Betwixt & Between...

I find this a strange time of the year, betwixt & between Christmas and New Year......I suppose one of the reasons is everything changes pace and some things stop all together, your normal routine goes to pieces and you can find yourself lounging on the sofa at 4.00 in the afternoon feeling you should be doing something, but not quite sure what!

I find the end of the year a very retrospective and introspective time, more so because it's not just the end of the year for me, it's also the end of my financial year and I have to do the accounts and take stock of what has happened business wise over the last twelve months and with my birthday coming up in January it becomes a personal review......you know that "gosh another year older" where did the time go.......what have I achieved type of stuff.......

Well, I am going to try to be positive about 2009, Jonathan Cainer whose horoscopes I read most days ( I actually have his site for my homepage ;-) ) says this for me a Capricorn in 2009 and it can apply to anyone.....

'Your task, in 2009, is to overcome fear or misgiving and replace it with confidence, optimism and hope'

Sounds good to me............

Today I had a burst of energy, no sofa moments wondering and wandering through my minds eye. I did some work and launched a sale on the website. We all like a bargain, so if there is something you had your eye on before Christmas have a look as there is a good chance it will have been reduced. I will return to my desk proper on 5th January so any orders placed between now and then will go out during that week.

Wishing everyone a wonderful New Year, lots of luck and happiness for 2009.

Carol xx

P.S. The little felt cat is my 'Lucky' black cat. I have posted him as a good luck symbol to everyone in 2009. He sits in my curio cabinet near my desk, I found him in a delapidated Art Deco handbag many moons ago and adopted him.

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!

Wishing everyone reading this a merry Christmas and a happy new year!

Special thanks to all the Jewel Box customers who during the last year have visited the website, ebay auctions or come to see us at the Nec show. We look forward to seeing you again in 2009 ;-)

Any orders placed on the website over Christmas and the New Year will automatically be reserved and posted out when we re-open 5th January.

December vintage stock...

How time flies!!!

I can't believe it's December 1st on Monday.... One minute you seem to have all the time in the world to prepare for Christmas, then suddenly you are rushing about trying to do everything last minute! Well, that's how it is for me, I'm sure there are lots of you who are much more organised than I am ;-)

I have managed to make a start Christmas shopping and it made me think I had better get round to uploading some new vintage stock onto the website for anyone wanting to buy something vintage for a Christmas gift.

I have added quite a few things across the board amongst which are, Tootal scarves and cravats for the men, sweet lucite/resin brooches, Corde handbags and of course the gorgeous French red beaded handbag featured on this page, imagine opening your christmas present and finding that tucked inside.......
Keep checking back as I hope to add more fresh items in the next couple of weeks.

I have also had a bit of a change around on the site. I am often specifically asked for 'Bridal and Prom' jewellery and accessories, so after some deliberation I decided to change the 'Homewares' section into a category especially for that type of thing. I will gradually try to build up the stock for it over the next few months.

It will still be worth browsing the other categories for that special piece to go with your party, prom or wedding gown, but for anything really twinkly & glittery, crystal or pearl etc including tiaras go to 'Vintage Bridal & Prom'

I have also separated 'Mens vintage accessories' from the 'Ladies vintage accessories' to make it easier to find what you want when you are browsing through.

The website will have been up and running for two years in February ( I can't believe it's that long!) and I felt it needed a bit of re-vamp. I hope the new changes are acceptable :-)

Lots of Vintage goodies at the NEC!

Only a few days left before the NEC 'Antiques for Everyone' show which opens Thursday 30th Oct until Sunday 2nd Nov. We have been really busy getting all the new vintage stock sorted. Jenny and I have lots of gorgeous costume jewellery for you to browse as well as some great vintage handbags, silk scarves and other bits n bobs. Above and below are pic's from the summer show and as you can see, we always have a huge selection!!!

We are Stand L7, so come along and have a look at and try on some of our pretty things........

PLEASE NOTE : On 'The Jewel Box' stand we can only take payment by cash or cheque. Regretfully we are unable to take credit card payments, although there are cashpoints in the NEC complex.

For further information about the show, including opening times, tickets etc and a video about the show, click on the link Antiques for Everyone.

New vintage items added today!

It is one of those rare, glorious autumn mornings when the air is still, the sky is clear and all the beautiful shades of rust, gold and red look stunning!
This morning I made an early start and put a few new items of vintage stock on the website. I particularly love this cute 1930's tin.......what sweet little faces waiting eagerly for the dish to be filled :-) It is in really nice condition and you could use it to put all those little odds and ends in that rattle about in a drawer.

I've also added a few more scarves. This one is featured on the homepage with a lovely red handbag and would brighten up your winter wardrobe.

There are a couple of resin brooches added to the shop, along with a Lea Stein 'Rik' dog brooch and some new vintage 'Homewares' including a Victorian tinplate Snakes & Ladders game....

Have a browse and keep checking back as I hope to add a few more pieces before I get too absorbed in the preparations for the NEC 'Antiques for Everyone' show, which is Oct 30th - Nov 2nd......Enjoy the day ;-)

Wonders of the web!

