My sister-in-law was visiting this weekend and we decided to pay a visit to a vintage fair being held at St Gemma’s hospice in Leeds. Despite having worked there in the past I had never been to one, and having heard tantalising tales on twitter of exciting finds, I was desperate to check it out! Basically it’s a sale of all things vintage or retro that have been donated to their charity shops, along with a few specialist vintage stallholders. Maybe this is where all the vintage teacups of Leeds are hiding……
The fair was on Saturday & Sunday, and I was pleased to see there was still loads to choose from on the Sunday when we popped in. There was everything from the usual books, clothes, crockery and jewellery to interesting pieces of furniture and even retro football shirts. Some of the stallholders were volunteers and were doing a great job of encouraging interest, others had personal collections that they were selling, and there were a few businesses.
I was particularly impressed with a stall selling art deco homewares, where i picked up a 1930s plum glaze stoneware jug for £13 (which is big enough to hold a bottle of red wine, and will be used as such!). I also got some lovely vintage buttons, a navy blue beaded necklace and a pink rose tea cup & saucer to add to my vintage tea set. (I was pleased to see these hadn’t all been purchased by My Secret Tearoom!) My sister in law picked up a British Airways suitcase, which invoked memories of movies like ‘Up in the Air’ and ‘Catch Me If You Can’. Most of the prices seemed very cheap for what you could get, and cliche’s like ‘one man’s treasure’ and ‘what goes around comes around’ and all that came to mind.
An entry donation as small as £1 was all that was necessary for the day, but there were raffle tickets for sale and refreshments of tea served in vintage china on offer to raise some extra cash. I was really pleased we went along to support such a good cause. From the 4 months I spent working there a few years ago, it really is an amazing place offering support, respite, care and comfort where the NHS sadly falls short of the mark in end of life care.
3xJohnson Said:
on September 21, 2010 at 11:13 am
You are very restrained not to have spent your budget.