Six sewing themed summer Reads. If we can’t take our sewing machines with us on holiday, at least we can read about sewing Holidays are the best time to catch up on reading. Perhaps fish and chips in South-end-on-sea or two week’s lying on a sandy beach. I’ve pulled together a collection of books that…
Author: Sarah Richards
Vintage sewing inspiration
Olive Road customer makes We all love a fabric stash, a collection of fabrics we can fold, re-fold and admire. Amazing as they all look together, fabric really is there to be used. My business is created from buying people’s fabric stash. So when a customer sends me a photo of their creations from my…
Sewing Machines in the Movies
Dressmaking patterns now available at Olive Road London
Paper patterns from Maven Patterns and Seasons of East I met Sharon from Maven Patterns , her husband Richard (from James Tailoring) and their daughters at the Knitting & Stitching Show in October 2019 and loved their patterns. The clean designs that champion vintage fabrics, classic with a vintage style. Shop now Choose from the…
The Stitch Festival 2022
1960s Beautiful People
Review of London’s Fashion and Textile Museum’s 1960’s exhibition, Beautiful People: The Boutique in 1960s Counter Culture. While Swinging London promoted consumerism and futurism, a very different ideology was developing in parallel. The Underground were ‘arty’ and intellectual. They rejected materialism, seeking instead spiritual and psychedelic enlightenment. On 11 June 1965 this alternative community congregated…
Bags: Inside Out at the V&A
My six favourite bags in the exhibition I managed to catch the exhibition a few days before it closed. Leaving it until the last minute, the exhibition was busy but I’ve chosen my six favourite bags. 1. Sentimental Lulu Guinness, 1996 Florist’s Basket handbag I’m being sentimental as 1996 is the year I met my…
Fast Fashion: How did it go too far?
During COP26 there have been plenty of stats on the negative effect of fast fashion on the environment. As a sustainable business it is something I have campaigned about for years and I’m glad to see the awareness growing. But do you ever wonder how we got into this situation. I worked as a fashion…
The Knitting & Stitching Show
Thanks to everyone who visited my stand at the Knitting & Stitching show last week. If you couldn’t make it, thanks for opening my emails and liking my posts on social media. Every little bit helps small businesses like me. It was great to be out chatting to vintage fabric fans again. Working on my…
Scrap buster: Suffolk Puffs
My favourite part of running a vintage fabric shop is meeting customers. It isn’t so easy for an online shop but I get to meet people at the fabric shows. Even during lockdown it has been great connecting with customers on social media and via email. Mera came along to the Stich Festival last February…