Emily Wilding Davison – Morpeth’s Heroine

Being a woman and living in Morpeth, I can’t help but listen to stories of Suffragette Emily Wilding Davison. Regardless of your political persuasion or nationality, you can only admire a woman who fought hard to give women the vote.

The fact that she hid in the House’s of Commons on three separate occasions, including the night of the 1911 census – meaning she could legitimately give the House of Commons as her place of residence, was just genius.  Granted, some of the Suffragette ways of “persuasion” were not always appropriate, but they were desperate to make change happen. Living in a man’s world is tough today, but it was even tougher then. There are many discussions as to whether Emily deliberately wanted to kill herself by throwing herself under the King’s horse, but I think it was just a tragic accident. If I were Emily and had a return ticket back to Morpeth, to be met by a male friend who was going to take me to a dance in my home town of Longhorsley [so I've heard], I certainly wouldn’t want to die.

A couple of year’s ago (before setting up my business, and as a stay-at-home-mum) my children had to write a mining project in school. They learned all about Ashington, which at one point was the largest mining town in the world. One thing that really struck a chord with me were the duties/tasks of men and women 100 years ago:

Women: look after the children; clean the house; do the laundry; make sure the dinner was cooked

Men: go to work,; socialise afterwards in the pub, in a football team or brass band; vote in elections

I asked my children to compare this to my own life and to be honest, they couldn’t see that much difference…. except of course the vote.  We now have the right to vote and make decisions for ourselves. I have to be thankful to women like Emily Davison, who fought hard to achieve something that has had a dramatic affect on my life. As a single mum, I now do all the jobs of the women and the man, but at least I can have an opinion on the way my life will be run.

The celebrations this weekend in Morpeth have been really great fun, and enjoyed by the whole town. Thankfully we had sunshine and blue skies and the procession of 100s of Suffragette ladies was remarkable. I felt like we had gone back in time! Emily’s funeral was held in Bloomsbury, London on 14th June 1913. Her coffin was then brought back to Morpeth to be buried in her family grave at St. Mary’s Church – where my own daughter was Christened. On Saturday 15th June 2013, hundreds of women, girl guides and children marched from Morpeth train station to St. Mary’s Church in celebration of Emily’s life.

And where does Emma Bunting fit in? Well, we were thrilled to be asked to make Suffragette bunting for the event – in purple, white and green.

Purple symbolised dignity

White symbolised purity

Green symbolised hope

It’s been a pleasure and an honour to see our bunting in Morpeth’s Market Place and in Sanderson’s Arcade.

If you would like to learn more about Emily Davison please visit Emily Inspires website.

Enjoy some of my photos from the day…. ps Big Thank you to Jane Chase who took the wonderful photo of The Band of The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers!

Emma X

www.emma-bunting.co.uk

Morpeth, June 2013

Morpeth, June 2013

Morpeth, June 2013

Morpeth, June 2013

Morpeth, June 2013

Morpeth, June 2013

Morpeth, June 2013

Morpeth, June 2013 and London, June 1913

Morpeth’s Market Place

Morpeth’s Market Place

Morpeth’s Market Place

Sanderson Arcade

Mini Cake Bunting

Last Monday I didn’t post any blog – the children & I celebrated our Bank Holiday Monday in what we now call “Harry Potter Land” – although officially its the Warner Bros Harry Potter Studio Tour.

I have to say, it was absolutely fantastic, and a must for all HP fans. On the downside, it took much longer to get there than we anticipated, so give yourself at least two hours from central London (trains via Euston to Watford, then connecting bus), and the green screen broomstick ride takes about half an hour to queue for, then only 1 minute of sitting still whilst a big fan blows cold air into your face. I think that was the most disappointing thing for me. Even my local supermarket has sit on rides that move, so I expected something just a bit better from one of the coolest special effects movie!! Under normal circumstances I would sigh on site of cheap tat in the gift shop – and all parents know this – there is always a £1 range of tat in one corner… but here, no everything was beautifully designed and crafted, which is a good, but absolutely nothing for the kids to buy with their pocket money. We ended up with a Dobby postcard… However, I must admit, we are now rewatching ever HP movie and screaming at the TV “I’ve seen that!!” – so all-in-all a great day out!

This weekend was less exciting, but still enjoyable. My 12 year old Lottie has suddenly found she is a master cake baker!! She herself would admit that cooking isn’t her strong point (a bit like me really) so I was delighted and excited for her when she created her own cake! I’ve been meaning to try out cake bunting for a while, so this gave me a great opportunity to try a few things out….

