the clouds looking at what is going on around me and never where i am going. and partly because i do not wish to be responsible for getting us lost...
that being said i do know two things, vintage fabric heaven is called The Shop and it is located near Brick Lane and that my dearies is all i have to offer in the way of clues as to it's location.

hoola tallulah, what a picture you have just painted my dear!

mary-cate, the paint was found lurking in my garage and it is by Benjamin Moore and the number is 694, it is kind of a seaform green with a hint of duck egg about it...

Tracey@bountifully said...

that little cluster of frames is looking very fine

Naturally Carol said...

Hi Tif..just lovin' the big heart cushion you have made for your daughter to come home too..so welcoming!

Lu and Miss Lu said...

Oh Tif - so lovely to hear you had a super thrifty time in London town. It IS a wonderful place to be, but sorry that we didn't get to meet. I did take Thing 1 and Thing 2 to the Selvedge fair, but we must have been at a different time to you - hope you enjoyed it as much as I did!
Your East London escapade sounds perfect. Spitalfields, YES and the Shop (its on Cheshire Street) SUPER YES! (Though not to be confused with the also lovely Shop on Colombia Road which hosts a wealth of other lovely things made by Jessie and Budug - I would recommend a visit on your next trip)
Lovely to have you back on the blog.
Toodle pip for mow
Lucy

Jessica Wright said...

Ooooh oooh oooooh! I know the shop you're talking about...it's a stone's throw from where I live! I love it too...I think it's nameless...receipts just say The Shop but it's on Cheshire Street, E2 in London...

Hope I've shined a vintagey fabricy light on this little conundrum for you all.

Unknown said...

Tiff,
I have found your blog from my friend Shannon, who just received your gorgeous notebooks.
I LOVE your writing...and realize what I really want to do when I grow up is to travel abroad and go to every flea market in each country. Fabulous idea, huh??!
xo
lynn

sarah said...

Hi Tif,
I am visiting London soon, do you possible think you could ask for directions to such a vintage fabric mecca???

guernseygirlgetscrafty
sarah x

Anonymous said...

Hello Tiff (and everyone!)
Here's the address:
The Shop, 3 Cheshire Street, off Brick Lane, E2 6ED. Tel:020 7739 5631
x

steven mcvay said...

i know where that shop is.. i have been inside its lovliness myself..i recognise the overflowing shelf behind you, its a very tiny and very ram packed shop.. and im sure its on cheshire st, just off brick lane, this street has quite a few lovely shops so well worth a wander... and i like you have met emily before, and she was lovely to me too... i hope you went to spitalfields on a thursday, the vintage market day ?.. its A to the MA to the ZING..x

sue said...

How wonderful is the internet, two minutes of searching and hey presto I have it..............You know .....the address.......The shop, the place, fabric heaven........the place we all want to visit.
Enjoy if you can get there
The Shop, 3 Cheshire Street, off Brick Lane, E2 6ED

mamas collection said...

Gotta admit; I'm a bit drooly right now....

Carla said...

oh tif! i read you (well, your blog!) avidly but am always too shy to comment... but fabric heaven has spurred me into my very first ever comment! i am searching and searching online for The Shop near Brick Lane, as one of my best and most fabric-y friends is meeting me in London on saturday and i would love to be able to take her there!

i'm glad you had a good time, looking forward to the next post as always :)

carla x

Ragamuffin Gal said...

Tif ~
I think that is the most wonderful sounding adventure a girl could have and thank you for sharing a peek into heaven!

emily said...

oh my word! such loot! i wish we had such places here in australia! You should come, bring the lot!

love your blog, you stylish lady! I actually just started my own little blog, just for fun.

oh and also, we just had a little girl and called her Olive, the name of your cute poochie. It's an okay name for humans, right? ;)

thanks for the beauty you put into cyber space!

emily
xx

dottie angel said...

oh my goodness dearies!!! you must have your little detective caps on, how fabby...
so there we have it, vintage fabric heaven is worth the trip if you head to london along with the market and caravan :)

thank you for the info dearies and for your lovely peachy comments which always make me smile

Tugba Kop Illustration said...

Wow! That does look heavenly!

rino said...

oh that was truely a fabric heaven...