GIVEAWAY TIME!!!!

It's GIVEAWAY TIME!!! If you would like win your very own bouquet all you have to do is enter below!!

Good Luck!

Robin x

Big Plans for Twenty Fourteen!

It's hard to believe we are almost a month into 2014 already! I have so much I want to accomplish this year I better get a move on! So far I have already got our new logo, new packaging and I am prepping for Martinborough Fair!

Here are a few other things I want to do this year in no particular order....

1. Go on a buying trip to Auckland.
2. Buy a DSLR camera.
3. Re-stock the website.
4. Keep blogging on a regular basis.
5. Do more markets further afield.
6. Re-open the Etsy Shop
7. Have better time management
8. Quit my addiction to caramel lattes.
9. Travel more
10. Take more photos
11. Meet more bloggers and small business people.
12. Update my wardrobe
13. Get a funky haircut
14. Get out the sewing machine more.
15. Read more
16. See more live music
17. Spend more time with friends
18. Renovate my daughters bedroom
19. Buy more shoes
20. Buy more handbags
21. Spend more quality time with my family (we already spend heaps of time together but I can't get enough!)
22. Be more organised!! 
23. Have more faith in myself.
24. Achieve my business goals.
25. Volunteer more.
26. Expand my cooking repertoire.

What are some of the things on your list for this year? 

Robin x
 

WIN WIN WIN!!!

                                               Wooohoo a new a year a new competition!! 

                                                  Are you ready to hear about it??

                     To get a chance at winning a massive $120 worth of Vintage Spice products all you                                                                 have to do is......... 

                Post a photo of you with your Vintage Spice bouquet or accessory! 

You can enter as many times as you want as long as it is a different item! 

Winner will receive their very own mini bouquet and a mixture of other surprise Vintage Spice goodies valued at $120!

                          By entering you agree to our T&C's which you can view Here!

      Don't worry if you don't have anything yet there is still time to purchase you have until                                                         February the 14th to enter!!

Have a great day lovely people x

2013 in a Walnut Shell

This year has been a bit of a blur, I remember this time last year feeling overwhelmed and super excited about 2013. Having just booked my first Martinborough Fair and Auckland's Grand Wedding Show I felt really out of my depth and doubting whether or not I could actually pull it off!

But I did, I managed to pull it all off with most of my sanity remaining.

2013 was huge in all areas of my life not just professional but personal too, we brought our first home in April, complete with a 2 room studio out the back for me to work out of! I had grown out of the tiny spare bedroom I had been working in and my work seemed to be taking over the entire house- other crafters out there will know what I am talking about!

I also began attending Playcentre with my daughter and have since been elected President  which is a huge honor but also another thing I must shuffle! I have continued to watch my darling daughter grow up before my eyes, at almost 3 she is a real character and a total mini me!

It still remains a big juggling act between the business and my family, I actually missed my first wedding anniversary because I was out of town for work which is disappointing but I am really lucky to have such a supportive husband! I'm telling myself one day I will get the balance between work/home just perfect!

This year has seen me launch the new website www.vintage-spice.com complete with online store (which is down for maintenance over the holidays). I have been to more fairs, markets and shows than ever before and have been busier than the year before which is always a plus! I have been continuing to blog, however rather sporadically due to time management.

2014 I have big plans, this is the first year I will actually have a plan and a direction. I'm not spilling any secrets just yet but it is going to be awesome! I hope you all follow along with me.

Robin x

I Invite You......

I am a tad obsessed with stationary and wedding invitations are no exception! I made my own invitations for my wedding but had I known about ETSY at the time or had more time to plan my wedding (3 months is just not enough time to get every little thing you want!) I would have got one of these beauties! 

Buy it here...

Personalised Cartoons! This is one I think my hubby would love super cute!

Buy them Here..

These laser cut invitations are amazing! These are sure to give your guests a 'wow' moment when they open the envelope! 

Buy it here..
Woodland creatures are so popular at the moment and these deer head invitations do the trend in a classy way!

Buy it here..
Burlap and Lace- Classic for a vintage/rustic wedding.

Buy it Here..

I am loving this new floral trend that is becoming more and more popular! I see this being used in a backyard picnic wedding or an elegant garden wedding.