It’s quite fiddly to make, but loads of fun. I found some retro straws, and using wooden skewers fixed the straws into the cake top. Using bits of my fabric, designed little mini flags – tried a few different methods, but settled on the one that works for me. And away I went!! Over this weekend I’ve virtually lived in my PJs as I’ve been full of cold, so I’ve been able to create a few samples to show you……

I searched a lot online for civil partnership or same sex marriage bunting, but really there isn’t much out there. Personally, I believe that if you love someone you should be able to express that through marriage. I don’t have any issues with who is getting married, so long as they love each other and are committed to work hard to build a strong and spiritual partnership. This is why I have included the various messages in my mini bunting.

The smaller messages such as Mr & Mrs, Mr & Mr, Mrs & Mrs will be £8 plus P&P and the longer messages such as Happy Birthday and Just Married will be £12 plus P&P.  In theory, you can have any colour or message – anything personalised will be £15 plus P&P. These will be listed in the Emma Bunting eBay shop.

I’d love to know what you think!

Emma X

http://www.emma-bunting.co.uk

Mini bunting to match our Lottie bunting

happy birthday!

Making the bunting up..

Starting to print..

Mrs & Mrs in yellow

Mr & Mr in seafoam and grey

Twitter #MorpethsNumberOneTweeter

Yesterday I was invited to give a presentation about Social Media, specifically Twitter, to a group of wedding professionals. It was a really interesting day as Geoff Ramm, one of the North East’s best marketing gurus was also giving a presentation. [His was certainly cooler than mine...]

I guess the key questions and issues to answer were “Why do we need to have a twitter account?”….. “I never have any time for twitter”…. “I don’t like everyone knowing my business, I like to keep my life private”. All these points are valid and to a certain extent true – but as with everything in life, the use of twitter can be personalised to suit your own style and personality. However, what you need to bear in mind when using twitter as part of your marketing strategy are five basic points about twitter:

1. It’s a 24 hour GLOBAL network

2. It’s a FREE service available to everyone who can access the internet

3. It’s INSTANT and gives you real time news and trends

4. It’s PUBLIC so you have direct contact with your customers

5. It can be PERSONALISED to suit your own interests and privacy issues

To me, those five things are a no-brainer. Why would you not want to take advantage of such a martketing tool!

Twitter needs to be another element of your marketing strategy and is equally important as all the other social networking sites available to us today. The way we market ourselves has changed so much in the past twenty years. I remember using my first mobile phone in 1994, which was as big and as heavy as a brick [literally] and I was mortified when it rang whilst I was on the bus because everyone stared at me – I was the odd one out! I tell my children this story and they just laugh – they can’t imagine being without theirs.

We need information now, we are not prepared to wait. We need things that excite us and that are different. Being on twitter enables us to communicate directly with likeminded people, with our customers and with the trends that are happening NOW. Twitter allows us to let our personality shine, lets our customers understand our brand and what our company stands for.

Why be on Twitter?

My question is always “If you have a business, why would you not want to be on twitter?”

I tweet. I’m proud to be #MorpethsNumberOneTweeter

Tweet me @EmmaBuntingUK

 

Customer Testimonials

Customer Testimonials

Relationship building

Emma X

www.emma-bunting.co.uk

 

Blooming Great Vintage Tea Party with Marie Curie

One of the charities we support is Marie Curie UK. Not only do we help with fundraising activities in our own town of Morpeth, but we have recently been invited to attend & decorate the Blooming Great Tea Party at their hospice in Newcastle on 30th May. Along with the lovely Ailsa, aka The Vintage Wedding Lady with her gorgeous pieces of vintage china, we will help transform the hospice into a great big tea party!

Today was the day for our photoshoot to help promote the Marie Curie event and we have found a hidden gem, right in the heart of Morpeth!

Wendy Smith, owner of Cafe Des Amis on Newgate Street, has been building an outdoor seating area over the past four weeks. It is now officially open, and I was expecting just a decked area. What a gorgeous surprise to find a beautiful little peaceful haven with comfy seating in a perfect sun trap! If you know Morpeth, then this really is an unexpected treat! I was so excited to decorate the area with bunting!

In fact this private garden area would be perfect for hiring for events and parties!

