Bambi's Birthday Competition

I know it's Monday morning, but I've got some news that will cheer you up.

 

Yesterday I decided to celebrate Bambi's 5th Birthday by holding a Facebook competition where 5 lucky winners will be picked at random to receive a handmade bandana.

 

 

Originally the competition was going to end at midnight last night, but as I'm feeling generous I've decided to extend it. The competition will now end at midnight on TUESDAY 1ST OCTOBER 2013.

 

To enter, go over to the competition post on our Facebook page and follow the instructions: Like and share the post and comment "Happy Birthday Bambi" to enter.

 

CLICK HERE TO ENTER THE COMPETITION!

 

You must do all 3 things for your entry to be valid.

 

GOOD LUCK!

 

Hayley x

 

Happy Birthday Bambi! 5 today!

This is one of the first pictures that I ever took of Bambi. We were in the car on the way home from the breeders and she is just 11 weeks old.

I can't believe Bambi is 5 today! It doesn't feel like 4 and 3/4 years ago that we welcomed her into our lives.

Most people don't know this but Bambi is actually Irish. I was living in Ireland at the time and decided it was time to get a canine companion so I did some research and we got her from a reputable breeder who was a few hours drive away from where we were living in Cork. She's pedigree (Her Kennel Club name is Molly's Angel which I think is very sweet) and we have her little family tree which I love to get out every now and again and look at. Her Dad was called Little Rebel which I think is the coolest name ever!

 

This little bundle of love has brought so much joy into my life. She's helped me in ways that she will never understand and I honestly don't know what I would do without her.

Happy Birthday, Bambi.

Be prepared to be spoilt rotten!

Xo

 

Poodles and Pompadours secure a new Wholesale Stockist

I am very pleased to announce that we now officially have a new stockist!

As you may or may not know, I do offer a wholesale service so that my handmade items can be sold by other retailers. My lovely school friend Emily, and her business partner Hanna will be stocking some of our goodies in their beautiful boutique in Eton High Street which just recently opened this summer.

If you're in the area why not pop down to Wags Boutique to see the selection of gorgeous things that they have to offer? You might even see the Queen!

They are located at 51 High Street, Eton, Windsor, SL4 6BL or have a peek at their website www.wagspetboutique.co.uk

 

 

Wholesale/Stock Enquiries

If you would like to stock our products in your shop please email us. We would love to hear from you!

We are open to custom/wholesale requests and we also hire out our items for photo-shoots or film & TV projects. For more information on these services please contact us.

For an up to date list of all of our current stockists please visit http://poodlesandpompadours.com/stockists.php

 

Small Business Tips: Learning Along The Way - Copyright

I wrote a lot in my previous blog about copyright laws and trademark. Unfortunately, thanks to my website host, that blog has been deleted and has been lost forever, along with all of my posts. I did find this post however, and thought I would share it with you, as I still see a lot of people making the same mistakes that I nearly did almost 3 years ago.

Business: Learning Along The Way - Copyright

If there was anything I could say that I know now, more than ever, it's that business is hard! And no matter how clever you think you are, you will never know everything you need to know about running a business. FACT. But you learn along the way and that's all part of the process.

 

Today I learnt a lot about copyright infringement. Last night I made myself a cute Swarovski crystal Hello Kitty ring from an old charm thing I had lying around and my beloved crystals. I loved it and thought it would make a great addition to the Diamonds And Daggers jewellery range but wasn't sure about the copyright issues involved in selling it. I've seen so many handmade Hello Kitty items on sites like Etsy and Folksy that I kind of assumed that it was OK but decided to email them to check instead as ignorance is never an excuse.

I tweeted out a picture of the ring this morning, and after seeing it someone else on Twitter mentioned that before I started selling them I might want to check that I wasn't breaking any copyright laws, so I followed up my email to Sanrio and started doing a bit more research online.

I came across this message on forum which pretty much answers all the questions in one simple post.

