Orange!

Cameo brooch from Linda Antiques, Crown Ducal beaker from Beth, 1950s chair from Thirteen Interiors, Flower brooch from Pari , Cloche Hat from Tin Tin Collectables, Watercolour portrait from Barry Landsman, Asafo flag from Duncan Clarke, Egg cup from Beth

Red

Eye catching red.

Red dress from Dandy Dolls, Spanish wall decal from Ian Broughton, clutch bag from Tin Tin Collectables, red chairs from Modo Italia, Red stool from Anouska Hunter Antiques, Brooch from Gareth Brooks, Red jug from Robinson Antiques, Dice Lamp and vase from Renato, Hankerchief purse from W & L Antiques, Dansette record player from Ian Broughton.

Ahoy there!

Some nautical themed items that have caught my eye this week in Alfies.

1920s blue and white blouse from Tin Tin Collectables

1950s boat called 'Lady Luck' from Hayling Island Fairground from Anouska Hunter Antiques

Vintage Ladybird book from East West Books and Antiques

1950s/60s mirrored back bar shelves from W & L Antiques

For your travels these fantastic vintage suitcases from Tin Tin Collectables

Beautiful illuminated globe from Thirteen Interiors

A truly amazing find...

If you, like us, are fascinated by beautiful stories, lucky finds, amazing talent and a bit of mystery then the following will no doubt capture you as much as us.

Over the past weeks we have come across a certain lady more than once - newspapers mentioned her, TV programmes did brief features about her, blogs have picked up this fantastic story, and friends circulated her name - Vivian Maier.



If you were to google this name now, you would find an array of links about this talented woman who sadly passed away in 2009 before she could witness her popularity in the art world. Then again, she might have never been interested in acquiring fame, countless of her negatives were still undeveloped in rolls when John Maloof bought thousands of them at an auction in Chicago. Little did he guess what he had come across - some of the best street photography.




Vivian Maier lived in a suburb of Chicago working as a nanny, she must have traveled quite a bit as many of her photographs captured moments witnessed in foreign countries. She had an incredible eye for photography, all her images seem to speak volumes about the moment they were taken. Many of her belongings were in storage and had to be auctioned off as she was ill; she sadly passed away a day before John Maloof decided to try and contact her, unfortunately he only found her obituary and so many questions were left unanswered.

Her boxes also contained several tape recordings; on one of them she said the following about leaving this life :

''Well I suppose nothing lasts forever. We have to make room for other people. It's a wheel. You get on, you have to go to the end. And then somebody has the same opportunity to go to the end and so on. And somebody else takes their place.''

We feel that she has given us a beautiful, lasting gift and that she has achieved so much while it was her 'turn'. What a shame she didn't live to realise just how happy her photography made others.

For more information on Vivian Maier and her photography see here, here, here and here

Today also sees the opening of an exhibition of London street photography at the Museum of London which we cannot wait to see.



Inspired by Vivian Maier and her stunning testaments of the past we have had a look around Alfies and found some lovely items.

Great images of times gone by can be found at Daumieres on the Second Floor

French marble Art Deco frame, English bakelite Art Deco frame & English WW2 Halifax aeroplane with ashtray from Robinson Antiques on the Ground Floor

A selection of vintage luggage and clothing from Tin Tin Collectibles on the Ground and First Floor

Our take on architecture photography.
An architectural model of an unrealised project by Sir Basil Spence from the 1970s
available from Anouska Hunter Antiques on the Second Floor

Cocktail Pyjamas!

Susanna Lau aka Style Bubble has been shopping recently in Alfies. Here she is in a gorgeous pair of 1930/40s 'Cocktail' pyjama's from Tin Tin Collectables.



Included in her post is a brilliant quote from Vogue, 1931:

"A woman may and does wear pyjamas to quite formal dinners in her own house, to other people's dinners in town and country if you know them well and the more iconoclastic members of the female sex even wear them to the theatre." "Pyjamas - When are they worn?" Vogue 1 June 1931

Read the full post here and see more great photos of how to wear vinatge pyjamas in 2010.

Changes in Alfies

We thought we would bring you up to speed with a number of changes in Alfies, we have some new additions to the market and some dealers have expanded.


Firstly James Hope on the second floor, James deals in European decorative art and design from late 19th to mid 20th Century. His bold paintings and ceramics make for a really stunning addition to the second floor. A must see for art enthusiasts.





Tin Tin Collectibles, who have a stand on the ground floor have expanded to the second floor where they stock exclusively antique and vintage luggage and travel accessories. There is a wide range of sizes and styles available.





Another dealer who has taken on an additional stand is Barry Landsman. His ground floor unit of British 18th and 19th Century watercolours has broadened to small pieces of furniture and other decorative items from the same period. You can find Barry's additional stand on the first floor.


Modo Italia have moved to a bigger space on the first floor occupying Bent Ply's previous stand. The bigger space has allowed for a great display area for their fantastic and unusual Italian furniture, art and ceramics.




Bent Ply have moved to their own shop on Lisson Grove, just seconds away from Alfies. The shop is a fantastic space and is perfect for their stock of avant garde 20th Century furniture. This is well worth a visit on your way either to or from Alfies.