Ailsa’s china looked wonderful, and although it was freezing, the sun did shine a little!

If you are planning a Blooming Great Tea Party for Marie Curie, speak to your local fundraising group or your local hospice for details, ideas and help!

Chin, Chin!

 

Emma X

www. emma-bunting.co.uk

The new Secret Garden, Cafe Des Amis

The new Secret Garden, Cafe Des Amis

The new Secret Garden, Cafe Des Amis

Me and Ailsa!

 

 

Summer Weddings!

We’ve just had the best weekend’s weather of the year – it really did feel like summer, and perfect timing for a Bank Holiday! My skin feels tight and tingly, almost as if I have sun burn!! BUT I am not complaining!! Just a typical Brit who feels the necessity to discuss the weather…

It made me think of how wonderful it would be to have a teepee wedding. We’ve decorated a couple of wedding teepees [or tipis] this year. The first one was a PåpaKåta Teepee on a miserable rainy day in a soaking wet farmers field on the edge of the Lake District, bordering Northumberland, and most recently a Tentipis on a gorgeous bright-blue-skied day at Brinkburn Priory near Rothbury. Even though the weather at these two events could not have been more different, the teepees themselves were truly remarkable. They had a magical feel to them and a great sense of light and space. They came with their own fire pit, and more importantly a disco ball! One tent dressed for a sit-down meal, the other ready with a dance floor and bar area.

I love seeing our bunting up within the teepees, and it doesn’t take that much either – only 2 X 10 metre lengths on each side, so the whole teepee can be decorated with 40 metres of bunting… of course the more the merrier, but minimum 40 metres.

We can offer brides a variety of options for their bunting:

• a DIY kit so they can sew up their own lengths of bunting – or if they are local to Morpeth, come to one of our workshops so we can teach you how to make it
• bunting to hire for the event itself, an easy and stress-free option giving you a door-to-door delivery service
• bunting to purchase so that you keep it for a lifetime

If you need help and advice, please just get in touch via email to hello@emma-bunting.co.uk, via Facebook at Emma Bunting, via Twitter @EmmaBuntingUK or via our website www.emma-bunting.co.uk.

Emma X

Slightly Cloudy

Bunting and Fair lights

Disco Ball

Bunting and Fairy Lights

Brinkburn Priory

Sunny Brinkburn Priory

Buntingless

Bunting Up

Bunting and Disco Ball

Lots of Bunting

 

A Chance Meeting….

Back in April 2012 I exhibited at the Zoe Lem Vintage Wedding Fair in Clerkenwell. I got chatting to photographer Ruth Corney  who was exhibiting at the next stand: “Weddings By Women” – a directory of wedding specialists designed by women offering wedding services to women.  I was delighted, therefore, to find out that at this year’s Zoe Lem Vintage Wedding Fair in Bloomsbury, I was again next to Ruth! Considering we were one of 75 exhibitors at the event it was purely by coincidence, a total chance meeting!

Ruth told me all about one of her other interests, working with St Luke’s Community Centre in Islington. St Luke’s is a charity that provides services and facilities to the communities of south Islington, City of London and surrounding areas, making this often deprived inner-city part of London a better place to live, work, learn and play. It sounded like such a positive environment and I was really pleased she asked for my help.

Ruth told me that Designers Guild were donating a lot of fabric to St Luke’s so that they could recover their old chairs, and asked me would I be able to help her our making some cushion covers? I was more than happy to do, although not really my forté! So, delivered to my door next day were two large remnants boxes from Designers Guild – everything from cotton, linen, velvet to silk! The mix was just beautiful! After much deliberating, we decided that I would make up some bunting instead, so I set to work this Sunday on making 3 X 9 metre lengths.

It was difficult to decide which fabrics to go for, but I decided on three colour schemes using three fabric types. Pink & Turquoise Cottons, Greens & Browns Silks and Deep Purple velvets. I have to admit I felt terribly sad cutting up the silk – the fabric is just stunning. And, for all you budding bunting people, velvet is probably the most difficult fabric to work with!! Boy does that move!!!

Anyway, job done. Delighted to be able to use our talents along with stunning Designers Guild fabric to create something beautiful for St Luke’s to use and enjoy! I can’t wait to see the photos of it up in the room! You really can make bunting out of anything – Thanks to Designers Guild!

If you have your own fabric remnants and live near Morpeth, why don’t you get involved in one of our Bunting Workshops?