"If you are creating things to sell using a trademarked or copyright protected image, logo, or brand. Yes it is copyright infringement and Yes, you can receive a cease and desist letter""Copyright infringement is the unauthorized or prohibited use of works under copyright, infringing the copyright owner's exclusive rights, such as the right to reproduce or perform the copyrighted work, or to make derivative works.""It's not the making, it's the SELLING. If you're making money from someone else's law protected idea - that's not OK. Feel free to make as many Hello Kitty hats to wear for yourself as you want, because you love the company. the minute you sell them to someone else, you crossed the line."

 

If you are any making money from someone else's design/logo/picture/photograph etc it is copyright infringement and the owner of said design has every right to take legal action against you. Even tattoos of artwork are classed as copyright infringement if the artist did not originally design the art themselves and legal action can be taken against the artist (not the owner of the tattoo).

 

So, I won't be selling the cute rings (I get to keep mine for myself! Hooray!), as I wouldn't ever want to break any copyright laws (purposefully or not), and thinking about it, if someone saw my design and started selling copies of it, I would be really annoyed. Sanrio and Hello Kitty might be a massive, worldwide recognized company now but originally it was just one person who drew that cute little cat, and nobody else should be making money from his/her great design.Here's some more really information on the basics of UK copyright law and the top 10 copyright myths from the UK Copyright Service.

Originally posted on Thursday, December 02, 2010

 

 

Crowdfunder Update: Back to School!

It's been a few months since the success of my recent Crowdunder Campaign.

I purposefully waited a little while to enrol on my course, which I was able to do thanks to some amazingly generous pledges, because I wanted to make sure that I had a few more items and ideas for the shop finalised before I took on a new project. 

I've recently finished a weeks work placement at a grooming salon in Windsor and THEY GAVE ME A PERMANENT JOB! I now work one day a week as a grooming assistant. Yay!

I'm also very pleased to announce that I am now officially enrolled in my Professional Dog Grooming course and I start on October 1st, I was origin my going to wait to enrol until January 2014 but I got too excited and decided to enrol early.

The course is approximately 9 months long, but that is approximate as you can study at your own pace. I'm really excited to learn some new skills and can't wait to put them into practise.

Thank you to everyone who helped with my Crowdfunder Campaign. You are all amazing! X

Spooktacular Halloween

It's nearly my favourite time of year, and to celebrate I've spent the last few days creating a special Spooktacular Halloween Bundle for you all.

The bundle is £15 including postage and packaging (Usually £20.50) within the UK and features one of our ever so popular handmade bandanas and a Halloween themed collar charm.

You can choose from 3 spooky collar charms and 2 special edition Halloween fabrics.

This bundle will only be available for Halloween 2013 and I will guarantee that any pet will look frightningly cute in their special spooky outfits.

You can order online through our Favebook page or Etsy shop.

www.facebook.com/poodlesandpompadours 

https://www.etsy.com/shop/poodlesandpompadours

Handmade vs Highstreet – The Price Battle!

Originally posted 8 August 2011.

As a designer/maker I’m often faced with tough competition – not only with the products I make, but also the price I sell them for. Many times at a craft fair or event I’ve heard customers say to other stall holders (and myself a number of occasions) “That’s too expensive.” or “I could get the same one on (insert name of high street chain here) for £10 less.”

For your future reference, every single time a independent designer hears something to that effect A BABY UNICORN DIES! Don’t do it. No really, for the sake of the unicorn race.

Baby Unicorn Sculpture by Indigo Ocean

 

Can you find a cheap, knock off necklace in Primark for £3? Probably.

Will it have been made by hand, had hours of labour poured into making it the best it could possibly be and contain a little bit of the makers personality? No. (and in Primark’s case – if it was made by hand, those hands belonged to a 3 year old Indonesian boy called Paul. He only has 3 fingers left and works for 2p a week to try and save his family from starvation.)

It’s also a common misconception that handmade equals bad quality. Whislt this may be the case with some people who just do their craft as a hobby and don’t take it seriously, for most crafters who want to earn a living doing what they love, they will work on a design until it’s perfect. Afterall, what we sell is a direct reflection on us.

