It's been quite some time since we last showcased some of the boutique labels that we covert over here at Twee Towers, so today we're sharing a few of the jewellery additions we've recently added to our collections from the wonderful, Eclectic Eccentricity!
Eclectic Eccentricity began as a humble, weekend hobby of gift shop manager, Lucy as she scoured antique shops and markets for pretty trinkets and exquisite gems to make into darling pieces of jewellery. It has since grown into a magnificent treasure trove for those seeking unique designs with plenty of personality... not to mention the fact that the brand is now a celeb favourite and regularly graces the pages of Marie Claire, Grazia and Vogue!
Back in December, we were luck enough to be involved in EE's '12 days of Christmas' project, in which they very kindly gifted us a few of their Seeing Stars Necklaces... a mighty fine choice for us Space Nerds, one would like to add! We were over the moon when the lovely team featured She Dressed in Black as their blog of the day and we loved answering a few of their Christmas themed questions over on their blog!
When it comes to jewellery, both of us like to keep iit quite minimal, favouring extra special pieces that have a story to tell, which is exactly why we love EE. Each piece is carefully created using a mix of vintage treasures & whimsical jewels, woven together with a charming backstory.We think that they make the best gifts and our bank balances were pleased to find that they come at exceptionally, affordable prices!
Our ears pricked up when EE announced that new stock was about to hit the shelves and you can not imagine our giddyness as we unwrapped these beautifully, packaged goodies that the postman left on our doorstep...
With a life long fondness for Native American culture, Rhi chose the stunning, 'Quill Turquoise Feather Necklace', a genuine Native American carved bone feather pendant, finished with a smaller brass feather and three faceted turquoise beads. The perfect accompaniment to floaty, bohemian, summer staples.
Lamenting rainy Sunday's spent painting and listening to old records, Lauren chose the miniature metal gramophonewith small brass note charm. Harking back to musical delights of the Golden Twenties, there's nothing sweeter than the nostalgic, skip and cackle of an old gramophone to add a musical note to this summer's festival ensembles!
Little M's recent fascination with all thing pre-historic will certainly be making an impact on Rhi's wardrobe in the coming months with the inclusion of this vintage brass stegosaurus(there's also a T-rex option!) pendant finished with a brass leaf, forest green rose and genuine amber bead!
With a penchant for pretty pocketwatches, the 'It's About Time' pocket watch necklace' is sure to make a regular appearance out with Lauren! Want to know another secret? If you flip it over, you can even see the mechanism working, spectacular! Sadly, this beaut has been out of stock on the site, but we'll share some snaps once it's winged its way to us!
Take a look at the EE shop to browse the full collection, or visit their blog for inspirations, special offers and sneaky peaks of new collections!
Today I'm absolutely delighted to share with you a recent interview we did with Claire and Lauren of my favourite independent label, Alice Takes a Trip. Regular readers of the blog may have caught a glimpse of their fab work, when I picked them for my Boutique Love feature at the start of the year... or every time I share an outfit post as their designs are never off my back!
I stumbled across this brand whilst I was uni and instantly fell in love with their magical little shop with a sewing machine set up in the corner and Victoriana inspired attire, using exquisite velvet fabrics, embellished with bows and dreamy vintage style lace. Since then, their collection and style has expanded greatly, offering the most charming collection of t-shirts, shorts, jumpers, dresses & bags! I find that the cut of the garments are always perfect (boyfriend fit tees, high waisted 50s fitting shorts), and the prints each season are always exciting and fresh.
I was absolutely thrilled when they asked me to model for their S/S 12 collection, and got to spend a day getting ready in their lush studio space, having our hair curled, plaited, crimped and top-knotted by the beautiful Jennifer of Jennifer Sarah Hairdressing and flouncing around in a grand hotel for the shoot in my dream wardrobe! They are both so incredibly lovely, so we got in touch again to find out a little more about their brand...
Alice Takes A Trip, Owners & Designers (and sisters!) Lauren & Claire
We got sewing machines from a very young age and have therefore always been interested in fashion. We soon started making our own clothes and so the obvious choice for us was to both go on and study fashion after leaving school - that way we got to learn proper techniques like pattern cutting.
We established in 2006 - Claire opened a small boutique in the Forum shops in Sheffield while Lauren was at university. At this time Alice Takes a Trip mainly consisted of re-worked vintage and re-worked fun, quirky prom dresses that seemed to get our name on the market as a lot of companies wanted to use them for fashion shoots and shows. When Lauren finished university we decided to take Alice Takes a Trip to the next level and turn it into a brand name. We closed the shop and moved into a design studio to sell online and wholesale to shops and boutiques worldwide. Getting a boutique on ASOS has really boosted our company worldwide.
