Thank you and goodbye

A brief, slightly sad post today.

It is with very mixed feelings that Mr E and I have decided to close Retro Bureau. We’ve had a brilliant 18 months hunting out vintage stationery, creating our designs and hitting the road for fairs. The real highlight has been the people we’ve met along the way; talented and occasionally barmy stallholders, our lovely, supportive customers and friends and family who have encouraged us along the way. We’d like to say a massive thank you to all of you – you’ve made this such an enjoyable adventure.

The sale will continue in our shop until the end of January, so don’t forget to use the code HAPPY2014 if you want to order something before we go.

All the best and thanks again, Retro Bureau xx

January sale

The Christmas lights are packed away and the chocolates have all been eaten. The wind is doing it’s best to blow away everything that hasn’t sunk and so far January is looking decidedly gloomy. So to brighten your week we’re offering 50% off everything in the shop to our lovely blog and facebook followers; just click on the discount code link before you pay and enter HAPPY2014

The offer will last until the end of January, so there’s plenty of time to bag a bargain.

Happy New Year

Like the clock says; have your happiest New Year ever.

Merry Christmas

Hope Father Christmas is good to you.

Covetable cards and an eye-watering desk

A quick swoop in today to share some more vintage Christmas cards. Firstly, a classic scene, dripping in snow; I’d want to defrost in front of a fire if I was out in that:

Next a couple of different takes on candles; I couldn’t decide which I preferred, so included both:


Then a card from Florida to show that it isn’t all snow drifts and candlelight:

Finally, for those of you who are still here, I bring you one more treat:

This beauty is the product of Ralph Lauren’s imagination. I’m not sure how long I could sit at it before I got a headache, but if full on Highland getaway is what you want in your office, then look no further.

It’s a (vintage) wrap

After a few busy weekends, we’ve got a quiet one ahead of us; just the thing for a spot of card writing and present wrapping. If you haven’t already done yours, here are some ideas for your favourite vintage cards:

A nice simple idea to add a vintage touch to your presents. Kraft paper doesn’t cost much and works well for male and female recipients.

A step on from the previous idea if you have more time/patience/skill. It’s a layer of wax paper sewn to a vintage image and finished with ribbon and pinking shears.

A simple way to add more decorations to your tree.

Or a lovely place setting idea. I think the candlesticks match the old images beautifully.

Happy making.

Christmas is coming

What a lovely Christmassy week we’ve just had. The Wadhurst Arts & Crafts Market on Friday with Jayne from Summerhouse Designs keeping me well and truly entertained. Then Rye Arts & Crafts Fair on Saturday. Here’s our stand, front right, next to the beautiful walking sticks, with my back helpfully turned to the camera – sorry about that Alice!

Mr E came along to Rye, so as well as enjoying the company and talents at the fair, I also got to stroll around the town a bit too. The Lion Street Store had a lovely display of vintage baubles in their window and I got to see my first real life Ian McKay sculpture in Rye Art Gallery. Fantastic.

Hope you’re starting to feel festive.

P.S. Bauble pic pinched from Winifred’s Daughter; thanks Shelley!

A bit of Christmas sparkle

Mr E and I took our traditional pre-Christmas trip to London on Saturday. But this year, rather than do battle with the frenzied shopping crowds, we took a nice stroll through the city and went to see some historical bling.

The Cheapside Hoard is on show at the Museum of London in a small but perfectly formed exhibition. The collection was amassed in the early 17th century, but lay undiscovered until 1912, when building work revealed the hoard beneath a cellar in Cheapside. Not much is known about who it belonged to or how it came to be buried there, instead the exhibition focusses on the historical context and skill of the jewellers who worked in 17th century London, before leading you in to see the collection.

The hoard is a showstopper, displayed to give you the best possible view of each piece, particularly if you can find one of the magnifying glasses that some visitors seemed a bit too keen to hang onto. My favourites included a tiny ship on top of a hat pin and some of the tiniest cameos you’ve ever seen. Much nicer than doing battle at the shops.

November desirable desks

Sneaking in before the deadline, here are my favourite desirable desks for November:

I love the arrangement here; it looks like the chairs and the lamp are leaning in for a good gossip. Oh, and the trail up the wall is old postcards, so what’s not to like?

The shears are what make this one special for me. I’m a bit of a closet fabric addict, so I like the idea of having all those tools to hand.

And the colours drew me to this desk. Plenty of my favourite bluey greens, but the pop of red really brings the space to life.

Also, this month we have an interloper in the desirable desks slot; it’s not a desk, but I couldn’t resist sharing a sneak preview of The Old Haberdashery‘s Christmas window. How beautiful is that?

Great Dixter Christmas cheer

My head is all a spin after a brilliant weekend at the Great Dixter Christmas Fair. A huge thank you to the lovely Shelley of Winifred’s Daughter for a) letting me camp on the end of her table and b) putting together a fantastic display on Friday, which was crammed full of Christmas colour. This was what greeted me when I arrived on Saturday morning:

Lots of people came along and within 30 minutes of opening, our very special thing found a new home. A surprise best seller on our stand were some beautifully detailed Christmas decorations – on the red Christmas tree above – knitted by a 70-something lady in Cranbrook . I had my eye on the stripy Christmas tree, but a small boy beat me to it. Rats. Shelley has more in her shop, plus lots of other Christmas gifts and decorations if you are interested.

Have a good week.