Oh, hello! One of my favourite things to do in the world is have a good rummage through old things!
Whether it's an over stuffed antiques warehouse or a charity shop, I love hunting through until I find something I like from another decade.
Sometimes I will actually adopt a find and give it a new lease of life. And other times I'll just fill my head with ideas. Did you know that lots of my inspiration comes from preloved bits and bobs?
This week I visited Blaby Antiques Centre in Leicester! It is such a wonderful treasure trove - full of things from the 60s and 70s that I am obviously obsessed with! It was super exciting to be back rummaging in real life!
I took some photos of things I was particularly fond of and treated myself to something ace too. You may get to see some of these things popping up as characters or in illustrations over the next few months...
The Mother of Orange Typewriters
I mean, look at it! Did you ever see anything more perfect for me and my pals at JSD? Reader, I didn't buy it because it was quite a lot of money. However, I can't get its snazziness out of my head so I will probably have to head back ASAP to (hopefully) rescue it!
UPDATE: 29th April 2021 - I got the typewriter! Have a look at it showing off my things here!
The Fancy Green 60s Kitchen Cabinets
Oh, good grief. I wish these were mine. They are such a delight! I am a huge fan of a 60s kitchen. I rescued a blue and cream kitchenette from my Great Auntie's shed and it wobbles slightly precariously in our front room! This green beauty will inevitably end up in one of my zines at some point - if not in my home.
The 70s Alarm Clock
Absolutely no need for this stunner when Gretel the Cat does the wake up call in this house. But is very nice indeed.
The 1970s Kitchenware of Dreams
To be honest, I wanted it all. Brian tried to persuade me to crack on and snap it all up but I was sensible. If it isn't obvious yet, most of my characters live in the 1960s or the 1970s! Polly the Banana, for example, would definitely drink her tea from one of those yellow mugs. And Gretel would definitely whip up a a blancmange in the green bowl. Delicious!
What I actually bought! The Glorious Orange Jelly Mould!
Isn't it ace? I will probably never make a jelly in it but it WILL appear in a story! I've already created a jelly character called Dot - but there's a party food collection in the pipeline so perhaps she will make a friend... This cost me £2 and every time I look at it, it makes me smile. Perfect!
What next?
I spent an hour browsing here, my imagination whirring. What bliss! But I know it is just the start. The beauty of a warehouse full of preloved stuff? There's ALWAYS something to 'new' to find. Now excuse me while I make plans to re-home that typewriter...