Louis Vuitton Collector's Paradise

As the new Louis Vuitton store opens on Bond Street this week, the brand seeks to emphasise that this is not just a shop but a place to evoke the heritage and legacy of luxury, which Louis Vuitton encompasses.

Maison is designed with the theme 'collector' in mind, "Reflecting Louis Vuitton's art-de-vivre and savoir-faire, conceived as the home of a collector . . . [it] gives visitors opportunities to discover new and exciting experiences." Guardian.co.uk

Louis Vuitton was founded in 1854 by Louis Vuitton Malletier who developed the first flat bottomed trunks with trianon canvas which meant they were lightweight, airtight and could be stacked. This was a huge step forward for the travel industry and many others copied this design. To further protect his brand Louis Vuitton started using the damier canvas pattern (see below) with the unmistakable LV logo to stand out from the imitations starting off what was to become and internationally recognised and successful brand.

Walking through Alfies it is hard not to be taken in by the amount of history surrounding the artifacts and objects on the shelves. There are some very special pieces of luggage that resonate with the golden age of travel when journeys were a little more glamourous, if a bit more time consuming than they are today.

Furniture Lighting and Luggage. From Manley J Black


Louis Vuitton suitcase from the 1920s. From Travers Antiques

Head to the second floor for Tin Tin Collectables' new vintage luggage and travelling accessories shop for some serious collectors items.

Stencilled Noah & the Arc Trunk - Perfect for a Child's Toy Box!


Selection of Antique & Vintage Trunks, all from Tin Tin Collectables.

Antique and vintage luggage can be used in so many ways. Whether they are used for storage or as a sensational statement piece, the true beauty lies in the history, journeys and secret stories they contain.

VE Day - May 8th

May 8th 1945 was Victory in Europe Day - heralding the end of the Second World War, when the Allies accepted the unconditional surrender of Nazi Germany. It was a day of celebration for millions of people. We've had a little look around Alfies to see what beautiful pieces we could find of the period and here are a few of the highlights...

Rare model of Stilnovo writing desk lamp, Italy 1945
Modo Italia

A pair of unworn M43 Second World War US army rough-out boots
The Girl Can't Help It

1940s enamelled on silver gilt bracelet with leaf and flower detail
Gareth Brooks

This beautiful 1940s suit is by "Hebe Sports". The Scottish boucle tweed has a pleated skirt over a tightly waisted jacket.
Tin Tin Collectables

WW2 Items in Alfies

Inspired by a visit to the Imperial War Museum in London we thought it would be interesting to have a look around Alfies to find objects that are typical of the WW2 era.

Below are some amazing medals that were awarded to soldiers who fought in WW2. They usually state the country in which the soldier fought, this makes them very interesting collector's items. If they could talk they could surely tell some heartbreaking and fascinating stories.

WW2 medals from Janes Antiques

Also from Janes Antiques, a nice selection of some really well preserved photographs, one can't get much closer to history than that!

Photographs from Janes Antiques

It is hard to imagine what the British public felt when they were informed about their country and France being at war with Germany. We can get a good idea about the way people had to make do with much less - but somehow still managed to make themselves and their homes look immaculate.

Clothing items became much more tailored which was caused by the shortage of pretty much everything including fabrics. Designers didn't have much to work with which resulted in a more fitted look and more details were added to make up for the lack of pleats, which would have required more material.

A small snippet of fabric went a long way if added as a decorative pocket flap for example. One label/stamp to look out for is 'CC41' which stands for Civilian Clothing 1941, these items are very rare but you can find some true gems at Tin Tin Collectables:

Pretty blouse with 'CC41' label from Tin Tin Collectables

Original 'CC41' labelled socks from Tin Tin Collectables

Original 'CC41' labelled children's boots from Tin Tin Collectables

Just like food, clothing required tokens and if you wanted to get something very fancy this required the use of a large amount of tokens. No wonder most women perfected the art of making clothes out of fabrics or old dresses.

Should you have found a true vintage gem not in its best condition and don't possess the expertise to bring it back to its former glory, pay a visit to Empire Vintage, where the very skilled Julie Elgar will be happy to take on your project. While you are there why not have a rummage for another vintage bargain?

Lovely dressing corner in Empire Vintage

Should you be tempted to try your hand at sewing/mending yourself you might want to look at getting a vintage tailors dummy. They are not only useful for dressmaking but if you get a lovely vintage one they are great for adding a feminine touch to any space.

Why not use it to showcase your favourite vintage finds or projects? Stephen Lazarus has this beautiful vintage Singer model for sale at the moment:

Original Singer tailor's dummy at Stephen Lazarus

It is definitely hard to find 40's items, not only because they are so rare but also because that era was dominated by the war, thus design and style was not a very important factor. Saying that, people did make a point of dressing up when going for dinner (if they could afford it), it was important to look one's best when out in public.

We feel that back then ladies seemed to be a lot better at doing their hair, for modern women like us, all the gorgeous vintage hairstyles look masterpieces which we could never manage to create ourselves. Fret not - the ladies at Nina's Hair Parlour know all the secrets to turn anyone's bad hair day to one of vintage glamour.

Lovely 40's updo at Nina's Vintage Hair Parlour

And for those that are looking for a perfect gift but can't quite decide what to get, why not purchase some beautiful gift certificates that would put a smile on any vintage lover's face?

Alfies gift certificates are available in £10, £20 and £50 denominations