DECADENCE VINTAGE FAIRS
 
Waving the flag for Northern Irish crafters at our Diamond Jubilee Event on 3rd & 4th June is Mulder & Co, who will be selling their gorgeous bunting and other handmade fabric goods created from preloved fabrics. Here is just a wee preview of what's in store.......
 
 
We have a lot of fabulous new exhibitors taking part in Frock Around The Clock at the Queen's Diamond Jubilee and we are delighted to welcome Vintage Daydreams By Lily.

Creating your perfect Vintage Daydream for any occasion, Lily specialises in picnic hampers filled with vintage china, glasses, cutlery, cake tins, tablecloths, napkins and rugs. All of Lily's collections are available for hire or purchase to create a vintage theme for any occasion - weddings, birthdays, anniversaries, christenings & self indulgence......and of course the Big Jubilee Lunch!
 
 
This year's Big Lunch coincides with the Queen's Diamond Jubilee weekend on Sunday 3rd June and we will be lunching in the grounds of Bangor Castle / Town Hall where our Frock Around The Clock Vintage Fair will be appearing for 2 days. There will be lots of vintage attractions going on as well as a fab line-up of live music so bring your family, and a picnic, and join us for some right royal fun.

Inside the vintage fair we will have a pop-up vintage tea tent run by Carrie of The Tea Boutique, where you can sit in and eat cake and drink tea from vintage china or purchase a take away afternoon tea and eat it in the Castle grounds. A scrumptious way to spend time with family, friends, neighbours, and get to meet new people!
 
 
Visitors to our Frock Around The Clock Vintage Fair at the Queen's Diamond Jubilee on 3rd & 4th June will be treated to 2 days of fab music live on stage at the Town Hall / Bangor Castle.

On Sunday 3rd June:

2pm - 3.30pm: AJ Brown and the Swingshift Big Band
4pm - 7pm: Jacqui Dankworth Band
7pm: Interdenominational Church Service

On Monday 4th June:

4pm - 6pm: Ulster Orchestra Rehearsal
6pm - 8pm: Ulster Youth Jazz Orchestra
8pm - 10pm: Ulster Orchestra

All events are free but the Monday night is a ticketed event. FREE TICKETS are available from:

- Bangor Tourist Informations Centre
- Bangor Castle Leisure Centre
- North Down Museum, Bangor
- Queen's Leisure Complex, Holywood

Tickets are limited to 4 per person and are available after 10th May.
 
 
It's now only 3 weeks to our Frock Around The Clock at the Queen's Diamond Jubilee, which is only one part of a great big line-up of weekend festivities on Sunday 3rd & Monday 4th June.

The vintage fun actually starts on the Saturday night with the RETRO JUBILEE JAM brought by Swing Belfast to the North Down Museum, where everyone is invited to dress up and dance to the sounds of swing. The night will kick off with a fun dance class at 8pm before a night of swing and jive to vintage tunes.

The night will also include the retro cinema, photo booth, cupcakes, tea and coffee by Studio Cafe, prizes for the best dressed, and a chill out area in the courtyard.

Tickets cost £9 in advance or £10 on the door. Contact www.swingbelfast.com 07540418694.
 
 
Well by now you couldn't have failed to have heard that this Sunday is the very fabulous FROCK AROUND THE DOCK event which will take place on The Belfast Barge! However many of you won't know how to get to this hidden gem of a quirky little venue but it is very easy to find!

HOW TO FIND US - The Belfast Barge is permanently moored on the River Lagan at 1 Lanyon Quay (Oxford street), Belfast. You will find the Barge between the Statue of Thanksgiving and the Waterfront Hall. (You can't miss the statue as it is the 25 metre steel structure of a woman holding a ring in the air which stands on Queen's Bridge!)

Frock Around The Dock will be in the Hold of The Barge which can be accessed by stairs or lift. It is FREE ENTRY to this one-time-never-to-be-repeated event so we hope to see you there!
 
 
Loving Spoonful will be joining us again this Sunday at FROCK AROUND THE DOCK - A TITANIC VINTAGE AFFAIR! A very popular regular exhibitor of ours, John from Loving Spoonful has a fantastic range of jewellery handcrafted from silver cutlery and we are looking forward to seeing his new 'Angel' designs. These gorgeous bracelets were recycled from silver fish knives and a decorative fork, and the filigree ring matches the Angel fork bracelet.
 
 
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I had great fun on the promo shoot for FROCK AROUND THE DOCK - A TITANIC VINTAGE AFFAIR! with Trazanne of X-perience Boudoir. Everyone has admired the amazing 'Made In Belfast' images from the shoot but what they don't know is that we narrowly escaped arrest and Trazanne was in danger from getting run over by lying in the road with her camera (that girl will do anything to get her shot!!)

Our model was Catherine Mullan, the fabulous hair was done by Kelly McLean of the Ashby Hair Lounge, the gorgeous make-up was done by Alica McTeggart, and the steampunk-inspired styling was by myself.

Trazanne and Alicia will be taking part in FROCK AROUND THE DOCK this Sunday on the Belfast Barge, where you can purchase vouchers for X-perience Boudoir photoshoots (highly recommended by yours truly) and a little bird tells me that they are going to be promoting a special nautical twist on Sunday so if you fancy a day in the X-perience Boudoir studio as a cheeky pin-up sailor girl then get yourself down to see Trazanne on Sunday. We will be on the Belfast Barge at Lanyon Quay (beside the Waterfront Hall) from 11am to 4pm on Sunday 1st April and admission is FREE!

And if you need some saucy sailor girl inspiration to get you in a naughty-nautical-but-oh-so-nice mood here are some classic Elvgren images!

 
 
I love this preview of some of the nautical themed pieces that Susannah from Keepin' It Kitsch has made for this Sunday's FROCK AROUND THE DOCK - A TITANIC VINTAGE AFFAIR! Susannah will be selling a range of handmade jewellery, greetings cards and kitsch vintage button goodies and I always come away from her stall with something to add to my eclectic collection. Come see Susannah and us all on the Belfast Barge this Sunday 1st April for this one-off and very special event!
 
 
The fabulous steampunk jewellery I used in the promo shoot for FROCK AROUND THE DOCK - A TITANIC VINTAGE AFFAIR! was made by Jennifer Robinson. Jennifer uses a mix of old watch parts, buttons and charms for this range of rings, necklaces and bracelets which are all each completely unique. A lot of the watch parts that Jenn sources have interesting engravings and inscriptions and one of the pieces used in the shoot had Belfast markings which was particularly apt for this 'Made In Belfast' event!

Unfortunately Jennifer isn't able to take a stall at FROCK AROUND THE DOCK this Sunday 1st April as she will be out of the country on her sister's hen weekend, but I will have a selection of her pieces on my own stall to complement my steampunk-inspired upcycled clothing range.