Snail Mail Love: Vintage Stamp Postcards

As well as getting back into the rhythm of stitching and designing stuff, I've also been adding lots of lovely vintage bits and bobs to my shop!

I've been selling vintage things for a couple of years now and I absolutely love it. It's such a joy finding gorgeous and interesting items and then sending them off to their new homes - particularly when customers tell me their purchases are going to be a special gift, or are something they've been looking for for years. 

As the months go by, I'm working out what sells and what doesn't and also what I'm most enjoying selling. I blogged a while back about my new-found obsession with vintage tea towels (I love them so much I've set up an Instagram account devoted to them!), and obviously I'm drawn to all kinds of vintage crafty goodness... but one of the other things I'm really into is vintage stamp postcards.

These cards are known by collectors as "PHQ Cards" - PHQ standing for "Postal Headquarters" because they were originally issued by the Post Office here in the UK (more recently they've been issued by the Royal Mail). 

The Post Office (and later Royal Mail) have been publishing them since the early 1970s: a new set of postcards for each new set of stamps. 

 

I've loved postage stamps since I was a kid and I absolutely adore these postcards. 

They're great for anyone interested in stamps, of course, but they also make fab gifts for people born in the year they were issued, or anyone interested in the theme of the featured set. Pretty much whatever you're interested in Royal Mail have produced stamps connected to that theme!

 

I'm selling sets of totally unused postcards, so you can send a lovely bit of snail mail to your friends. The Christmas and winter-themed sets would make great Christmas cards. 

The cards would also look great framed, either individually if there's a particular stamp design you adore, or as a set. Super affordable vintage art!

Visit my shop to see the postcard sets I currently have available, and do give me a shout if there are any designs in particular that you're interested in as I have plenty more to photograph and list!

The Joy of Vintage Tea Towels

I've always loved vintage textiles, and sell lots of different kinds in my shop, but in the past six months or so I have become completely obsessed with vintage tea towels!

 

There are a few brands out there still producing interesting and colourful tea towel designs but in my opinion nothing quite compares to the charms of the vintage designs, particularly the illustrations, colours, and patterns from the 1960s and 1970s. 

These wonderful retro designs would all be fabulous gifts, cheer up even the largest pile of drying up, and make amazing wall hangings. They'd also look great framed, like posters - and when you think of them like that you swiftly realise what a sadly neglected area of design this is. 

There are so many books and exhibitions about posters, and I'm sure most museums around the world have poster collections... but how many people are out there celebrating the art of the tea towel? Or could name a tea towel designer? Not nearly enough!

Tea towels are normally the sort of everyday textiles which usually get used and used and used until they fall apart and get thrown away (or added to the rag pile for cleaning with!). But luckily for us, they also used to be very collectable. 

People bought them as souvenirs from places they visited but they also collected other lovely designs they came across and kept them, unused, just as delightful things to get out and look at and enjoy from time to time. 

Which means that - almost like being able to time travel - you can now buy brand new genuine vintage tea towels! How cool is that?

My personal favourites usually involve flowers, or British wildlife...

 

 ... and I particularly love the older designs by Ulster (now known as "Ulster Weavers").

But honestly, there are just so many gorgeous designs to ooh over that my favourites change all the time.  

There are souvenir tea towels, of course (so many of those, from so many different places)...

 

... Christmas tea towels...

... charity tea towels...

...calendar tea towels (such a nice birthday gift for anyone born in those years!)...

... gloriously quirky old advertising tea towels, and lots more!

You'll find my currently available selection of vintage tea towels (along with lots of other vintage finds) in my shop, and I'll soon be opening a standalone shop just for the tea towels because they are kind of taking over my life.

I've also started a new Instagram account to showcase the joys of vintage tea towel design, where I'll be sharing one tea towel a day. Sometimes these will be ones I've already sold, sometimes they'll be new stock, but either way there will be a lot of gorgeous designs to ooh over.

For even more vintage tea towel goodness, I highly recommend The Virtual Tea Towel museum which is a delightful rabbit hole to fall down during your teabreaks!

A New Year, and Lots of Lovely New (Old) Stuff!

Hello friends! Happy New Year!

I have loads of crafty things planned for 2021, including lots of free projects for my blog and newsletter, I am positively itching to get started. I gained so much joy and solace from my creative projects in 2020 and am hoping for more of the same this year. 

