Clarks Orla Betty funky retro shoes!

A slightly unusual review from me today, but as most of my readers are ladies, I thought pointing out these new shoes from Clarks would be appreciated.

If you, like me, wear vintage or vintage style clothes and like the colourful and fun, then this new range of shoes designed by Orla Keily for Clarks will sure be a must have for your summer wardrobe. But be aware, these are selling out super fast, so whilst its not quite sandal weather I have bought mine now so that I don't miss out.

As is usual with Clarks, they have gone for comfort here, so despite it being a high heel, you don't feel like you are walking in heels, as the inside padding and the little platform put you in a comfortable position.

I think the strap is a little thin as it did tend to cut in a little bit but considering my first outing in them was walking around a vintage fair with bare feet, I didn't come home with any aches or pains and no rubbing whatsoever, which is a good sign.

There are so many great styles in this range, I also liked these in blue but it had sold out and there are some that do have a thicker ankle strap and are slightly lower, these could be a good second pair to have. 

The styles remind me of childrens shoes in the sixties and seventies, and Im sure I had a pair like these Orla Betty when I was at school in the 1970s.  Theres are so many cool pairs in the range, Bibi, Bobble and Beatrice all really appeal to me, so I may have to go and try these on soon. 

One last major point, Im a half size, (uk 4.5) and these come in half sizes, which is a great bonus.  

If you can't get to a shop, then order online http://www.clarks.co.uk/c/womens-orla-kiely

Far From the Madding Crowd

for this last month Ive been honing my skills in still life photography, something which I have to do a lot of when I work for others photographing their products.  Sometimes its just fun to play but as Im the sort of person who needs a nudge, the instagram challenges have proved just the sort of push I needed. 

So Im telling you here first about an Instagram challenge Im setting of my own, called #farfromthemaddingcrowd.

I read this book in the 1970s as it was on the curriculum at school for English O Level (gcse).  The books of Thomas Hardy had a big impression on me at age 14, I thought they were very tragic and they still leave me with a haunted feeling. 

This books title reminds me of my new life now in the countryside, getting away from the crowd in London.  But the idea and concept of being having some personal space, some moments of stillness and an escape corner of your house, can be beautifully captured in photos. 

So Im challenging over the next month for people to hashtag #farfromthemaddingcrowd and the entry I like the best will win a vintage copy of the book from me. 

Here are some of my favourite stills from the last few weeks ...

find me on Instagram janiceissitt_life_style

stacked for Kim Klassen

Moody Wednesday

Far From The Madding Crowd

floral for Lobster and Swan

from my kitchen

Silver for Capturing Colour with Capture By Lucy

Gathered Style for A Quiet Style

Vintage Van Asch in the Vale

Life is pretty hectic which unfortunately impacts on blog posts, so anyway, for those of you kind enough to check me out here is a quick update of whats been happening here at Vale HQ.

Well, Im off to Sweden for a week to photograph the next Van Asch catalogue. This will be featuring the ever expanding collection from the extraordinarily talented Rachel who now has fabric for sale which is being used on beautiful Victorian style furniture and more.  So we will be taking her wares around to some gorgeous locations and styling up mood shots using our accompanying colour palette supplied by Annie Sloan Chalk Paints. 

This little jaunt does however mean that I will miss my favourite Vintage fair in Milton Keynes.  So if you can make it in my absence then please please go and say hi to my friends there. 
The fair is in the centre MK outside John Lewis on the weekend of 7th and 8th June.  

Heres some photos from previous fairs to wet your appetite.

Here in The Vale I have been Urban Exploring again but my exploring seems to concentrate on the same place, which I know kinda defeats the object, but hey !  I took my lovely friend there with her new camera so she could take some cool shots. I also found and noticed things I hadn't seen before and always impressed with the new graffiti that has appeared. 

We also visited the Hellfire Caves where Sir Frances Dashwood would meet with his cronies to practice the dark arts. The chalk caves are dug deep into the hillside and under a church. 

You can find the caves website here for more information on the history and location.

See you all on my return with lots of photos of Sweden I hope. 
Until then ...

Loppis Love

Loppis Love.

There is nothing more exciting for me than to go shopping for vintage and antiques, it doesn't matter where, I love fine Antique shops like Sally Turner in Wendover Bucks, I love vintage markets like the ones in Milton Keynes and Winslow and I love car boot fairs all equally as much. But there's one type that beats them all, it's over in Sweden and it's call a Loppis.

A Loppis is, generally speaking, a garage sale, on a slightly more professional level.  When driving around the countryside never pass a little handmade sign saying "Loppis" with an arrow pointing up a lane or dirt track. For, at the end of the path will be a world of goodies just waiting to be discovered.

The Loppis can sell anything, new, old, vintage, antique and the downright bonkers. 

My latest jaunt over to Sweden naturally included a day of Loppis shopping, luckily for me, my friend Rachel does occasionally find something to her taste, like the mad steampunk 1930s coffee pot we used in these photos of the "babes in the woods".

A Loppis can be found in a barn, a garage, or even A WINDMILL!!

The above two Loppis are in Grillby, the Windmill still has all its working parts, amongst the bric-a-brac, all except its sails. The owner gives you a lovely talk about its history.

I bought a traditional Swedish rag rug from here, and some mounted deer horns from the other Loppis. Keep an open mind as to what you will find. 

Generally speaking the prices in these places are very good, the owners know the worth to the "Towny" interior decorators, but they are still sensible, a bargain can always be found. One mans junk is another mans treasure.

If you google up a translation of the word Loppis it says flea market, and its a general term that can cover car boot and flea markets too.  I think the Swedish perhaps have one word for their old junk, whereas in the UK we like to narrow it down and categorize the types of junk we are selling ha ha !

The Windmill owners also have a studio for ceramic making and run courses there. The other Loppis has a facebook page, they are called Mormors Lupbod.

Grillby can be found just off the E18 out of Stockholm, just over an hours drive. Its just before Enkoping.