The fact is – you can’t get anything similar to what I make and sell on the highstreet, and that’s exactly why I make what I do. My price fairly reflects the time and effort that has gone into making each item. I’m also very proud to say that I source all of my materials from within the UK, which helps the British economy and I am an avid supporter of local businesses. I could quite easily choose to get my materials imported from the States or China, but I don’t. I buy from local businesses, so that the money I spend can go straight back into the British economy because we sure as hell knows that it needs all the help it can get right now!

The next time you hear someone at a craft market say “That’s too expensive! I’m off to the highstreet!” why not ask them if they’d work for less than £5 an hour?

If they wouldn’t, why should we?

 

The Meaning of Burlesque

It seems that whenever I tell anyone I'm going to a burlesque show, they have one of two reactions.

A. They think its great and want to come too.

B. They turn their noses up in disgust at the though of going to a "glorified strip show."

I'm not sure why burlesque divides opinions so much. I don't think it's, the nudity, nipples are everywhere these days but it got me thinking so I decided to dig out this old blog post of mine that I wrote in 2010 about the meaning of Burlesque.

The Meaning Of Burlesque

First Published 21 October 2010 here

"Since Marilyn Manson first introduced the world to Heather Renee Sweet (or Dita Von Teese as you and I know her) back in 2001, we've all gone mad for Swarovski crystals, vintage fashion and nipple pasties. The word "Burlesque" was thrown into the public eye and every woman (and man) on the planet wanted a piece of it. But what exactly is Burlesque and why is the world so obsessed with it?

While some see burlesque performers as a glorified string-fellows strippers, I am here to tell you that Burlesque is a whole lot more. If you take away the props, music and amazing costumes and delve into the history of burlesque you start to get a feel for where and how this art form first started. Wikipedia sites that "Burlesque, also known as travesty, is a genre of entertainment. Before burlesque became associated with striptease, it was a form of musical and theatrical parody in which an opera or piece of classical theatre is adapted in a broad, often risqué style very different from that for which it was originally known."

New burlesque as we now know it, saw it's revival in the early 1990s and has gone from strength to strength with mega-stars such as Dita and Catherine D'Lish. It's also a lot more available to us know than it was back then with Burlesque clubs and nights popping up in venues all over the country. Burlesque isn't just about taking your clothes off and flashing your swarovski encrusted boobs, it's about so much more than that. To me, burlesque is about empowerment, solidarity and support of women everywhere (excuse me while I put my feminist pillbox hat on for a minute). I challenge anyone to go to a Burlesque show and not come out of it feeling empowered or inspired in some way, shape or form. If you're lucky enough to have been to a burlesque show, I'm sure you would have noticed the comradery between the women. Everyone is there to help and support each other (sometimes literally when you're stepping into a corset) and I can honestly say that it's one of the best things I've seen in a long time. No one is there to judge anyone else or compare thigh sizes, the Burlesque scene isn't about that at all.

It's about sticking two perfectly half moon manicured fingers up to the modern fashion industry and taking the ideas from the 1950s and turning them on their head. It's about saying big is beautiful, small is beautiful, any shape or size, skin colour, scar, stretch or mark and wonky boob, they are all beautiful and I'm going to shove them in your face and make you choke on your Martini olive until you see that too."

What does Burlesque mean to you? Write to me in the comments and let me know.

Hayley x

 

Rockabilly Winter Wardrobe Essentials

It can be quite hard to dress in a rockabilly or pinup style in the winter months as, let's face it, it's bloody freezing and everyone just wants to wear a duvet all day. I was thinking about this today as I am in urgent need of some new winter clothes as its suddenly got very cold, so I decided to make a list of some Rockabilly Winter Wardrobe Essentials. 

Here goes...

Coats & Jackets

Faux Fur Trim Military Coat - EBay

Red Coat with Remoavlable Leopard Fur Collar - Sirens & Starlets

A good winter coat is essential so that you don't freeze to death. I really like fitted the style of the two above, and love that they encorporate a bit of leopard print to give it a rockabilly edge. 

