Let the festivities begin...

The last of our 'made to order' items have been dispatched and the workshop has now officially closed for Christmas.  I can't believe we managed to produce so many bespoke orders in such a short space of time.  We definitely need more elves next year!

We sent out lots and lots of our favourite Vintage Jack cushion design in all sorts of vintage linen combinations and colours.  Each one completely unique!

Our Cooks Cushion has also proved popular this year.  It really is the perfect kitchen accessory for any lover of the culinary arts...

...but at this time of year, we have to admit that it is mostly these lovely festive designs that catch most people's imagination and what better way to dress your home for a truly 'Vintage Christmas'!

A big thank you goes to all our lovely customers for supporting our handmade endeavours throughout the year.  We really appreciate your support.  It makes everybody at Angel HQ very happy to think that our vintage designs are being loved, all over again, in so many homes around the world.

We haven't put our feet up just yet as our little shop of vintage goodies, in Easingwold [North Yorkshire] is open until 3pm'ish on Christmas Eve.  Do come and see us if you are in the area.  Easingwold is a lovely Georgian market town full of gorgeous boutique shops and great places to eat - so definitely worth a Christmas visit!

Oh, Christmas Tree...

Today was our first proper day off, for absolutely ages, so we decided to take the opportunity to go and get our tree.  We like to go to Padget's as we can choose our own tree, from a whole field of sweetly scented pine, and have it cut, fresh, specially for us.

We do try to leave it as late as possible and to stick, strictly, to the 12 days rule, but I am not sure there would have been much left by Christmas Eve, so I am really glad we sneaked in slightly early this year.

...now which one to choose?!

My glamorous assistant!

More gaps than trees!

"Now are you sure this is the one you want?"

It's always the traditional Norway Spruce for us.  I like a tree that looks and, more importantly, smells like a Christmas tree.  That lovely smell of pine, that greets me every morning when I walk into the sitting room for the first time, is all part of the Christmas experience.

Now I just have to decorate it!

White Christmas...

After the arctic conditions of last year, we are more than happy not to have snow here - at least not until our lovely customers have all received their Christmas parcels!

Just in case we get withdrawal symptoms, we have surrounded ourselves with lots of little white and silver treasures.  We are all twinkly, sparkly & shiny - well you just can't keep a Christmas girl down can you?!

 

Transformation!

Before we end this year, and what a year it has been, I thought I would share some photos of my design workshop and it's transformation from barn/workshop/general dumping-ground to pristine, creative space ... and then I got my hands on it!

First, some 'before' shots.  Actually, before this it was piled high with rubbish [and I am being polite here!] or, as Chris calls it, "items of architectural interest".  Honestly, how interesting can a broken saw blade really be?  It took some cleaning out and the spiders were, well less said the better really - I am still traumatised!

BEFORE!

 

AFTER!

BEFORE!

AFTER!

BEFORE!

 

AFTER!

 

Sorry for stating the obvious with the captions - if you can't tell the difference then we are all in trouble!

Now, of course, as all good workshops go, it didn't stay tidy or pristine for very long...

Ah well, it has been an amazing space and much needed, this very, very busy year!

To my wonderful man, a big thank you for giving me the perfect space for making my creative dreams come true.  I can never thank you enough. xx

Getting Creative...

As yesterday saw the last of our Make @ Angel workshops for this year, I thought it was time to share some memories and some images with you all.

These workshops have been a bit of an experiment for us but, based on people's reactions to them, I can't believe we ever doubted the appeal of 'handmade'!

Thanks to the extremely talented Manda McGrory, the workshops have been fun and full of chatter, laughter and creativity... oh, and cake of course!

We have met some lovely people and it has been a great pleasure to watch them create beautiful things and leave, at the end of a very satisfying day, having well and truly caught the handmade bug!

All the gorgeous things you can make!

Now pay attention ladies!

Hard at Work!

Lovely Happy Smiley People!

Serious Concentration!

A slightly reluctant model!

Look what I made!

We will be launching our Spring Workshop programme very soon!  If you sign up to our e-newsletter you will get advance notice of all our workshops, shop events and online sales.