Mini road trip & Lovely Customers!

So it's half term this week, and our shop in Barnard Castle has been really busy with lots of lovely customers. It was my first day in this week, as we are all only working three days a week at the moment so we have time off to make things while it is still pretty quiet. Can't wait for Spring!

I took the day off yesterday and spent the day with my lovely friend who I went to college with, Jade. It was her Birthday on Valentine's Day so we went out for the day toegther yesterday and went on a mini road trip. Here is my outfit for the day (yesterday!) 

Dress: Vintage, cinched in with a belt

Belt: Custom made "Love Rock N Roll" Belt from BeltMe.co.uk

Leather handbag: Vintage Moschino

Tights: Primark

Leather boots: Vintage AKA: Charity shop!

Jade's photo of her Birthday card and cakes I made her!

We started our shopping trip in Primark of course! It has been a while since I have been shopping so I purchased a few things (Obviously.) I got an Aztecy/Fairisle style jumper in cream, blues and reds for £12, some denim cut off shorts with ripped/distressed effect for £12 which I will definately be wearing with tights for the next few weeks (Brrrrr!), and a tan faux leather skirt for £5 in the sale, bargain! We then continued our trip to Yarm and Stokesley in North Yorkshire and had a rumage around the charity shops but didn't find much today. I'm always on the look out for pretty vintage plates for the cake stands that I make. I only brought a few small things back today, much to the relief of my other half. 

He seems to think we could set up a plate shop judging by the amount we have in the downstairs cupboard!

Outfit for today: The sun was out this morning, so out came the mini skirt!

Jumper: Primark from yesterday

Belt: Vintage

Skirt: Made by me out of a pair of old Levi's

Tights: Primark

Boots: Nine West

Ring: Vintage Fair 

The shop has been busy with lots of lovely customers today. We were on the TV on antique dealer programme "Put your money where your mouth is" on BBC2 last Tuesday, so that seems to have brought a lot of people in. One man commented that the shop was more like a museum and that we should charge an entrance fee! I said we had joked about that before, but I don't know how well it would go down with the customers! On the way out he handed me a pound coin, and said I had to put it in the till and said thank you for such an interesting visit. Awwww....We do have the best customers.



So what is Threadbear?

So I finally got around to setting up my blog. I guess I should start by telling you a little bit about myself and my business. My name is Helen and I am self employed and run my business Threadbear from Barnard Castle in Co Durham.

Shop images

I am a Fashion Marketing Graduate who studied at Northumbria Uni for 4 years, completing my course in 2009. Threadbear started life as a Children's book, which I worked on for my final project at University. The book was split in to four different stories centered around old Teddy bears, and it had a hidden message to teach Children that these bears had been on an adventure and to treasure them and play with them, rather than throw them away. We live in such a throw-away society and I think it is important to teach Children the value of items, especially treasured one's that have been in the family for years. Threadbear was displayed at Graduate Fashion Week in London, and got a mention on the Vogue website: http://www.vogue.co.uk/news/2009/06/08/graduate-fashion-week-started-at-the-weekend


Below are some images from the book, which I hope one day may get published;

After leaving Uni, I started to make things out of old discarded items. I love to illustrate and along with my love for tea and cakes, I was inspired to illustrate on to ceramics and started up-cycling ceramics in to quirky one-off cake stands. I also begain to make canvas artwork using vintage buttons and postage stamps. Threadbear also creates jewellery and cards from the prints out of the book.

I did lots of fairs and found that my stock went well, so finally took the plunge to give up the day job, and open my first shop in May 2011. Threadbear is located within vintage and retro shop "My Generation" in Barnard Castle.

My Generation is an Aladdin's cave of vintage tea sets, retro coloured glass from 1930's onwards, a vintage habadashery, pre-loved clothes and handcrafted items made in Co Durham.

Threadbear occupies one room in My Generation and mixes my handcrafted one off pieces such as the cake stands, with other handcrafter's items including sock animals (all one-off's) including Aliens, snails, monkeys, bunnies and dinosaurs! These are made by three very talented makers www.etsy.com/shop/treachercreatures and www.etsy.com/shop/sockmonkeyemporiumUk and also my Mum! :)

Copyright Treacher Creatures

Copyright Treacher Creatures

We also have a very talented lady who creates bags out of old tweed jackets, and another favourite of mine is Senor Picklesworth (www.senorpicklesworth.com) the travelling Chihuahua dog created by the talented Gemma. She creates gorgeous illustrations and makes them in to cards, stationary and cushions. All of which can be found in our shop.

Our shop aims to always make you smile, and evoke that warm nostalgic feeling that we could all do with from time to time. We often have customers that appear to have got lost in our shop. They will appear half an hour later with beaming smiles, and lovely comments about our stock.

Speak soon, love Helen x