Check out Sugar Blue's Retro Market at The Fly By Nightclub on Parry Street 12-4pm on Sunday 27th May, 2012. TWO HOT MARKETS on the ONE DAY within 200m of each other? You'd be crazy to this vintage bonanza as Fremantle City become a fabulous vintage hub for the day!

VVV in Drum Magazine

Check out this week's issue of Drum Magazine, out today! VVV are featured in the the new fashion section called "Lure". Pick up your free copy today at all good fashion, food and beverage outlets.

Out and About .... in Freo

Have been into Freo this morning. First up, met the lovely Jane at FreInfo - she also sits at the community notices desk in the Fremantle Library. A copy of our flyer is on the noticeboard and is included in the regular FreInfo email to over 660 email addresses. Jane was really helpful and very efficient, a big thankyou.

A couple of weeks ago I posted flyers at the 'Old Values' retro store in Fremantle, the Victoria Street Deli in Mosman Park, Breast Check in Mosman Park (my breasts are indebted to Alex and her team) and the 91 Seeds cafe on Marmion Street in Palmyra. Today I posted them at the South Fremantle Shopping Complex, The South Beach Cafe, The Meeting Place (and had a chat with Jenny), Tropicana, Hamilton Hill IGA and a busy cafe near Westgate Mall. If there is a public space that invites material, then I am filling it. And watch out Muzz Buzz girls, my favourite ones on Rockingham Road got their flyer this morning, I'm handing them out to anyone I meet along the way.

I then visited the local vintage and retro stores in Fremantle. This was a real pleasure, it is some time since I have been able to just meander through the town of my childhood and its looking pretty good, creative expression is really blooming there. First I visited Fi & Co at the back of New Editions bookshop. Then on to Seldom She Blushes where I met Fern who then introduced me to Annette of Broken Doll. Pop Ups at our event from both these ladies look promising. Then I visited Off the Wall and Pongee, no one home but I will return.

And in the midst of all this a call from the lovely Louise at Kwik Copy to say that the printing of our promotional material is underway and she will call me as soon as they are finished - how exciting!

I've returned home for a short break to see that the We Heart Vintage girls in Mt Lawley have tuned in on our facebook - fantastic. Am off again soon, Canning Highway here I come!

Catching Up on the Local Scene

Cathing up on local and international events a couple of words in order. Thank you to Winifred and Bance for promoting our event! Next, a new monthly vintage market starts up on 24 April in Mt Lawley - find 'We Love Vintage' on Facebook and be part of this new north of the river initiative.

Vintage Vixens and Vamps - Revamped

Maureen and I visited Kerri and Melanie of Red Feathers and a Hula Skirt yesterday. Very rich conversation, lots to ponder, the difficult part will be in narrowing down the ideas for our big event on May 23. This morning Melanie sent through a revamped poster - it is gorgeous. Maureen is off having it printed up and a 1000 will be distributed by the Poster Girls in the coming weeks. Keep an eye out for them and if you see one around let me know. Huge thanks to Melanie for lending a talented hand.

New Dress a Day Link

Had a fantastic conversation with Lara of Smith and Bird this morning. Talked textiles, refashioning, Swaperama, craft books, yarn bombing, the Mandurah Stretch Festival and Etsy. But the best thing to come out of our chit chat was the link Lara sent me http://newdressaday.wordpress.com/about/ Go to it. On the site you will find a woman who has committed to not buying new clothes for a whole year and at the same time wishes to get her creative juices flowing. She has set herself a budget of $1 a day with which to buy one used item of clothing which she then refashions. I started to look at all the photos but realised I could sit there all day and had to drag myself away. But I have signed up to get the daily posts. Very inspiring, now instead of continually being attracted to anything from the 80's in op shops I'm off to look for big and blousey! Making friends again with my Pfaff....

Cupcake Days

A couple of weeks ago I was having a really bad day, I can't remember all the details but my mind was filled with everything that wasn't going right. Now, I know that we can only experience what is on our mind so I took a step back and had a look at what I was paying attention to. After a few moments I realised that nearly everything I was attending to (and thinking negatively about) was totally out of my control. The only thing that was totally within my power to make brilliant or dismal were the cupcakes I had made that morning - and they had turned out fantastic. In an instant I went from feeling lousy and thinking that I was totally useless to feeling great because of all the things that had crossed my path that day, the one that I was in control of had turned out brilliant. On that day I coined the term 'my cupcake moment', the moment in time when I was competent. Since then Maureen and I often talk about whether we have had a cupcake day or simply cupcake moments, and my six year old daughter has also adopted the term. In the last week I have had several cupcake days, ones in which things have just gone right. I have had shop owners very happy to put our flyers in their shop windows, cafes taking what money I had in my purse for my coffee rather than the full price, and a very serendipitous chance encounter with Melanie and Kerri of Red Feathers and a Hula Skirt. For many reasons both my daughter and I had another cupcake day today, one of my highlights being the acquisition of several great clothes racks. And whenever I think of cupcakes images of the delicious works of art by Kate Laurendi always come to mind. I first met Kate when with The Markets, and now she has eagerly put her hand up to join us at our 'Vintage Vixens and Vamps' event in May. If you haven't indulged your sense with her cupcakes then I recommend you visit her on facebook, and better still meet her in May. I hope everyone is having some great cupcake days, there is certainly some fantastic initiatives underway in Perth and I am really looking forward to mixing with them all.

International Shopping

Maureen and myself both have international trips on our schedule for 2010 - and will we make the most of them! On 22 March Maureen is off to one of the ultimate destinations for things chic, quirky, arty, funky, stylish .... New York! One of the venues she will visit is the Brooklyn Flea Market. "This great outdoor marketplace caters to bargain hunters, collectors, novice shoppers and anyone with an appetite." What an assortment and array of community eclectics. Look out for photos direct from New York into our facebook and blog, and make sure your diary is marked with our Vintage Vixens and Vamps event on 23 May in the Fremantle Town Hall. Stallholders are booking in, more information on them will be posted in the coming weeks.

Feeling Fab with Frugal Fashion Finesse

If you haven't seen the photos on our facebook page, then I heartily recommend that you do! Si (our Victorian Buyer) is on the hunt again this weekend for that quality fashion piece at a smidgeon of what can be purchased new. Make the most of yesteryear's quality and look your best today. In looking through some of the London and Milan websites (both cities we will be visiting for something really special) I came across the comment that "in dressing vintage, clothing items are old but the overall look needs to have a modern feel to it" otherwise we look like we're in a children's movie. It's how we put this with that, and obviously shoes and accessories play a big part. I love the quality of clothes of yesteryear, when I was in the job that paid the money I luxuriated in shopping in David Jones and George's in Melbourne, I miss the feel and look of those clothes, particularly the 80's and some of our Australian designers. But on 23 May I will have the chance to travel down memory lane again - and all under one roof! If you haven't been onto our facebook, get on to it and join up. Si will be posting photos of his purchases throughout the next few months, you can have immediate access to their viewing and post your own comments on their appeal.