Robin x

*Out and About* Mamaternity Event

This last Friday night I had the privilege of setting up shop at a fantastic fundraising event for Mamaternity the maternity resource center who have branches in both Feilding and Palmerston North.

The centers offer support for all aspects of pregnancy from pregnancy tests, helping find anti-natal classes and coffee groups and support for new families.


This particular event was raising money for their amazing Maanaki Packs which provide good quality second hand clothing, hand knitted clothing and beautiful Wahakura woven bassinets find out more HERE.

When I walked into the event I was very pleasantly surprised I knew this group of wonderful ladies didn't have a lot of time to bring everything together and boy did they do an amazing job! The venue Travelodge Palmerston North was beautiful, tables all set out with stall holders around the outside edge.

Photo by Angeje Portraiture 

With a fashion show from local businesses those little girls and preggy mamas worked it! 

Photo by Angeje Portraiture 

There were so many prizes and competitions on the night I think almost everyone walked away with something! We donated over $60 worth of stock that went home with some of the lovely attendees. 

Photo by Angeje Portraiture 

The night was overall very entertaining with various stall holders, a great MC and of course lots of free stuff how could you go wrong!

Photo by Angeje Portraiture 

Well done Mamaternity I hope the evening was a great success, it was a pleasure to be apart of such a fun evening! Can't wait for the next one!

To find out more about Mamaternity check out their Facebook Page or Website

Robin x

*Neon Wedding*

I like anyone loves a pop of neon! At a wedding is no exception, here are some gorgeous neon wedding finds................

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If your only going to do it once have some fun with it! No one will forget a neon wedding x

Robin x

*Green with Envy*

With our sample sale coming up I thought I would give all of our blog followers a sneak peak of what is going to be on offer! 

First off is the *Green with Envy* Bouquet

This bouquet has over 1000 buttons, many sparkly pearl and crystal brooches and tiny flowers.

A large cameo and crystal brooch is the centre of the bouquet, along with some of my most favourite vintage buttons that I will be so sad to let go of!

The crossed pleat stem adds yet another detail to this bouquet, making it shine from every angle.

Finally it is finished with double layer deluxe satin petals that complete the bouquet. Here at Vintage Spice we want your bouquet to look as amazing from underneath as it does on top.

This bouquet is truly one of my favorites, with its subtle sparkle and gorgeous colours. If only I could get married again! 

Sign up for our sample sale here http://www.vintage-spice.com/#!sample-sale/c22ie

Don't forget to like us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/VintageSpice?ref=hl

Robin x

Give Away Time!!!!!

Goodbye Guest Book!

Lets face it guest books are boring! A white book covered in white satin that people write lovely messages in that you may read the day after your wedding and then never again. It gets put in a box or on the bookshelf , if you are overly sentimental like I am you probably will take it out once a year and have a look through it otherwise it just sits there, white fabric getting all dusty and the sticky fingers of a toddler will probably come along and put some fingerprints on it. Toddlers love emptying bookshelves!!

There are so many other amazing ways of collecting a memento from your guests now, some that you can have on display at your home all year round! Here is one I quite liked!

Finger Print trees like this one are beautiful and anyone would be proud to hang it in their home however be careful as to what tree you choose some can look incredibly tacky in my opinion. I love the look of this realistic tree as opposed to a cartoon-like one I have seen circulating. See the rest of this wedding Here.

You may want to have someone over seeing this to make sure it is done properly and make sure it is done before alcohol and not afterwards so you get people when they are at their most sensible and you don't end up with streaks or blobs of ink everywhere.




This is the first fingerprint type thing that I have seen and liked but there are so many balloon ones, trees, fingerprint rain just look on Pinterest for oodles of ideas if this is your thing!

The original post for this image says that this one was sourced from Etsy a great place to start your wedding shopping!


Robin x

Rambling Blog!

I have decided that I must be more disciplined with this blog and also my other social medias Facebook etc, I tend to do it in bits and pieces as opposed to being consistent. I might blog everyday for 3 days then there will be nothing for a month and same goes for my Facebook page one day I might post 6 times then there will be nothing for a week! 

This is partly due to being busy I am also a wife and a mother, with a house to keep and a toddler to entertain. I make all my own stock for my business, do all my own IT stuff, update the website reply to emails, book markets and the financial side of things too. 