Alice in Wonderland, the Victorian Fairytale has always been one of our main sources of inspiration, as every collection we always include a dolly dress. We don't have a set style icon as such, we get our dress inspiration from Victorian Pot Dolls and Victorian Clothing. The rest of our collection ties in with current trends of that season but with an added twist.
An Alice girl is fashion forward and in with the trends but also wants to be different and stand out from the crowd. Our customers seem very loyal and come back over and over again. We try to add a new mini collection every six weeks to keep the brand fresh.
We have won a few competitions but our favourite and most enjoyable has to be having the chance to be involved with Channel 4's Frock Me TV Show, which was hosted by Alexa Chung & Henry Holland. During the show we designed and made an outfit for one of the contestants - they then went on to win best dressed in the show. We took part in our first trade show a couple of years ago at London Edge and had the smallest stall there, but went on to win the Best Dressed Stall of that Season. We were excited to catch Caryn Franklin browsing our rails at the clothes show and purchasing two of our t-shirts for her daughters.
Most things are done in our studio. That means we do the designing, the making, the photoshoots, the website, and flyer designs and everything else that crops up, so it's all pretty full on. Even though it can be hard, it's what we love doing and we think it's what makes Alice Takes a Trip unique. With Alice contanstly growing we are having some things factory made but have sourced a local factory in the UK to still keep things made in our home town of Sheffield.
White Leopard Print Faux Rustic Leather Cross Stud T-Shirt,Alice Takes A Trip
We have something very exciting up our sleeves and are working on an exclusive designer range for Alice Takes a Trip. We don't want to give too much away right now but this should be ready in around 4 weeks.
We are in the studio from 8am till 6pm every week day and grab a few mins for lunch on the go. It's constantly non-stop but we wouldn't have it any other way.
Our little Alice teams consists of mix musical tastes to it's a constant battle for the ipod. Once your back's turned the song has changed! Ha!
To view the full collection visit their website, their ASOS Boutique, or follow on Facebook for first previews of upcoming collections and exclusive special offers!
Thanks so much lovelies, we can't wait to see what's coming next!
Much love,
Lauren xx
PS. You still have until 12pm (GMT) tomorrow to enter our One Year Giveaway for your chance of winning our fave twee-treats! ♥ Take a look here.
At the age of 10, in our year 6 leavers assembly, we each took it in turns to take to the mike and naively declare what we would like to be when we were older. At that time I had become disenchanted by dreams of being a ballet dancer and with my mum persuading me that being a Spice Girl wasn't a feasible career choice, I had to give up the ghost on that one too. If there's one thing you should know about my mama, it's that during the 90s, she had a serious gripe with the Spice Girls. Only after years of guilt-tripping about the time she persuaded by to buy an Oasis album with my birthday money, rather than the girl power gift to mankind, did I receive my first SG album... at the age of 17). So thus, upon reaching double figures, imagining faraway lands and glamourous outfits, I decided I was ready to take on the world and announced that I was going to be a an air hostess...
As I got a little older, and my interests in the arts grew, I am sad to say that the dream never materialised. I also realised that I'd be rubbish in an emergency and would get bored of serving tiny cans of pop and snacksize pringles to disgruntled and nervous passengers very quickly. It did, however fuel a ebullient interest in the wonderful, winged catwalk that existed in our skies in the Sixties & Seventies.
With the world literally at their feet, the stewardess of the sixties were noted for their notorious glamour; their lives were made up of fabulous tales of mischevious romances with the elite (as well as the Captains!), and discreetly sipping champagne, 30,000 feet over the Atlantic. At that time, the position of an air stewardess was up their with supermodels & actress'.
Berets and stripes for the French airlines!
The girls were expected to have wit, personality and education and above all, great legs. After the stuffiness of the fifties, airlines went to town in the sixties and fashion began to dominate the skies. With regards to the uniform, conservative blacks and blues were dropped in favour of mesmerising concoctions of eye popping colour blocking, micro minis and even an appearance from the go-go boot! The hostess themselves were marketed as flawless, vivacious pinups, perfectly preened and wonderfully modelled outside the aircraft for press shoots like synchronised swimmers.
Emilio Pucca spearheaded the modernisation of Braniff Airways with their 'End of a plain plane' campaign by using bright geometric shapes, cheeky advertising & the creation of the incredible 'bubble helmet', a charming piece of sixties PVC designed to protect the steward's hair from wind and rain!
Don't you just wish you could have been there!?
And to leave you with something apt for our ventures into the skies today... the lovely, Thunderclap Newman's 'Something in the Air'... enjoy!