Cardigans 

Cardigans are essential to any rockabilly wardrobe and are great for creating layers to keep you warm. They can be worn over dresses or with a fitted top and skinny jeans. Both of these are from Sirens & Starlets.

Knits 

Knitted tops and jumpers like this leopard print one above are great. They go well with pencil skirts and heels or can be dressed down with cigarette pants or skinny jeans and flats.

Pencil Skirts

Having a few different coloured pencil skirts in your wardrobe is a great way to mix and match outfits to create new looks. They can be worn with layered tops and tights for warmth.

These are again from Sirens & Starlets. Can you see a pattern forming here?

Cigarette Pants

Cigarette pants are a great wardrobe staple for any rockabilly girl who is looking for a little more warmth than a skirt and tights combo might normally give. The black pair are from Sirens and Starlets and the bottom two pairs are from Collectif.

Long Sleeved Dresses

As you may have noticed, a lot of rockabilly and pinup style dresses can look a little summery. They usually have short sleeves or straps and feature bright and bold patterns - great for summer, but in the cold winter months you might require a little more coverage. These two long sleeved dresses are from Sirens & Starlets and the green one is placed firmly at the top of my wish list.

Tights & Stockings

Dresses and Skirts are always great but you can get a little chilly around the leg area. These seamed tights from Collectif will provide you with a little shelter from the elements.

Winter Boots

Vintage shoe styles are particularly tricky to find in the winter months but I'm particularly loving these Pom Pom boots and cowboy boots from Irregular Choice.

So those are my rockabilky winter wardrobe essential picks. I'm sure there are things missing which should have been included here.

The Collectif Autum/Winter range launches soon and I can't wait to see what it includes. I'm sure I'll be lusting after lots more things once that goes live.

What are your winter wardrobe essentials? Do you have any tips on creating a staple wardrobe that can create many different looks?

Let me know in the comments below.

Wrap up warm!

Hayley x

OOTD: Birthdays, Burlesque & Boobs

Technically this is an OOY (Outfit Of Yesterday) post because it's what I wore last night to celebrate my 25th birthday in style at Lady Beau Peep's Burlesque Show.

This was the inspiration behind my outfit:

And this is what I actually wore:

Cherry Wiggle Dress - Sirens & Starlets

Black Fitted Cardigan - Tu

Off Black Tights - Pretty Polly

Leopard Slingback Peeptoe Shoes - Topshop (about 8 years old!)

Red Rockabilly Hairbow: Birthday Present

Brown Crystal Skull Clutch: Birthday Present (Last Year)

Single Red Rose - A gift from the show.

Leopard Print Bracelet - Homemade

Lipstick - Rockalily (Rockette Red)

Happy Birthday to Me!

IT'S MY BIRTHDAY!

Hooray! 25 today!

As you can see, I haven't really changed much. This is me celebrating my 10th birthday in 1998 with my Nana. Complete with leopard print, headscarf and pink hair!

It's not all about getting presents on your birthday, it's nice to give them too, so I'm giving  you guys 25% off everything with the code BIRTHDAY25 to celebrate my 25th birthday! Just click this link to go to my online shop and enter the code at the checkout: https://t.co/wvylhPpXSI

Lots of love,

Hayley

(The Birthday Girl)

xxx

24: Reflecting On The Past Year

So tomorrow is my birthday. I turn 25 years old and I thought it would be a good time to reflect on the last year of my life.

In the week leading up to my birthday I've had more doors of opportunity opened for me in this one week than the rest of the year.

My 24th year on this planet has been a real year of recovery and new beginnings  for me.

I've made tremendous progress with my anxiety disorder, closed one business and started another, enjoyed spending lots more time with my friends and family after moving to be closer to them, travelled, won things, lost 2 stone in weight, started learning to drive (again), welcomed new additions to the family and spent most of the year focussing on getting better and creating the life that I want for myself.

I'm healthier and happier than I have been in years, and whilst there is still work to be done, I can't wait to embark on this new year of my life & see what journey awaits me. I have a good feeling that it's going to be a positive one.