The other part of it is truth be told I really don't know what to say a lot of the time. I don't want to be taking those same old photos from Pinterest that everyone has already seen in hundreds of blogs before it, for those of you who do visit my blog I want you to read something interesting and not generically boring! I have noticed in some of my older blog posts I am writing from a "Business" standpoint and I have decided that is very boring and if I am bored writing it you will bored reading it! 

So without rambling to much about that, the moral of the story is I have decided to be more active online, write more personal blogs and just find some new and more exciting things to write about!

This will include blogs about markets and events we have attended which may be of some interest to some people including a review of the market which may be helpful for other business owners looking at which markets they should attend. I am so slack at even taking my camera anywhere so this will force me to!

As we have relocated to Woodville NZ I hope to do some blogs about my new small town too, we have some amazing little shops including some incredible secondhand shops that I can get lost in for hours! 

I know my last 2 blogs have been slightly uneventful but I just wanted to let you in on what awesomeness there is to come!  

Tell me what you would like blogs about? I am always open to suggestions <3

Robin x


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I Dreamed a Dream.

I have never been a goal setting type of person I tend to be a more go with the flow sort of girl but I do have some life goals that someday I want to do or achieve. So I thought I would share some with you, some are business related others are family or personal.

1. Have another baby- Not today not tomorrow maybe not for a while but one day I will give my daughter a brother or sister.

2. Take my daughter to Disney Land- Something I always  use to dream about as a little girl and now that I have a daughter I have an excuse to go as an adult!

3. Open a store.

4. Be published in a magazine- be it an article a feature or even a tiny tiny little photo!

5. See cherry blossoms in Japan.

6. Attend a show at Fashion week- I'm not bothered what country.

7. Write a book.

8. Learn to crochet or knit.

9. Ride in a double Decker bus in London.

10. Catch the Subway.

11. Renew my wedding vows.

12. Get a degree- I'm not sure what for yet but I have always wanted to wear a cap and gown.

13. Make a family recipe book.

14. Make a Pavlova just like my mum.

15. Own a pair of  Jimmy Choo shoes.

16. Wear a designer gown.

17. Kiss my husband under the Eiffel Tower.

18. Take a photography course.

19. Take a dressmaking course.

20. Volunteer for a charity overseas.

21. Volunteer for a charity on a regular basis in my own community.

22. Hold a charity auction.

23. Hold a handmade only market showcasing the best crafters in my area.

24. Go to a casino.

25. Fill my house with beautiful artworks and photos.

26. Create my dream home.

27. Sleep in a 4 post bed.

28. Donate blood.

29. Have a cooking lesson.

30. Adopt a Greyhound.

31. Run a marathon, half marathon or triathlon.

32. Meet my grandchildren and great grandchildren.

33. Go rollerblading.

34. Go to a  jazz club.

35. Ride a roller coaster.

36. Revisit Taranaki Falls.

37. Go on a girls shopping weekend in Melbourne.

38. Go on a road trip in another country.

39. Travel the entire length of New Zealand.

40. Get a tattoo.

41. See a show on Broadway. 

42. Catch a yellow taxi in New York.

43. Eat street food.

44. Visit Poland- and meet other Ronowicz's

45. Host an elegant tea party for my friends and family.

46. Teach someone else a craft.

47. Adopt or foster a child.

48. Walk my daughter to school on her first day.

49. See my daughter marry the person of her dreams.

50. Stay at a romantic B&B somewhere remote with my husband.

Well it started as goals but I think it may have been more of a "Bucket List" I don't know how many of these things I will actually get to experience and how many things will be taken away or added but as I stand right now these are some of the things I would love to experience in my life! 

I challenge you to write down some of your goals that you wish to achieve or experience, share them if you like but sometimes its great to have a little ponder about life, love and dreams.

I challenge my blog Friends to do the same and send me a link below so I can read about yours! 

Robin x

Marchesa Spring / Summer 2013 Collection favourites!

Here are my favourites from the new Marchesa Spring / Summer collection. These are as luxurious as bridal gowns come but there is no harm in looking is there! 

All photographs sourced from Here

I really think there is something for every bride in this collection! Well done Marchesa you have done it again! 

What do you think? Is there a gown here you would wear? 

Robin

Unique Bouquet Makers.

There are many bouquet makers throughout the world but they are not created equally. When you choose someone to make your bouquets for your wedding make sure to ask questions before handing over any cash!

