My Oxford

I was born in Darlington, County Durham, and I grew up in a tiny village just outside East Grinstead, West Sussex. When I left home at 18 I moved to Worthing, West Sussex, to study a foundation course in Art and Design. Following this I moved to Oxford and shortly after graduation I moved to Chelsea, London. 

I have since moved back to Oxford - a city which holds so much history and magic I feel no where else comes close. Here are a few of the things I love about the city.   

Little Parcels

I have some difficult personal things going on in my life right now, so little daily parcels are a lovely way to take my mind off things...  On Monday I received a package of crochet goodies from Little Pebble on Esty, on Tuesday I received some Blythe dresses from Bubufashion, also on Etsy, and on Thursday my first ever vintage 1972 Kenner Blythe doll arrived, who I won on eBay. My Mum is a doll collector, so I have seen a few vintage dolls in my time, and she is by far the most beautiful. She is just two years older than me, and has probably been stuck in a box in someone's attic for most of her 37 years. She has a perfect thatch line, no missing hair plugs and no Kenner frizz! Her eyes are lovely and white with no yellowing from age, and all of her eye chips are clear and sparkling. Even her eye-mech works perfectly with original string and pull-ring. She really is a vintage doll collector's dream!

Oh Deer!

A few weeks ago I promised to photograph my deer cabinet or should I say my herd. Anyway, here they are in all their kitsch glory. I can't even begin to tell you how much they make me smile.

Handmade Bags and Purses

On Sunday we drifted out to Chadlington to visit my friend's Artweeks exhibition. Artweeks is Oxfordshire's Visual Art Festival which runs throughout May each year. 

It was a warm and sunny day, and the drive through the winding roads of Oxfordshire was quite exquisite. After exploring the village, and a stop off at another exhibition, we found Vicki's beautiful family home.

Vicki's delicate bags were displayed on the walls of a charming blue summer house. Her bags and purses were made from vintage fabrics and lace, and they looked stunning amongst the vintage items also on display. After a little look around we were treated to a homemade cream tea in the garden, served on vintage floral crockery. What a treat!

I took lots of photographs of the garden, summer house and garden beach hut. There was even a cat and three tortoises roaming around. For more please visit Vicki's blog - Found and Sewn.