I had such a wonderful weekend, the weather was amazing ( the thunder storms on Friday night here were spectacular to watch, but I am aware some poor people did get hurt) But for all the weekend we had hot summer sun and it was beautiful.
On Saturday we went to Petworth Park to the The Country Brocante where talent from all over the country it seemed had a stand with either beautiful vintage and antique to buy (including stunning fabrics) or there were people selling what they had made from vintage treasures. The drive into Petworth was worth going for as it is set in a beautiful grounds and within in these nestled beautifully was Petworth House. The Country Brocante had marques set up and as you went in there was
The Garden Gallery with beautiful stands filled with French finds, textiles, antique painted furniture, plants and flowers and so much more as you wandered through it led to
The Capability Brown Tent where you a tent filled with decorative antiques, furniture and The Old haberdashery were in residence along with Caroline Zoob, Hesta Nesta, Little Wren Vintage, Beyond France, Will & Bea, The vintage blanket Co, Belle Epoque, Emily loves vintage and lots more.......
The marques flowed from inside to out with parts open so that a little welcome breeze blew through.
The Sussex tent was on the left and again this was filled with vintage treasures to the rafters. In residence was some amazing talent including The lovely
Simone of Ayres & Grace. Oh my Simone makes the most stunning pieces including animals and dolls and also embroiders beautifully and
makes stunning cushions and tiny lavender filled cushions as well. There was a horse on wheels ( like a pull along toy) and I honestly thought it was a prop BUT no Simone had made it! rabbits, dogs the animal kingdom was there and they had all been made by this incredibly talented lady, who I have to say stands in the shadows and I really hope and believe we should see more of her work which is outstanding. I bought one of her little dolls she makes who is laying down reading a flower book ( which is made from antique fabrics by the way) ... later in the week I will be doing a show and tell of what I purchased and you will see a photo of this beautiful piece. Having only met this lovely lady at Sarah Moore's last weekend in person ( which is crazy as we have been friends on facebook for some time now!!) it was so lovely to see her again and actually see her work in the flesh and be able to look at the detail that goes into it.
The Sussex tent had some wonderful stalls inside and although I could not take photos of everything all stalls that were in attendance according to the Country Brocante show guide will be listed at the end. I found the lovely Liz of The Washerwoman fame and I bought some stunning pieces from her. The tent had started to fill up by now and everybody there was becoming extremely busy.
I also caught up with the very talented Suzanne from Hearts 'n Kisses, Suzanne had travelled a long way to attend this fair and her stall was full of amazing and tempting things that she makes. I bought a piece from her and again that will be in the show and tell. We had a little catch up and then I met for the first time a lovely lady named Chris who takes workshops and has a little shop called The Cozy Club .... It was a pleasure to meet her and to be able to connect via social media to keep in touch.
I met Susie Petrall and her stall was full of beautiful and tempting bits including some early 19C log cabin pieces of which I bought three ( going to frame them as a picture for my personal collection).
It was time to take a little break as we had been up early to get there when it opened as we had to leave by 1.30 to get home as we were hosting a Birthday Party for a friend that night ( yes I know its madness but we ladies are organised aren't we ... by the way the party was amazing and so much fun... it went on until 3am and I have not laughed so much in ages!) sorry I digress so we found The Country Cafe and had a cup of coffee and my husband sampled a couple of their cakes, which he told me were outstanding! ( I can not eat sweet things in the hot sun so was holding out for the lunch we had a little later ... quiche and salad, which was really good along with a lovely cold drink with ice!) The cafe was in its own tent with seating inside and out and the ladies in there were flat out!
The Garden Bazaar which was outside and between the cafe and the Sussex tent had some wonderful stalls including Caroline Bloomfield Antiques, Tatty and Torn, Dales Country Interiors, My vintage Garden, Posh Jumble, My Vintage Garden,.. and more.
I had to go and visit The Old Haberdashery because earlier I had spied some beautiful buttons and want to have a root through those. I bought some really beautiful ones as well.
Right next door was Will and Bea and we caught up a little. There were so many goodies to tempt you with and her displays were, as always, so eye catching. There were bunches of beautiful smelling lavender which filled the air and lovely bits of china and kitchenalia as well. There was a table all set out with some beautiful glass goods and bundles of vintage fabrics in baskets....
I went along and caught up with the lovely Jo from Hesta Nesta. Jo always has such a stunning display of house and garden goodies along side so exquistite pieces which include shoes and of course bodice and basques ... Jo is a collector herself of these and my guess is that is why she has such an eye for details and beauty, and right next door to her was Little Wren Vintage and the lovely Emma who owns that.... Emma had some great buttons too which had to come home with me and she
makes stunning cards so I bought one for a friends Birthday later in the year..... Emma had made some beautiful cushions and bags from vintage fabrics and also some beautiful flower brooches as well made from bits of vintage quilts and fabrics. There was some beautiful china on display along with a display of vintage toys as well. Hanging hearts filled with beautiful smelling lavender and roses were displayed and as always Emma's display was pure eye candy.
Beyond France was just opposite and Maud had some gorgeous
linens on display including a chair that had be re upholstered in a beautiful antique blue linen. There were some beautiful flowers that hand on a wall made of antique linens and a linen dress as well.
We were able to have a chat for a while and a catch up, as always laughing at antics along the way. Maud had stayed at a Bed and Breakfast the night before and lets just say it was not the best experience of her life...... She is such a wonderful lady and made me laugh. Still there she was with such a beautiful display of antique linens and goodies with a smile on her face!
Caroline Zoob was there with some beautiful antique pieces ( boo hoo she had not brought any of her embroidered pieces to purchase that day) but never the less this lady has an eye for all things stunning and her stand looked amazing..... As you may recall earlier this year I went to a vintage fair that
Caroline helped organise and she is doing another one in London later this year so watch out on here for all the details.....
Wandering around in a vintage heaven trance like state I found Alison of Betty & Violet and as always her stall was stunning. We
only had a chance to say hello as Alison was extremely busy. There were beautiful little lavender filled cushions with vintage mother of pearl buckles and ribbons, dolls and some inspiration packs with lace and fabrics...... You may remember I did an interview with Alison last month ( so if you have not read it have a read about what Alison does and what made her start her business)
By this time the show was in full swing and the tents had really started to fill up.... it was time for us to leave and was 1.45pm so I said my goodbyes and we got to the car with my arm full of vintage treasures to drive home.
This was a beautiful Brocante and I would like to thank Love Lane Vintage for organising such a lovely event in one of the most stunning settings that I have seen. The work that goes into something like this is enormous but I am sure everyone that attended would say it was well worth it as it was so well thought out and full of wonderful and talented people all in one place......
Well as you can see I am late today so I must get on with my stitching... Have a wonderful day and of course as always
Happy Stitching!
P.s When I do my show and tell I will type a list of all the people who had stand there ( according to The Country Brocante brochure) ...... Petworth Park Saturday 4th July 2015.
.