A Delightful Tea Party & Vintage Fayre

On April the 12^th Make Me Pretty Shop hit sleepy Earlsdon in Coventry for what turned out to be a rather lively and truly delightful tea party and vintage fayre.

Organised and curated by Ria Hatt from Vintage Dream Days – a talented wedding and event planner and florist – the event was held in aid of Marie Curie Cancer Care.

Vintage Dream Days event invite

Ria Hatt, Vintage Dream Days

I was asked by Ria to book a stall after she visited my stand at Judy’s Vintage Fair in Leamington Spa earlier in the year.

I love doing local events and this one was for a great cause, so I snapped up a very reasonably priced pitch and donated one of my Alice in Wonderland cameo necklaces as a raffle prize.

Held at St Barbara’s Church, I was expecting a pleasant but sedated affair, but boy was I wrong.

Yummy homemade cakes

Ria and her family and friends did a fantastic job in promoting the event, so much so guests were queuing to hand over their £1 entrance fee.

The event promised to be ‘big’ and it didn’t disappoint, with things planned for every age group not to mention tonnes of tea and cake all served in vintage china.

Betsy Harmony

Betsy Harmony – a fabulous vintage singer - performed on the day (@BetsyVintage) serenading shoppers as they browsed stalls and tried their luck on the raffle.

Miss Ellie's Homemade

There was a small but perfectly formed selection of vintage clothing stalls, handmade jewellery, alternative wedding bouquets and other crafts, chutneys and preserves and a tombola.

Those who wanted to look the part could got their hair did – vintage style of course – and a makeover for just £5! Needless to say, the stylists were booked back-to-back all day.

Vintage hair

Fresh flowers in cute vintage styled jam jars and old rustic tea tins donned the crisp white linen laid tables, frequented by all who sampled the great bakes and lashings of tea on offer.

Vintage table setting cute jam jars and old tea tins

I’m thrilled to say Make Me Pretty Shop did really well too.

While I was anticipated a good day networking, handing out flyers and a few possible sales, the event turned out to be one of my best yet – Earlsdon you clearly respect style, respect vintage!

Make Me Pretty vintage dress

My first sale was to a very stylish young lady working the door, who snapped up a great nautical dress before the event started – got to get in early with vintage! Later on the lucky lady’s boyfriend returned to buy a number of jewellery items for her.

With the sunshine out and spring in the air, people kept rolling in and so too did the sales. It was great to see lots of my vintage beauties lovingly rehomed.

Me on my stall

My jewellery also went down a storm, which was a particular buzz as I spend hours designing and handcrafting my creations so it’s reassuring to know others value them too.

I invested in a few seasonal decorations given Easter is round the corner, which I think made for a rather attractive stall – bunting, a colourful basket of freebie sweet treats for little ones and some cute fluffy chicks.

Make Me Pretty vinatge and handmade items

With different price points to suit all pockets – from £4 tea rose studs and retro bobby pins in pretty pastel colours to owl and tea cup pendants at £10, paper and fabric flower statement necklaces between £14 and £22 and of course plenty of vintage frocks ranging from £10-45, Earlesdon your were spoilt for choice.

Make Me Pretty jewellery

The raffle, which included a whole host of fabulous prizes, was a huge success and rather entertaining, especially for me who decided it would be the opportune moment to nip to the loo, only to be called back twice to pick prizes in quick succession!

Joking aside, the most important part of the day was money raised. Proceeds from entrance fees, pitch money, tea and cake sales and raffle tickets means a total of £1,244.68 will be winging its way to Marie Curie Cancer Care in the next day or so.

Tea drinkers enjoying the spoils

All-in-all the event thoroughly rewarding, but mainly because it was one of the most pleasant and charming ‘good feel’ events I’ve had the pleasure to attend.

The day had a real sense of ‘community’ with whole generations of families attending. It reminded me of the so called ‘good old days’ and for that Ria Hutt you should be truly proud.

So, if you’re looking for someone to deliver you a fantastically authentic themed vintage wedding or event, please do check out Vintage Dream Days they rock!

And, if any of you would like to check out my stock pop into Blighty Bazaar in Leamington, check me out on Etsy or catch me at the next Judy’s Vintage Fair at the Custard Factory.

Lisa x



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