Gorgeous Things Vintage Jewellery

Greetings dear followers of the Gorgeous Things blog - I have to report that GT & Family are on holiday again (yes I know!) so little me (the Jewellery Department) has been left to hold the fort and entertain the dog on her city break while her pack frolic on Caribbean beaches - I've been there myself, it's horrid, they'll hate it, I'm not jealous at all, not one bit!! This is my first attempt at blogging, exciting.... I hope it doesn't all go horribly wrong! Gorgeous Things Vintage Jewellery currently trades through an eBay store - you can find the link on the right of this page under favourite places. Here at Jewellery Towers we source all sorts of sparkly, classic, collectable and just gorgeous vintage jewels from the antique and unusual to the relatively modern with prices to suit all pockets - I thought I'd take this opportunity to share some of my personal favourite upcoming pieces....

I have a bit of a passion for reverse carved lucite whether in the form of ornaments, napkin rings and of course brooches - this is quite a large brooch with 3 beautiful roses in washed out shades of red and pink - it dates back to the late 1950s/early 1960s and these are not made anymore so becoming very collectable. There are more than one of these in the store at the moment.

Rhinestone jewellery is ever popular - personally I can't resist the clear crystal floral variety, pure simple glamour - always stunning against black - a friend of mine uses brooches like these to decorate lampshades around the home and they look fabulous! This is a particularly nice example, large & good quality - you must always be careful of dead or discoloured (yellowed or greying) stones - the foil backing deteriorates with time and moisture - this one is near perfect very sparkly and a fantastic find! 

Do have a browse of the Gorgeous Things Vintage Jewellery store - you may find something you like - here at Jewellery Towers we pride ourselves on excellent customer service, gorgeous safe packaging and value for money so have a look around - a repair and necklace re-string service is also available.

The new jewellery cabinet at the flagship store at Bourne Mill is coming soon as is more gorgeous stock for the online Gorgeous Things Shop so keep checking back.....    

I hope you've enjoyed this little look into my world of 'wearable art' - feel free to contact the jewellery department at gorgeousthings@btinternet.com, we're always happy to hear from you - in the meantime me and gorgeous doggy will continue to enjoy the riches of the Hampshire summer countryside and try not to dream of white sand beaches, sunset cocktails and fabulous fishes..... hhmmmm.... sigh - on the positive side, the fresh fresh eggs from Gladys and the girls are a total bonus!

Oodles of Poodles

Not sure why, but I seem to keep finding poodles this week!

This sweet little tin was hidden in a box of sewing things inside a piece of furniture I bought this week. Isn't it the cutest thing? I was so excited when I found it! Perfect for filling with pins in a vintage sewing basket.

 And then, my lovely friend from Gorgeous ThingsVintage Jewellery (see link in my sidebar) asked if I'd like to buy anything from her pile of items in need of repair. Oh yes, I'd like to have a look! And I chose quite a few brooches, one of which was this proud looking woofer.

Isn't he the most gorgeous chap? His pin was a little bit wobbly, but I've given it a quick tweak with the pliers, and I think it'll hold now. He's definitely coming on holiday with me! Oh - did I mention I'm off on my hols? Yes - I'm off to Biarritz this afternoon - and this brooch is going to preserve my modesty on the front of my new maxi dress! Apparently the dress required boobs - and I'm a bit lacking in that department - but no matter, this little fellow will make sure that there will be no gaping!

And my final poodle is this fine, fluffy chap-

He's an old pyjama case, and he's made from sheepskin. Look at his lovely face.

Aaaaw! I feel so sorry for him, because he IS very cute, but he is also very old, and (whispers... a bit mancky) I think he must have been in a house with heavy smokers, cos his woolly coat is a bit yellow. I have tried to sponge wash his coat, which has improved him a bit - well, he doesn't smell anymore, anyway. But, he is still a bit mancky. Mr Thing is sick of moving him around my utility room and keeps asking to take him to the tip. Oh, I wish I knew what to do with him - I'm thinking maybe he is destined to find a new home from the car boot sale. But that is if Mr Thing doesn't dispose of him whilst I'm on my girls holiday with Little Thing 1 and Little Thing 2!
But we mustn't be too cross with Mr Thing, cos he has to work next week while we go away to the land of poodles!
So, until then, toodle-poodle pip!

The Glamorous Fifties

So glamorous! So stylish!

I was just saying to Mr. Things the other day over a cup of tea - why don't the young Things and I go and visit my very good friend in France as soon as school is over for the summer. We've been invited to spend a week near the glamorous Biarritz. So I have consulted the travel brochures ....

It looks pretty sophisticated - I'm going to need to glam up! I'll need  a nice frock to travel by air - this one from Horrockses might do..

...but I think I'll take a handbag rather than a coffee pot (not sure what that's all about). Oh and gloves - yes dress gloves will be needed.

And when I get there I can sun myself and frolic on the beach...

...all whilst looking incredibly glamorous, of course!

I have a modest collection of 1950s magazines - they are fascinating to leaf through. The articles are pretty interesting, but the photos, and some of the ads are brilliant - really evocative of the era. While I was setting up my latest gorgeous things to show you, I suddenly thought that a couple of 50's magazines might help to set the scene. But, of course, I couldn't resist checking through them, and was amazed to find the article on Biarritz - I have literally just booked flights to go there this morning - spooky coincidence. So I managed to waste (?) quite a bit of time day dreaming about the 1950s.

Well, I ran out of time to finish photographing my 50s themed china collection, but I'll show you some of the snaps, as it must be time for another picture...

I have amassed quite a quantity of Midwinter Stylecraft and other 50s china. It is just so amazingly jolly! I just picked a few of my yellowy themed bits and pieces here.

The picture above has one small difference to the previous one - can you spot what it is? Sorry, no prizes - well not today! Let's have a closer look at the detail on the different thing.

Oh my, those colours are so pretty! And I can't wait to set up the turquoisey themed pieces, and then the black/red/grey one - oooooh, I'm getting hip hoppy happy thinking about setting that lot up!

As you can probably guess, I'm supposed to be getting some of my 50's china collection ready for the shop, but I wanted to show you some of it first - cos I'm sure it'll all be snapped up and gone in a jiffy once it's over at Bourne Mill.  I've got loads more to photograph, so if you fancy seeing some more I'll post again tomorrow (and try not to spend too long looking through the magazines!).

This little number by Johnson Brothers is called "Gay Fantasy" - I was thinking of titling this post the same, but I'm not sure whether the audience I attracted might be rather disappointed by the content! Still, it might get my hit count up! Hmmm.

Toodle pip!