The Grotto Is Back!

Hello

Well there has been a flurry of activity and much excitement here at The Emporium this week.  We are so happy to announce that our very popular Christmas Grotto has opened once again.  The shelves are bedecked with tinsel and glitter, seasonal sparkle and vintage charm.

New items will be added regularly to keep Father Christmas busy, so please come and visit us over the next few weeks.

We're off to bake some mince pies and dust off some of this glitter...

See you soon

Milly and Dottie

http://www.millyanddottie.com/

Summer Treasures At The Emporium

We have been busy adding lots of new treasure to our Emporium and, as you can see from the photo above, our shelves are full of wonderful fresh goodies to delight you.

A beautiful duck egg blue beehive wool holder sits in the Sewing Room, Devon Delights vintage souvenir tablecloth in the Scullery is sure to conjure up memories of summer holidays at your table, in the Box Room is a delightful vintage wooden shop display box for lilac chocolates decorated with fairies and a very generous length of beautiful linen sits up in the Attic.  In the Library we have a veritable magical kingdom of Flower Fairies with many beautiful vintage Cicely Mary Barker books, some new nature books, King Penguin titles and wonderful little anthologies.  Over in the Dovecote we have added some more of our nature box frames and these capture some of the delights of the Lake District.

Whilst we hope that you are enjoying the lingering days of Summer, off on jollies (with or without your brollies), paddling at the seaside, rambling in the countryside or reading in the garden, we hope you find some time to pay us a visit and come and say “Hello”. There’s always a custard cream and a cuppa waiting…

Milly & Dottie Are 5

Milly and Dottie are feeling very grown up now... as we have now reached the heady milestone, of five years old!
What a wonderful five years it has been since we opened the doors to Milly & Dottie's Emporium. We have welcomed visitors from far and wide through those doors and made some lovely friends along the way.  We would like to thank you all for coming to visit us in our busy emporium and for keeping us company over the last five years; and to join us in our celebrations, by raising a glass of something fizzy and feasting on some of our favourite custard creams!

In celebration of our birthday we have added some truly lovely pieces to the shelves this week - beautiful rustic country stool, prints, jugs and curtains to the Attic, pretty tins to the Box Room, gorgeously retro child's satchel in the Nursery, wartime sewing in the Sewing Room and wartime cooking in the Scullery, alongside some fabulous enamel coffee pots - perfect for when you're off on a jolly.

We look forward to seeing you very soon!

Out Of Doors With Milly & Dottie

 We hope you have had an enjoyable Easter and have been able to enjoy some of the glorious Spring weather (alas today the rain has returned for the weekend...).

With Spring truly burgeoning all around we have taken inspiration from the great outdoors, the flora and fauna that surrounds us from hedgerows and treetops and have added some of our handmade box frames to the Dovecote shelves.  All manner of Garden Birds have been nesting on our shelves, laying eggs and charming us with their beauty.  We have also added a couple of bunnies - 'Campion" and 'Celandine" named after the vintage floral prints behind them in their frames - both capture just a little snippet of the sights of a country ramble.

We have also added some more vintage posters to the Dovecote, capturing the joys of the great outdoors - lazy Summer days in the garden and countryside - full of nostalgia.

In the Library are several new children's books - Enid Blyton, Elizabeth Gould, flower books and some wonderful vintage schoolbooks (more in the nursery too, where  there are more vintage bunnies to greet you). There are additions too in the Attic (pretty floral framed prints) and a great 1940s wartime sewing book in the Sewing Room and some lovely floral tins in the Box Room.We look forward to seeing you soon.

Something For Mother

With Mother's Day a few days away, we wanted to let you know of some items that have recently been added to our shelves which would make perfect Mother's Day gifts.

In our Boudoir we are delighted to have added a very old and very pretty Lily Of the Valley Boots soap box, perfect for display and treasure storing. There is also a very pretty floral hankie and brooch set. Pretty tins in our Box Room could be filled with chocolates or sweets, as could the enamel or vintage jelly moulds in the Scullery - these would also make unusual and striking plant holders. For Mothers who enjoy a bit of sewing, we have wonderful floral linen tablecloths and cushion covers in the Sewing Room. In our Library we have added one of our favourite books - The 1930s first edition of The Diary Of A Provincial Lady, the entertaining goings-on of a mother and family - as well as some pretty nature books. We are also very pleased to announce the return of our French'n'Floral lavender sachets to the Dovecote, these very popular handmade lavender sachets are based on images from vintage French seed packets and are beautifully fragrant as well as decorative.

We hope we've provided some inspiration and gift ideas and wish you all a very Happy Mother's Day!

