Winners Profile: For The Love Of Vintage
Here we focus on Sharon and the story of “For The Love Of Vintage“… Sharon won Best Vintage Event Supplier at The Vintage Manchester Awards 2012. You can peruse the other winners here and their profiles here.
My first steps towards my current vintage business began with Stroon, which I started with my husband Garry. In 2005 we opened our basement gallery on Thomas Street, in Manchesters Northern Quarter selling affordable art & photography, second-hand vinyl, handmade gifts, cards & vintage home wares. I made cards with flock wallpapers, cushions with vintage/ retro fabrics and a collection of lampshades adorned with vintage broaches & ribbon. In 2008 we moved the gallery online and just about saved ourselves from the high street recession!
Over the next two years I studied for a professional Interior design qualification. With every course project I completed I began to see a theme… every assignment I produced had a vintage element to it & having collected vintage china since aged eight, the idea for For The Love Of Vintage began to take shape. I couldn’t get vintage out of my head!
In Summer 2010 I began making handmade candles using teacups, old glassware & jelly moulds and used old plates to make cake stands. I started selling them to family & friends, which in turn lead to selling at vintage & craft fairs whilst I built up my collection to hire.
Through 2011 I was lucky enough to get my up-cycled china crafts into local Independent stores such as Northern Flower, Blossom, And The Dish ran away with the Spoon, Sweet Tooth Cupcakery and Charlottes in Buxton.
2011 was a busy year as I began working with Didsbury based, And the Dish Ran Away With The Spoon, to cater vintage tea party events and soon followed our collaboration with Silver Sixpence in her Shoe a handmade bridal accessory designer. This led into 2012 and catering for more and more Vintage Hen Parties we could see the potential in expanding our offering and that’s when we decided to join forces with Bethany Jane Davies to create An Era of Experience.
FTLOV’s has big plans for the future but sadly its hush hush at the moment – as soon as I can tell more Vintage Manchester will be the first to know!
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