Lots of love,

Hayley x

My First Burlesque Experience

As I'm going to see a lovely burlesque show at Norden Farm tomorrow for my 25th birthday, I thought I would dig out this blog post from my now non-existent Clara Form blog about my first ever burlesque show.

First Published Monday 11 October 2010 here.

Beyond the Cabaret & Bea DeVile present One In Four

Last night I was lucky enough to attend Beyond the Cabaret & Bea DeVile present One In Four at the Bethnal Green Working Men's Club. It was an absolutely amazing night and the performances were outstanding.

The night wasn't all pinot and pasties though, there was a serious message behind the event. One in Four people suffer from mental health issues, and the night was put on by the delectable Bea DeVille and Beyond The Cabaret to raise awareness to this issue. Here's what they said about the event:

The impact of prejudice, ignorance and fear around mental health can be devastating for people, families, communities and society. Stigma may prevent people seeking help when they need it. It stops people with ability getting the jobs they are qualified to do. It can stop people building new friendships and mean they lose existing ones. It can mean that everyday activities that you might take for granted, like going to the pub, shops or gym are impossible.

One in four adults experience mental health problems in any one year. 1 in 50 experience more severe mental illness. Millions of people across England live in the shadow of one of the last great taboos - mental health problems. This is the social justice issue of the 21st century.

We are hoping to make a small change and encourage everyone to make their own pledge and realise it’s also their Time to Change.

It was hosted by the hilarious Des O'Connor and there were some amazing performances from the likes of

Goodtime Mama Jojo, Dusty Limits, Chrys Columbine, Annabel Carberry, Lil' Miss Chievous, Tallulah Tempest, Balthazar DeVille, Count Adriano Fettucini and my personal favourites from the night Piff the Magic Dragon and Ophelia Bitz.

I was great to be surrounded by so many confident and liberated women (and men too!) and if I could spend every day of my life in the company of those lovely people I would.

I tried to take some pictures, but what with propping myself up against the bar all night and my rubbishy camera on my phone they didn't come out very well.

And here's a final, less blurry one of me on the night bus home. Ever the classy broad :)

 

 

Burlesque at Norden Farm

Ok so this is something I a, really looking forward to. On September 14th, on my 25th birthday, I'll be heading down to Norden Farm with my glad rags on to watch a burlesque show. Yes, you heard me correctly. Burlesque in Maidenhead! I never thought I would see the day!

We used to go when I lived in London, but not very often. In fact I think the last burlesque show I went to was at Bethnal Green's Working Men's Club about 2/3 years ago. I'm in need of a burlesque fix and luckily for me, that's exactly what I'm going to get.

The show is on Saturday 14 September 2013- 20:00 - Courtyard Theatre, Norden Farm. Tickets are £16.00 each an can be purchased here.

If you do decide to come, and i highly recommend that you do, then join me at the bar afterwards for some birthday drinkies!

Hayley xo

"Critically acclaimed burlesque chanteuse, songstress and seasoned compère Lady Beau Peep brings you an unpredictable and fun packed show.

The variety show includes circus, comedy, burlesque and speciality acts. Accompanied by bluesy grooves from Pete Saunders (piano).

Suitable for ages 18+ years."

www.twitter.com/LadyBeauPeep

www.twitter.com/nordenfarm

 

 

Facing My Fears: Going Back to Work

As many of you already know, I suffer from a mental health disorder which has rendered me housebound until pretty recently. I have anxiety disorder which I am currently working on recovering from, but for the majority of the last 3 years it has left me having horrendous panic attacks at the thought of going anywhere other than my own home, and my safe places such as friends houses etc.

 

This all started when I was bullied out of a job in 2009 and progressively has gotten worse and worse, and due to this disorder, I haven't worked in a "conventional" work environment since then, and have chosen to start my own business and become self employed.

It's been really difficult, but I'm coming out of the other side and I'm just very grateful to still be here thanks to the support of my family and friends. I almost didn't make it.

For the last year or so, I have decided to really focus my efforts on creating the life for myself that I want. For me, this means being happy, getting my independence back by learning to drive, building my business into a successful brand and owning my own home which I can fill with laughter and lots of animals. I dream of having a home with a garden where I can grown vegetables, look after my family in and enjoy cooking meals in a gorgeous kitchen, but mostly, I just dream of living a normal life.

