Monday, March 31, 2014

Novelty Brooch Friday - March winner

This month the fabulous online shop Vintage Pip donated Egbert the Echidna brooch by Erstwilder to give away. Thank you so much Pip for your generosity, I hope you all had a chance to see the treasures Pip has in her shop.



With over 300 entries I used Random.org to chose the winner. After subtracting the shops promoting their wares number 183 was.......Littlestlass!!!!


Congratulations Littlestlass, if you could email me at tunabake@hotmail.com with your postal address I'll get Pip to forward you little Egbert.

Next month (April) I have another brooch to give away, keep an eye out on Instagram on Friday for another special treat.

So if you're a brooch maker/designer or vintage seller of brooches and would like to donate a brooch to #noveltybroochfriday giveaway on Instagram, and have your shop featured, please email me with a little info about your designs, shop and i'll get you a spot on the calendar. tunabake@hotmail.com

Until Friday.......x

Friday, March 7, 2014

Novelty Brooch Friday - March

Happy March! And it's another happy brooch we are giving away this month, well, a brooch always makes me happy.

This month we are so pleased to have Pip from Vintage Pip online shop donate a brooch to giveaway to one lucky person. 

Egbert the Echidna!!! By Erstwilder.  What a handsome fellow!



Pip sells accessories by designers she loves and carefully selects each item, hoping you love them as much as she does. Thank you Pip for offering one of your brooches to give away....Pip gave me free reign to chose from the range of makers and brooches she sells, it was a tough decision but I so love this little Australian native animal, and like Pip, hope you love him too.

Below are 5 questions I asked Pip, to learn a little more about her, her shop and a bit of an insight into how she started her shop, her inspirations and what motivates her running a small creative business.




When did you start your online shop and what was your motivation to do so?

I started Vintage Pip in July 2013 and I am amazed how quickly it has developed and grown. What was once just a ‘late night idea’ I dreamt of while my boys were tucked up in bed has now turned into a truly fulfilling business that motivates me daily.  I am constantly delighted at the opportunities that appear when you take a leap of faith and I have been lucky to meet and collaborate with so many fabulous and interesting people since starting Vintage Pip. Over the years I have had numerous friends, family and acquaintances complement me on my quirky and different sense of style as well as my uncanny ability to source things, I love the fact that Vintage Pip has allowed me to share these qualities.

What do you look for in design and choosing jewellery for your shop?

I choose items for the Vintage Pip store the exact same way I choose items for myself and my home, first and foremost they must make my heart sing! I place great emphasis on stocking objects that are good quality, value for money and from brands I have personally selected. If I resonate with a brand and their ethos I’m more likely to feel good wearing it. I have been described as vintage, rockabilly, fun, quirky, retro, organic, different, colourful, and many more things and that's what I like to convey in the stock in my store.

Do you have any small business owners or crafts people you admire?

For me as a mum of 2 the internet and especially blogs have influenced me greatly. In a lot of ways they have helped me find my identity and feel comfortable with it. Blogs such as Styling You, The Beetle Shack, Pull Your Socks Up, Skunkboy, GalaDarling, are just a few of my regular reads. Ultimately though my biggest influence has been my mum she has been crafting for as long as I can remember. My most treasured Christmas present ever is a doll called Polly she made me.  My Mum is also my greatest jewellery influence she always wears a brooch and cannot be seen without large earrings and her nose stud (yes she is seriously cool).


Is there any advice you could give others who are looking at starting an online shop?

In a lot of cases I have found the old adage "it’s not what you know but who you know" to be very true. I am surrounded by an eclectic group of family, friends and acquaintances and their input and insight has been invaluable.

If you could choose 1 artist/crafts person to represent in your shop that you don't already who would it be?


Gosh it’s too hard to pick just one as there are  so many talented people I would love to collaborate with and showcase through Vintage Pip. I am always looking to stock amazing Australian artists work and am open to all genres, I especially like to provide an opportunity to up and comers as I know how hard it can be to get exposure in the early days. I am eagerly on the hunt at the moment for an Art Deco influenced designer/crafter/maker.

So for your chance to win this cute brooch just post a picture of yourself on Instagram with your favourite brooch, entries can be submitted on any Friday in March up to and including Friday 28th March with the hash tag #noveltybroochfriday.  Erin and I will announce the winner (randomly chosen) on Monday 1st April (no it won't be an April fool, I promise). Open to everyone, you can enter as many times as you like on a Friday, either new or vintage brooches. 

*If you are a designer or sell vintage brooches (worldwide) and wish to donate a brooch for an upcoming month and have your shop showcased, please contact me at tunabake@hotmail.com 

Wednesday, March 5, 2014

Novelty Brooch Friday - February winner

Gosh this week and this year is flying by so quickly.

February's brooch giveaway from Cam of Curlypops was such a cute hand-painted wooden rainbow brooch. Thank you Cam for your donation and sharing your shop and passions with us.

And to everyone who plays along every Friday with #noveltybroochfriday, thank you.  I know most of us wear brooches everyday but Friday gives us an extra day to share them with people across the world...and you are a fantastic bunch of lovely people, thank you.

So.....February's lucky winner, chosen at random (minus my posts, the donator's and shops trying to sell their brooches by posting many posts in one day and throughout the week) is...................number 48, 

mrsjojoc!!



Congratulations!!! If you could email me at tunabake@hotmail.com with your postal address I can have Cam send you your prize.

This month, March we have another brooch to give away, keep an eye out on Instagram on Friday for another special treat.

So if you're a brooch maker/designer or vintage seller of brooches and would like to donate a brooch to our #noveltybroochfriday giveaway on Instagram, and have your shop featured, please email me with a little info about your designs, shop and we'll get you a spot on the calendar. tunabake@hotmail.com

Until Friday.......x