The last few days have had an Autumnal nip in the air and a couple of mornings have been misty. It has taken the sun quite a long while to finally break through and for the clear blue skies to appear. We have a monkey puzzle tree in the garden and Friday morning it was festooned with an amazing array of spiders webs. The mist hung in the air and the light had that slightly grey tone like the Eastman colour of the old Clint Eastwood movies. There was quite a heavy dew and the dampness was clinging to the webs like tiny crystal beads giving the tree a bejewelled appearance that was really pretty!

Buying, sorting, washing!

The change of season prompted me to put on an 'end of summer sale' on the website so I can make way for the new vintage stock that I have been busy sorting and buying. I have also been taking advantage of the recent warm, late summer days to try to get some of my stock of silk scarves hand washed ready to photograph and list when the website sale ends. As you can see there are still lots more to do!

Pottering about outdoors.....

I find it really hard to stay indoors and work on the computer when the sun is shining and now I can feel summer slipping away, each bright day seems more and more precious. I sit out on one of the benches as often as I can for lunch or mid afternoon tea. In order to be industrious and outside rather than indoors, I have had a bit of a tidy up in the garden as some areas were looking lack lustre. I have a very shady corner that I have cleared and dug over as nothing was really growing there except a hardy fuchsia. Now I need a couple of interesting smallish shrubs or herbaceous perennials that will do well in the shade to fill in the gaps. Suggestions welcome :-)
I also planted up an empty pot with this hardy Chrysanthemum so I have something colourful to look at when everything else has died back....

It should look quite cheerful when the buds come out!

Welcome to my new 'Scrapbook' page

After posting little bits and pieces of news, info and photo's on the 'Scrapbook' page of my website for the last year or so, the page was getting a bit overloaded as it wasn't really designed as a blog. I kept having niggling editing difficulties, so a friend suggested I looked at hosting the page on blogger.com.

It's always tricky mastering something new on the internet or computer, well it is for me, being completely self taught and having the added dimension of using a Macintosh. It never ceases to amaze me how quickly an afternoon can fly by just tinkering with things like this!

I am a nightmare 'tweaker' of things, maybe it is my Capricorn perfectionist streak coming out, but I just can't help going back over stuff to try to improve it. Good job I'm not an artist otherwise the paintings would never dry ;-)

So, that in mind, over the next few posts, this page may change shape, colour, layout, anything could happen as I try to learn the 'in's and out's' of how it all works and decide how I want it to look. Who knows it may even stay as it is!

Antiques for Everyone & Vintage scarves!

Well, it has been a little while since my last post, I seem to have been here, there and everywhere and just haven’t had chance to put finger to keyboard!

I will try to put up a couple of posts over the next few weeks, but firstly we have the ‘Antiques for Everyone’ show at the NEC Birmingham 24th July - 27th July, so it's a busy time getting stock sorted, priced and packed etc.

I will be there with my friend Jenny and we have lots of gorgeous pieces of jewellery and some interesting vintage handbags for you to browse. Summer has been such a let down and the economic and world news is so depressing we hope that seeing all our pretty treasures will lift your spirits ;-)

Secondly, if like me you love Vintage scarves you may be interested to know that the current issue of Homes & Antiques magazine (Aug) has s a feature about collecting vintage scarves written by Madelaine Marsh.
There is so little info and so few articles written about scarves it is great to see a piece in a popular magazine.

If you are interested in scarves, register your email ( click the link on our home page) to receive ‘New Stock’ updates as I have lots of vintage scarves to list over the coming weeks.
I just need a few nice summer days to be able to get them washed and out on the line :-)

Links :

www.antiquesforeveryone.co.uk

www.homesandantiques.com

April in Paris!

Well Almost!!!

The last week of April saw us on a whirlwind 7 day trip to Las Vegas, where we stayed at the Hotel Paris. Some of which, as you can see from the half scale Eiffel Tower is amazingly authentic.

Las Vegas is a strange place in a way and ( to me ) cannot be compared to any other holiday destination, it is an 'experience' and quite unlike anywhere else I have ever been. We were surprised at how busy it was in the hotel, thronging with people which meant there were long waits to get into the restaurants, still there were concellations like the 'Le Notre' coffee shop which had a mouthwatering array of cakes, pastries and desserts......Mmmmm

We had a really fabulous time and enjoyed every minute, including the white knuckle experience of the helicopter flight over the Grand Canyon ;-)

Since our return though I have been overwhelmingly jetlagged, which is why it has taken so long to get the latest stock photographed and onto the site. Anyway, I have made good progress and there are lots of lovely pieces and some rare gems like the gorgeous Art Deco oriental evening purse and the silver plated sugar and cream set. Enjoy browsing!

Wonders of nature.....

Last week we spent a happy few days in and around Harrogate (Yorkshire) The weather was breathtakingly beautiful, each morning we awoke to a pretty white scene, as all the trees, hedgerows, iron railings etc, were covered in a thick hoar frost. The frost lasted all day in most places as the temperature was freezing but, it was bright and sunny so if you were well wrapped up it was glorious outside.

We drove around in the car and went to several places including Whitby ( a favourite of mine) and Robin Hoods Bay which we had not been to before. We sat on the benches looking out to sea eating chips from the local chip shop and then had ice cream for afters!!!

Holiday over, I have since been busy photographing new vintage stock and uploading it onto the site. Lots of nice things, and more to come over the next week or so.....