 

Emma X

www.emma-bunting.co.uk

 

The uncut silks

The finished velvets

The finished cottons

The finished silks

27 metres of bunting

Bunting Hire for your events & showcases!

We were delighted this weekend to see our bunting for hire up at four different locations! Although the events were very different, and each had their own unique style, our feedback was that the bunting really lifted the space and created a pretty and visually exciting room. And really, that to us is what bunting does – it turns an ordinary space into something visually exciting and fun!

The first of our weekend’s events was for magician Chris Cross. Using our iconic Union Jack bunting – made with denim and red gingham – each Union Jack hand-cut with six individual pieces to create the Union flag, along with our Vintage Americana bunting – made with upcycled denim jeans, the USA flag and iconic images from Route 66.  I am more than happy to use the  word Vintage in our American bunting because we used so many old denim jeans, which really worked to give us a rustic look, and of course each piece is slightly different in colour.  Thanks to Wild Heart & Wishes photography for these great images of Chris Cross at his Northumberland Village Varieties Show at Warkworth Memorial Hall.

Our second event was at H.Samuel Jewellers in Northumberland Street, Newcastle-upon-Tyne for their wedding event. I think the Lottie bunting, which is vintage inspired, really looked very pretty. Thanks to Charlotte Barron for this image.

Our third event was at Kathryn Trueman Bridal, 42 Bridge Street, Morpeth. We set up our Beth bunting, which is an embroidered ivory coloured fabric, single sided and hand-frayed edges. It is delicate and floaty and really looked wonderful in their vaulted entrance way. We also used some of our new Mary lace bunting, which is just so pretty.  They were so lucky with the weather last Saturday as the sun shone all day, and in fact felt almost like a Spring day! The car [which I love] was from Valley Retro – and adorned with our Vintage Americana bunting. Totally love the retro car photo from Adamskii Photography, so thank you for that!

Our fourth event was at Brinkburn Priory for their weekend wedding open day to decorate their stunning Tent Tipi! When I arrived, the tipis were already up and ready to go, they were fantastic, but fairly plain on the inside. After an hour of putting up 60metres of bunting, we had created a really gorgeous feel ready for any Bride & Groom! Tipis are perfect for bunting as there are so many places you can hang the bunting from! We used our Dorothy bunting for this, as the predominant natural white background showed up so well against the yellow of the tipis.

We love sharing our bunting photos, as really the best way to appreciate our work is to see it up and flying! If you want to hire bunting for your event, we charge £2.50/m in 10m long lengths (plus a refundable insurance deposit of £2.50/m). We arrange for delivery and collection – so it is so easy to hire! All details can be found on our website www.emma-bunting.co.uk

If you want to get in touch with us about any of the above bunting, please email hello@emma-bunting.co.uk

Thank you!

Emma X

www.emma-bunting.co.uk

CHRIS CROSS

CHRIS CROSS

H.SAMUEL

KATHRYN TRUEMAN

KATHRYN TRUEMAN

KATHRYN TRUEMAN

BRINKBURN PRIORY

BRINKBURN PRIORY

London Vintage Brides

Following my blog last week about the start of wedding season, we’re delighted that we’ll be meeting a lot of brides next weekend in London at the Zoe Lem Vintage Wedding Fair!

This will be our third time taking part in Zoe Lem’s vintage fair and we are very excited that it will be held in one of London’s most iconic Art Deco venue’s – The Bloomsbury Ballroom. If you are a bride looking for vintage inspiration this is a MUST for you. The show is much more than unique exhibitors showing you their designs, it is a full days event including stylish fashion shows taking you through several eras, informative talks, cabaret and big band – to name just a few. There are so many wonderfully unique businesses exhibiting – some of my favourite will be there too including Vowed & Amazed!

Doors open at 10am for VIP ticket holders – £25 tickets bookable in advance only (via TicketWeb) with a champagne reception. Doors open to general public from 12-5pm, tickets can be purchased in advance for £10 or on the door for £15.

Be amazed by over a hundred hand-selected exhibitors and experts each bringing not only original and inspiring ideas, but an exciting experience for every person that passes through their stands….be wowed by array of acts on the grand stage; entertaining you throughout this special day, be inspired by expert advice from the Madam of Vintage herself Zoe Lem and her team…be excited by what you find in this treasure trove of wedding wonders as your big day begins to take shape and you prepare to take center stage…

VIP morning from 10am to 12pm – guests will be entertained with a private cabaret and fashion show and will have the privilege of a Q&A session with the experts.