As the Spring season draws in, there is nothing better than getting up early on a Sunday morning and going for a meander around a flea market. One of the must-do's on the agenda of Lola & James' Berlin adventure was getting to one of the hugely popular flea markets that were littered around the City. After checking out a few online first, they opted for the Arkonaplatz market, located in the Mitte district, advertised as a haven for fans of Sixties & Seventies. Nom.
The problem is, with the warmer weather also comes the larger crowd and the competition to bag yourself exquisite antiques and beautiful bargains heats up! At this time of year you need a plan as well as a good eye and it's also easy to feel overwhelmed by the vast array of knick-knacks on offer. So today we are sharing our top tips, that will hopefully help you have a successful trip around the flea-markets and as girls that love shopping, we like to think we know a thing or two...
1. Arrive early - we're starting with an obvious one, it goes without saying. Not only are you putting yourself in the same privileged position as the rest of the savvy, flea-market frequenters to bag the bargains first, but it's also wise to be careful of item hoppers - a self-penned term ;)! That is, vendors browsing around the market early on, buying items and selling it on their own stall later in the day at an increased price! Apparently, it happens a lot more frequently than you think and sometimes items can jump from several stalls throughout the day and the price multiply each time! 2. Take cash - another obvious tip but in a day and age where we rely on carrying around our cash cards, it's so, so easy to forget to cash out for occasions like this and it would be simply tragic (we're not even being dramatic, tragic!) to miss out on something that you love, purely because you didn't have the cash on you! 3. Have an initial browse - As we mentioned earlier, it's really easy to be overwhelmed by the fast pace and bumble of people crammed into compact markets not to mention the thousands upon thousands of items on offer.... just where do you start? We found that the best thing to do was to have an initial browse up and down all the aisles to get a feel for what sort of things were on offer before heading back to take a closer look at the things which caught our eye! Remember, most flea markets are open all day (9am-5pm) so take your time :)
4. Make a wish list - it's so much easier to find something you'll love for years to come if it's something that will have a place in your home. Make a wishlist beforehand, even if you divert from the list for a couple of impromptu bought items, it keeps a sense of focus when browsing amongst the variety of knick-knacks available... it's easy to get carried away with no-so-practical purchases when it's all sittin' pretty!
5. Buy old - Resist the urge to buy something new. At the Arkonaplatz market, vendors had also set up darling stalls full of home-made and vintage looking jewellery (Egyptian inspired beetle jewels & cameo necklaces, gah!) as lovely as they looked, it seems a shame to browse around a flea market, only to come home with something brand new that you could search out online. Keep to the old and the antique and then you'll truely feel like you've found a treasure!
6. Colour vision - Seems silly but it does work...use colour to scan out items from your favourite eras. Colour pops of bright orange kept catching my attention and pulling me towards wonderful stands full of 60s and 70s delights!
7. Do your research - This really does help! If you have access to internet on your phone, use it! This way you have a much greater idea of how much an item is really worth before you pay or barter... you could even show the vendor the prices that you've found to see if this will encourage them to knock off a little more dollar! James fell in love with a beautiful sounding harmonica from the 50s on one of the stalls, the vendor was adament that the price offered was a bargain... a quick browse on ebay soon uncovered that you could get them a little cheaper online! There's nothing worse than feeling fooled by a confident seller!
8. Stay friendly & polite - although it might not aid your quest for lustrous bargains too much, remember that the majority of items on offer are probably from private collections or the seller's own possessions. Be respectful of sentimental value and use this to your advantage to find out as much information as you can about the items - it's always lovely to have a bit of backstory!
9. Take a tape measure - At Twee Towers, practicality is not always our forte... remember we bought our sofa without even considering the shape or size of the living room before moving in... luckily it fitted! For bulkier, house hold items, being able to measure will be a useful tool and will save you tediously lugging around a chest of drawers only to find it's too big to fit anywhere!
10. Look past the wear and tear- we all get suckered in by pretty, visual merchandising and artistic set ups but some of the best antique junk looks just like it sounds... junk! We stumbled across a stall that at first glance looked like boxes upon boxes of recycled metal, on closer inspection they housed the most charming, ornate brass door knobs that would make an amazing feature on wooden drawers and dressers... and sooo much cheaper than you would pay elsewhere! At Twee Towers we live by the mantra that almost everything can be fixed, scrubbed up and upcycled!
11. A bonus tip - enjoy yourself! How often do you get to spend a day drifting around troves of vintage and antique treasure? Buying is much more interesting when you have to work to find your goods!
We hope you enjoyed today's tips... happy shopping :)