Before I launch into my mega crafty To Do list, I'm easing myself into January with some simple "put my feet up on the sofa and listen to an audiobook while I do this" tasks... including getting lots of lovely vintage bits and bobs added to my shops.

Click here to browse everything on my website or over in my Etsy shop.

P.S. My shops are all set up with UK postage only at the moment but I'm always happy to quote for international shipping. UK postage is charged at a flat rate - currently £4 per parcel (no matter how much you buy!), but this will be going up soon as unfortunatrly Royal Mail have just put their prices up.

P.P.S. In case you've ever wondered, buying directly from my shop or via my Instagram sale page is the way that earns me the most money because Etsy don't take their cut of the sale fee, but I know Etsy is very convenient! It's definitely the easiest way to buy my printable PDF patterns as they offer instant downloads).

More Vintage Enyclopedia Pages

I've been busy taking and editing lots more photos, so I now have some more of those lovely 1950s enyclopedia pages to sell - hurrah!

There's such an interesting mix of topics in these pages, it's been fascinating to see which ones have been snapped up so far. Apart from the large fold-out page, all the pages are approx 17.2 x 24.8cm. You can see more photos, and all the currently available items I'm selling, over on my Instagram sale page or in my Facebook sale group.

"Some of the important breeds of poultry", illustrated by E.C. Mansell. £4 + postage.

A large, fold-out colour plate featuring lots of beautifully illustrated birds. "Migration of British Birds", illustrated by E.C. Mansell. Approx 24.8 x 32.6 cm. £6 + postage.

3 wildlife-themed colour plates from a 1950s encyclopedia. "The queer frilled lizard is ruffled", "Tawny owl, night-watchman of the woods, and "Harvest mice at home in a wheatfield". £1 each plus postage.

Beautiful illustrations of classic stories! Peter Pan, The Arabian Nights, The Blue Bird, Rip Van Winkle, Robin Hood, & The Odyssey. These aren't colour plates, but thinner standard pages from a 1950s encyclopedia. Still wonderful for framing! £2 each + postage.

"Wendy in the Boy's Home in Neverland", illustrated by Gordon Davey. "Aladdin finds the wonderful lamp", illustrated by Eric Hall. And "Moonlight cavern in the palace of night", illustrated by Hazel Frazee. Rip Van Winkle and "Odysseus lured by the sirens' songs", both illustrated by Eric Hall. "Straight flew the arrow to the very centre" illustrated by Hilda Hanway.

 
3 travel-themed colour plates from a 1950s encyclopedia. £1 each + postage. "World famous but sinister landmark of Venice", "Magnificent cataracts of the Victoria Falls", and "Mirrored splendour of the Taj Mahal".

"Queer cactuses and their lovely flowers", illustrated by E.C. Mansell. £3 + postage.

"Some British wild flowers" illustrated by E.C. Mansell. £4 + postage.

"Some decorative examples of Scots tartans", illustrated by E.C. Mansell. £3 + postage.

"Priceless treasures of the Crown Jewels". £3 + postage.

The song "Sur le Pont d'Avignon", illustrated by Yunae Bateman. Please note there are some slight marks on this page, but it's still a lovely thing! £2 + postage.

"Male pheasant's splendid plumage", illustrated by E.C. Mansell. £3 + postage.

"Badges to be earned by Boy Scouts" (on the back: "Badges of merit for senior Scouts"). Please note that both sides are slightly marked. £2 + postage.

 
3 more wildlife-themed colour plates, £1 each + postage. "One of the world's largest yawns", "Glorious display of the peacock's plumage" and "Mandarin drake and his dun-coloured mate".

"Characteristics of many familiar breeds of dog", illustrated by E.C. Mansell. On the back: "Dogs of the farm, field, and home". Both sides are slightly marked. £2 + postage.

 

3 more lovely colour plates: Joan of Arc, Bees, & The Hanging Gardens of Babylon. £2 each. "The peasant girl who saved France", painted by Dudley Tennant. "Worker bees seeking nectar and pollen", illustrated by F. G. Mories. And "Hanging gardens - a marvel of ancient Babylon", illustrated by Marjory Whittington.

Then the last one for now: "Some of the familiar edible and deadly fungi", painted by Marshall Smith. £3 + postage.

Get in touch if you're interested in making a purchase or would like a quote for international postage.  If you're in the UK, 2nd class postage for one of these pages will be £1.40. I'm happy to ship internationally at the moment if you're prepared to wait for your parcel (there may be long delays due to COVID-19 disruption).