Hansley Beard

A Sea of Purple in the 1940s!

On 8th May 1940, a little baby girl was born called “Dorothy Charlotte”. 70 years on and Dorothy had something to celebrate ...

We recently organised Dot’s 70th Birthday party celebration at Grange Park Golf Club in Rotherham. As Dot was born in 1940 and loves all things vintage she chose a 1940s theme. Here’s what Dot had to say about it:

“Jennie organised all aspects of the party such as liaising with the venue and helping me develop our 1940s theme.

“We had a 1940s themed quiz, a 1940s sing-along, a presentation of my life from 8th May 1940 up to 8th May 2010, and we also encouraged guests to come in 1940s dress.

“When guests arrived they all received a ration ticket which we made out of an original we had in our own family history box.

“For the invite, Jennie used old photos of me at different ages:

“My favourite colours are purples and lilacs, and anything that glitters, so our 4 main colours were purple, lilac, black and silver. We had bunting, table decor, sweets, chocolates, cupcakes and trifles on the dessert bar, all in these colours. The only thing that didn`t fit in with the colour scheme was the scrumptious pie and peas, which went down a treat!!!

“Jennie has a very artistic flair for matching colours and designs together. The tables were decorated beautifully, and the dessert bar that Jennie had designed and created looked very pretty and was scrumptious, tasty and definitely morish!!!! Everyone remarked how lovely it was, and were impressed at how it was all set out.

“The night was rounded off by entertainment from the Vernon Sisters, dressed in 1940s style clothes, and singing many 1940s songs.

“The activities throughout the evening kept our attention all night, and some said it was the best party they had ever been to and a very different party to what parties are sometimes like (i.e. disco with loud head banging music, flashing lights, and people throwing their bodies around on the dance floor!).

“Two of our friends, Carol-Anne and Craig won the best dressed man and woman competition! Carol-Anne came as an American GI and Craig came dressed as a Kamikaze pilot, complete with leather flying jacket and hat, with a mouth full of sticky out teeth and small glassed bottom specs plus soot on his face”.

“My party was unforgettable and I really couldn’t fault it!”

For more info on The Vernon Sisters see their website at www.thevernonsisters.com
Mini Violet Cupcakes, Blueberry Cupcakes and Macarons by Blush Cupcakes
Blackcurrant trifles by Grange Park Golf Club

Posted Fri, 14 May, by Jennie Beard in Dessert and Candy Bars, Purple, Themes | 0 Comments

Window Dressing

No sooner had we packed away our vintage boudoir after last weekend’s Wedding Show at Magna, than we were getting it all out again to dress one of the empty shop windows in the city centre Sheffield Showcase project. All the windows have to be ‘themed’ and provide a showcase for local businesses and designers to display their creative talents. Organised by The Source at Meadowhall in association with Sheffield City Council, the project includes working alongside Visual Merchandising students and the two girls from the group who helped me to put the window together were an inspiration to work with.

We decided to make the window look like a lady’s bedroom, featuring a central dressing table, a clothes and dressing area and a living room area. We then created a story around the main female character. “She has just come home from a late night party, wearing her party dress; she throws down her feather boa and handbag on the settee and goes over to her dressing table, which shows evidence of her ‘getting-ready’ routine earlier that evening”.

Richard Smith from Rich Smith Illustration introduced me to the project and his vintage style caricatures feature prominently in this vintage boudoir window (see below).

Styling and display is a huge part of what I love doing. I like starting with a theme or colour scheme, gathering inspirational ideas and researching and sourcing the props and items to build the ‘set’; so creating a window display is not much different to me from decorating a wedding venue or designing a dessert bar. For this project, I already had lots of the right coloured vintage items in my hire collection. Then I found the wonderful chandelier wallpaper from Wallpaper Direct.

As I would when theming a wedding or event, I pulled together the right suppliers and businesses to produce the final look. For this theme, I sourced items and products from ten different local businesses and suppliers, some of whom had also been involved in the Ultimate Brides Wedding Show the weekend before (full list of suppliers below).

The key is knowing how to put together a collection of beautiful things, recognising when it’s working - and when it’s not working! - to create not only the right visual effect but the right experiential effect too. When we were working in the window, a lady saw what we were doing and commented, ‘That takes me back!’ The display seemed to connect with her own past, making her feel warm and nostalgic. ‘You’ve brought some happiness into my day!’ she said, as she walked away to continue her shopping.

If you’re able to go and see it, let me know what you think. It’s on Pinstone St, Sheffield (walk down from the Peace Gardens towards the top of the Moor and the shop is on the right). It’s very pink, and it’s there for 3 more weeks only!

Suppliers:

Window Theming and Design: Hansley Beard
Candy Jar Design: Hansley Beard
Hire of Decorative and Vintage Items: Hansley Beard
Vintage Boudoir Sign: The Happily Ever After Project
Caricatures: Rich Smith Illustration
Vintage Hats: Tricia Cox Millinery
Bridal Lingerie: All She Needs
Jewellery, Cameo Brooches, Soaps & Umbrella: Valentine & Whicker
Vintage Dress, Cape, Jewellery and Handbag: Tasty Vintage, Sheffield Antiques Centre
Central Dressing Table Mirror: Mirror Mad
Perfumes & Beauty Club: Debenhams, Sheffield
Dress on main model: Alice Takes a Trip
Rose Petals: Nature’s Larder

All Photos by CandM-Photography

Posted Thu, 17 Sep, by Jennie Beard in Lingerie, Pink, Shops, Stationery, Themes, Vintage Accessories, Vintage Clothing , Vintage Crockery Hire, Vintage Styling, Window Display | 1 Comments

Ultimate Brides Wedding Show

Last Sunday, we had the pleasure of showcasing our stunning pink and black ‘Vintage Boudoir’ at the brilliantly organised Ultimate Brides Wedding Show at Magna in Rotherham. We coordinated and collaborated with fifteen other top quality local wedding suppliers to create our themed stall. The show was attended by hundreds of brides and their guests, from all over the region and beyond. Here’s a selection of the best photos from the day:

All Photos by CandM-Photography

The Vintage Boudoir Dessert Bar:

Vintage Crockery Hire:

Make-up Demonstrations:

Caricatures:

Suppliers:

Styling and Theming: Hansley Beard
Dessert Bar Design: Hansley Beard
Vintage Crockery Hire: Hansley Beard
Wedding Stationery and Display Signs: The Happily Ever After Project
Caricatures: Rich Smith Illustration
Cupcakes: Blush Cupcakes
Desserts: Coco Catering
Chocolates: Cocoa
Flowers: La Boutique Paeony
Make-up Artist: Simone Kania
Model: Sophie Mei
Vintage Hats: Tricia Cox Millinery
Bridal Lingerie: All She Needs
Circus Performer: Greentop Circus
Umbrellas: Valentine & Whicker
Vintage Dresses: Tasty Vintage, Sheffield Antiques Centre
Mirror: Mirror Mad

Ultimate Brides Wedding Show organised by Ultimate Brides

Posted Sun, 13 Sep, by Jennie Beard in Caricatures, Catering, Circus, Dessert and Candy Bars, Flowers, Lingerie, Photography, Shops, Stationery, Suppliers, Themes, Vintage Accessories, Vintage Clothing , Wedding Fayres and Shows, Vintage Weddings | 1 Comments