Spring Into Action!

At last, the Spring Equinox has come along.  The birds are tweeting, the sun sometimes shines and the days are lengthening. It's time to get sewing! We have recently added lots of wonderful new sewing projects and goodies to the Sewing Room shelves to help spring those sewing fingers back into action.

We have added many vintage linen cushion covers to be embroidered with lovely floral images that truly reflect the longer Spring and Summer days that hopefully are ahead of us.  Vintage embroidery transfers too that will add a delicious floral note to household linens, lingerie and gift items. 

Part-worked embroidered tablecloths are waiting to be finished to add some vintage joyfulness to your teatime tables (just in time for Easter).  This stunning linen tablecloth is in the traditional Willow pattern and comes with two tray cloths too.  

Amongst our goodies was this interesting floral tablecloth, produced by Penelope during the War in 1940s.  As production of these items was restricted during the war, this one was produced by special licence from the Board of Trade as it was intended for use by wounded forces as Occupational Therapy.

We have also sprinkled some 1940s copies of Needlewoman & Needlecraft magazines on the shelves, very much in the Make Do & Mend spirit of the time, which should also get that inspiration flowing...

And as for us, well, this sudden burst of Spring sunshine found us hurtling down to the Potting Shed to produce some more of our very popular French'n'Floral Lavender sachets, printed from vintage French seed packets. Beautifully fragrant and full of the promise of Spring, we have added these to our Dovecote shelves.

Enjoy the sunshine - we hope we've sown some seeds of inspiration for you. 

Mellow Yellow

We have recently added a selection of soft buttery (both salted and unsalted in colour) yellow crockery to the Scullery shelves.  Utility crockery and enamelware, Jasmine and Laburnum to be precise,  perfect for breakfast and tea, a cup of soft Spring sunshine to brighten your day.

 

Making Hay Whilst The Sun Shines ...

We really have been trying to make make the most of these glimpses of blue skies recently.  Taking time to re-stock, polish and dust the shelves and, most of all, try to take as many photos as possible before the all too familiar grey skies return.  On days like today, when the sun shines one minute and the heavens open the next, it feels like you're playing a game of Snakes & Ladders.  New shoots in the garden prove that Spring is steadily approaching and yet the cold grey days make you yearn for cuppa after cuppa...  Our selection of good old Utility Beryl cups and saucers are just perfect for this time of year.  That beautiful soft jade green that echoes Spring and offers the comfort of that traditionally shaped cup and saucer warming our hands.

Also in the Scullery we have added a selection of new tea towels, very traditional and vintage in style and texture.  Not only do they evoke images of French Country houses and brocantes, but they also lend themselves perfectly to cushion and bolster covers!  They are available in pairs and sets of three.

Herringbone woven cotton in natural colourways with blue or raspberry red stripes and  traditional linen style Glass Cloths - the sort you had when you were a child.

Elsewhere in the Emporium we have added 1940s sewing books and patterns, very pretty floral linen cushion covers to embroider, fabulous books and a sprinkling of ephemera. 

We'd love you to take a peep.  Toodle pip for now.

Milly and Dottie

On The Shelf...

www.millyanddottie.com

Mend, Mend, Mend!

We have recently added many lovely vintage threads and wools to the shelves of our Sewing Room.  Beautiful colours for mending, darning, embroidery, sewing or display.  When the lure of the Great Outdoors is not quite as tempting during these cold, grey days, now is a great time to get on with that pile of mending or sewing projects that have been stashed away for a rainy day.  The perfect time for a spot of "Make Do & Mend" - A New Year, new month, new resolutions, but old threads of course!

http://www.millyanddottie.com/userimages/procart6.htm

Flora & Fauna

A quick wander round the garden this morning, revealed emerging shoots, bulbs and beloved primroses braving the elements and mustering their strength to face the elements.  Whilst the temperature seems to be plummeting, these reassuring signs that all is well in the garden and Spring may well be on its way offers nearly as much comfort as the custard creams in the biscuit tin!

In our Library at the moment we seem to be gathering our own little Nature table with all manner of books.  Our little nod to the oncoming months and the delights that await us.

Happy New Year!

A rather belated but heartfelt Happy New Year! A huge 'thank you' to all of the lovely people that have visited us over the past year and a big 'Hello" to new and returning friends.  We wish you a healthy, happy, peaceful and rain-free 2014 (not completely rain-free you understand, just enough to stop us from being permanently soggy....

As life slowly returns to normal, The Grotto has retired for another year, tinsel and glitter have been swept up, the biscuit tin replenished, the Shop doormat swept and some new goodies placed upon the Shelves.

We hope to see you very soon.