Ava Vintage Fair @ The Stormount Hotel

What a day Smidge and myself had at the Ava Vintage Fair on Saturday the 13th April at the Stormount Hotel!

The Stormount Hotel was a great venue for the event - very spacious! The fair was held in the reception of the hotel and in the ballroom.

The ballroom was a great space for the exhibitors; everyone had plenty of space and all the stalls were beautifully decorated. A lot of time had obviously been spent there that morning  by the exhibitors organising their stalls.

One exhibitor which caught my attention was Kirkmodern, which sells 20th century retro furniture, collectibles, ceramics and pottery. This exhibitor specialises in Scandinavian and post-wear British designs. Cool piggy bank below, eh?

The picture below shows what Kirkmodern sells, aren't they different! I'd love to get furniture like this when I get my own place. I'd recommend to check out Kirkmodern; they do really different pieces that would be great for someone who wants something different to today's furniture and home-ware market. Check out Kirkmodern here http://www.kirkmodern.com/

There was lots of lovely vintage goods that caught my eye at the fair. In particular, this perfume bottle did - I loved the old style perfume bottle with the puff!

We also found some really interesting items such as the travel case pictured below. Travel case modeled by Smidge.

A big highlight (and lovely surprise) of the day was when Smidge bought me my very first real fur coat. I had been browsing a rail that had taken my interest and had started trying things on. A little brown fur coat had caught my eye. The exhibitor came over and started chatting to us and to see if we needed any help. She recommended that I should try on a black fur coat she was also selling. I was unsure - I tend to shy away from garments that are black due to my hair and eyes being so dark. However, willing to at least try new things I went and tried them both on.

I was torn, they were both lovely on. I didn't think much of it though, I was only trying things on. Then Smidge said he'd buy me one if I really wanted one and if I'd actually wear it. I lit up - it was like Christmas. Unsure of what to get, I asked Smidge and the exhibitor on what they thought suited me best. Both agreed that it was the black fur coat. It had a belt incorporated into the coat which was a nice detail; the exhibitor said it was the only one she had ever seen that had been designed like that.

I have to give a big thanks to the exhibitor, Shelia who sold us the coat. She was an absolute pleasure to talk to - friendly and helpful. She also gave me some aftercare advice for caring for the coat as it is an investment piece. If taken care of well, it should last for years (and I really hope it does!) Here's Shelia in action!

Her stall was beautifully presented also!

There was a great variety of  jewellery at the event; great for a magpie like myself! It was good to Melanie from VintageUSA again (she also exhibited at the Frock Around The Clock Vintage Fair in Belfast Castle). VintageUSA is a business where you can buy quality costume jewellery and vintage jewellery at an affordable price. There were many exhibitors selling jewellery - great variety and a price range to fit everyone.

Overall, we both really enjoyed the event - but yet again there was no menswear. Hopefully there will be something for Smidge at the next Ava Vintage Fair we go to. It was also rather annoying that the hotels bank machine was out of order and that they did not offer cash back with purchases; this resulted in walking a mile to get to the nearest cash machine. Rather annoying. However, the event was well organised visually and there was a good range of exhibits. There was some lower priced items, but the majority of the items at this fair was medium to high price range - so bring along your pennies and your haggling skills!

Check out some of my favourite snaps from the fair!

I can't wait until we go to another Ava Vintage Fair, we had such a giggle and really enjoyed the Stormount Fair.