Since starting this business in January 2013, I knew that I wanted to include dog grooming as one of the services that we offer, but I didn't know how I was going to be able to do this whilst still battling with my disorder. After my successful Crowdfunder campaign to fund my grooming course which I will be starting in January (how exciting!) I decided that I was really going to have to push myself if I wanted to get better and make my dreams a reality. I wrote to several grooming salons near me and asked if I could come in and do some work experience for a few days.

When I wrote that email, I had no idea how I would physically step foot out of the house, should any of them accept my request, but I knew that this was what I truly wanted and I would find a way to do it, no matter what.

 

A few weeks went by and I hadn't heard from anyone that I had contacted so I just assumed that it wasn't going to happen at this time, and that I would email them all again in a few months time. Groomers are really busy in the summer months and I thought that they just might not have the time to take me on.

Then I received an email from the lovely Suzy Bradley from The Groom Room, Windsor and she told me that I could come and spend a week there. I was so excited but also really nervous.

I completed my week long work experience on Saturday and I'm so pleased that I was brave enough to do it. I learnt so much in my week there and the girls were so lovely and helpful. It's actually cemented my view that this is what I want to do with my life and I can't wait to own a salon of my own.

If you had said to me even 6 months ago that I would have completed a weeks work experience with strangers in an unfamiliar place I would have thought you were crazy. I still can't quite believe that I've actually done it, and looking back on the week it does seem like a bit of a blur.

It just goes to show that if you are determined you can achieve anything, and it's like I always say - DREAM BIG!

I would like to say a HUGE Thank You to Suzy and all of the girls at The Groom Room for letting me into their family and giving me a chance to experience life as a groomer. Thank you for believing in me.

Hayley x

 

Time for Tea: Scones & BFFS

A few days before Lucy went to Australia we had some BFF time and went to check out this really cute little tea room in Cookham.

The shop is new and has a quaint, country vintage feel to it. The owners there were absolutely lovely and I would go back just to talk to them!

The reason that we went there in the first place is because they offer a nice selection of gluten free cakes and both myself and Lucy are gluten intollerant. Actually - most of my friends are which is quite funny. I'll blog more about my new discovery of being gluten intollerant in a different post, as a gluten free diet seems to be quite popular these days (thankfully for me as it means I can get gluten free food more easily!)

Having said that, however, they had run out of gluten free stuff so Lucy and I both decided to risk it and suffer with poorly bellies for the sake of eating a delicious scone. It was so yummy!

The gluten and wheat free cakes are made by baker, Janet Reeve of The Cake Tin in Bourne End. Hopefully they have some left next time we go as I'd really like to try some.

I would really recommend this place. It's a great spot for a catch up with a friend or even for going to lunch with your Mum and it makes a nice change than going to a cage or coffee shop. If the weather's nice you can even sit in their cute little garden area outside.

As we said goodbye to the ladies and left to go back to the car, we spotted another amazing shop across the road and we mesmerised by the chairs that they had on display outside. We had to go in!

Trade Interiors on Cookham Highstreet is my new favourite shop in the whole world, and if I didn't have my heart set on creating my own pet boutique and grooming parlour, I would want to own a shop like this.

It is a treasure trove of goodies. Imagine if Ariel from The Little Mermiad set up shop with all of the amazing oddities that she had collected and this is what you would get. I absolutely love this shop and everywhere I looked I would let out another squeal of excitement.

I have a few pieces that I have put on my wish list for my birthday, and there is a giant pair of scissors which I would LOVE for when I eventually get my own little grooming room.

Look at this little guy! Isn't he cute?

Tony has a really good eye for this kind of stuff and I'm sure it won't take long for the shop to completely sell out - I just hope it isn't before I get the pieces I want!

Trade Interiors - Something for everyone, even Dave.

www.tradeinteriorsshop.co.uk

Thanks Lucy for a great day out!

Hayley x