Firstly any bouquet that have some kind of polystyrene or floral foam base will not last the test of time, while this makes them cheaper if you are looking for an heirloom piece this is not it. Vintage Spice bouquets do not contain any such thing!

Is the company genuine? While this is a horrible thought when purchasing over the Internet this is something we must consider. What forms of payment do they accept? Ask if they take Paypal, this is a much safer way to purchase over the Internet should anything go wrong you can claim for your money back.

If you have seen the persons work in person obviously this is ideal but not always possible, ask for photos from different angles this way you can be sure the person is actually in possession of the piece and hasn't stolen the image from Google or another business's website.

Beware of "I can make something like this." Some 'businesses' use photos of others peoples work and claim to be able to make it. If this is the case they should be making it themselves! You never really know what you are buying. Making a quality bouquet is not as simple as 1 2 3 and takes many hours of perfecting techniques. Don't hand over your money to someone who 'claims' to be able to make it for you from a picture they have found on Google! 

Lastly progress photos, if someone is making your bouquet for you they should have no reservations on sending you progress photos of your bouquet throughout it's construction. Now asking for a photo a day is obviously a bit excessive but just at different stages, this ensures that when you get your bouquet it will be exactly as you want it! 

Robin xx

Owner and Creator of Vintage Spice Unique Bouquets and Accessories. 

The face behind the business!

Blogging has taken a little bit of a back seat recently, with getting ready for the big wedding expo and trip to Auckland weekend after next and moving into our new home things have been somewhat crazy!

So I thought I would do a bit of a different post today and show you the person or people behind Vintage Spice, the business, the blog and everything else that goes into it! 

Robin Louise Ruth Ronowicz, Ronowicz being my married name. Thank goodness for my crazy parents giving me 2 middle names otherwise my initials would just be RRR! 

I started out as a make up consultant in pharmacy and then moved onto being a dispensary technician, while I loved my job I knew that once I had my daughter there were bigger and better things I wanted to do. 

I love crafting, anything creative, music, anything vintage and spending time with my family and friends.

Then there is my amazing husband Chris, the most supportive man on the planet! Like when I wake up one morning and tell him I'm going to start a business and he says "Ok Cool!" 

We have now been together for 6 years meeting when I was just 16, looking back on it now it was totally meant to be! 

He pushes me to do my best even when I am doubting myself, he never lets me feel guilty for spending money and time on the business. Heck he even stands at markets and helps me sell hair clips! That's a catch right there!! 

He is an avid hunter (perfect match a hunter and a vegetarian!) and spending time at the beach house.

The newest addition to our family is our beautiful daughter Abby, I have always wanted to be a mum and Abby is the light in my life. Now 2 she's a handful but the coolest kid ever (yes I am incredibly biased!) who loves dressing up, drawing (on anything and everything) and dancing! 

Finally there are the 4 legged members of our family. There is our dog Datsun who we think is a Greyhound cross lab maybe?? Not too sure on that one he's a black one anyway! We also have our 2 cats which we adopted soon after my husband and I move in together, they both answer to "Kitty" original I know!

I am hoping to do some Vlogs while I am away in Auckland so I will add a link to the Vintage Spice YouTube channel.

Have a fantastic weekend xx

Robin

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Something Blue

I love blue, to me it feels like peace, tranquility and calm.

Here is some Blue wedding inspiration! 

Perhaps for the morning of the wedding or hide them under your dress at your reception? For any occasion really I am obsessed with crochet slippers! Find there Here

This would be so cute for your bridesmaids, great for a spring or summer wedding. Easy to wear and would easily suit many body shapes! Find it Here

A blue bouquet or something blue added to your bouquet, a blue button, brooch, some blue lace. Oh the possibilities! Bouquet by us at Vintage Spice Unique Bouquets and Accessories

A blue shoe under a white dress is such a great statement its fun, fresh and a little twist on tradition! Also makes for great pictures! I found this photo Here.

Make sure to like us on Facebook and follow us on Pinterest for more inspiration and products!

Have a happy day.

Robin xx

Best of "Wise Words"

Another installment from the Pinterest archives! We all love the odd thought provoking quote or something to give us a giggle here are a few of my favorite from my Pinterest board 'Wise Words'

 <3

Robin xx