THE DAY’S SCHEDULE:

10am VIP Arrival Belini’s On arrival at Victoria House entrance. Champagne reception

10.15am My Gosh Marvellous Grand cabaret welcome live on stage

10.30am Fashion Show – The icons of the decades’ dresses from 1920’s-1960’s featuring the Tootsie Rollers and DJ Lord Anthony

10.45am Talk – Zoe Lem Find Your Perfect Shape – there is a decade to suit every body shape.

11.00am Ask the Experts Q&A – A panel of experts from all areas of the wedding industry answer your questions.

11.30am Patrick Alan and his Soul Band live on stage

12,00pm Sara – Under The Vintage Veil – Planning the perfect wedding

12.30pm My Gosh Marvellous Grand Cabaret with Big band

1.00pm Fashion Show – The icons of the decades’ dresses from 1920’s-1960’s featuring the Tootsie Rollers and DJ Lord Anthony

1.20pm Zoe Lem and Lipstick & Curls Find your perfect Vintage Shape and hair/make up

1.40pm Lizanne Harris – Wedding dress Trends

2.00pm Bellini’s Live on Stage

2.20pm Charlotte White – Restoration Cake Choosing/creating the perfect cake

2.35pm My Gosh Marvellous Grand Cabaret with Big band

3.00pm Fashion Show – The icons of the decades’ dresses from 1920’s-1960’s featuring the Tootsie Rollers and DJ Lord Anthony

3.20pm Talk – Zoe Lem Find Your Perfect Shape – there is a decade to suit every body shape.

3.35pm Patrick Alan and his Soul Band live on stage

4.00pm Ooh La La Vintage – The history of vintage

4.30pm The Tootsie Rollers Live on Stage

5.00pm Close

 

If you need more information, please call me on 07963 542313 or visit Zoe Lem directly.

 

See you next Sunday London!

 

Emma X

www.emma-bunting.co.uk

Dawn Porter & Chris O’Dowd with Vowed & Amazed lights

Zoe Lem Cabaret at The Bloomsbury Ballroom, London

Wedding Season is here!

What a weekend!  Spring is officially here (although the weather would tell you otherwise) and the clocks have gone forward. We’ve all lost an hour’s sleep but seeings as it was Easter too, we are all now sufficiently stuffed with Easter Egg Chocolate, so we are all pretty satisfied!

I think Wedding Season is officially here – my third wedding of the year and what a stunning venue. My first time decorating Jesmond Dene House, Newcastle. Voted  Small Hotel of the Year 2012, Jesmond Dene House is one of my favourite destinations – whether it be for drinks, dinner or afternoon tea. We have decorated there before for a Christening party, but this was our first outing for a wedding.

My lovely bride, Clare, wanted a pretty vintage theme. When she first showed me the Great Hall, I did shriek a little… It is perfect for bunting! The vacuous ceiling space was just crying out for it to be bunted!! It only required 4 X 10m lengths to decorate the whole room, and we used an additional piece to go around the outside of the entrance door. I was delighted to work with Clare on her wedding, and hope to do many more at this venue! I have to say a big thank you though to the staff at Jesmond Dene, who were just fantastic!!

If we can come and do a sight visit before hiring the bunting, we will. And, if you are local, we can deliver and/or set it up for you.

Otherwise we will talk through all your requirements via email, phone or text – whichever is easier for you. It is so easy… (1) Decide on your style & colouring, (2) Book the date & complete the booking form, (3) We dispatch to you via courier two days before your event, (4)  You set up and take down the bunting, and (5) You box the bunting back up and we will have our courier collect it from you two days after your event.

Happy Wedding Season!!

 

Emma X

www.emma-bunting.co.uk

 

Jesmond Dene House

The entrance to the Great Hall

The bunting being set out

The bunting up!

 

Can’t find the bunting design your looking for?

So many people ask me can we make bunting to suit their design? The answer is always YES! We are a Unique bespoke bunting who can create any bunting to fit in with your style, colour or budget.  

As a small specialist business, we don’t make a stack load of bunting that all looks the same, we create individual pieces that can take several hours to complete. This makes using our bespoke service perfect for weddings or personalised bunting for corporate or family events. These two examples are of bunting we created for two companies in the wedding industry who needed bunting to brighten up their exhibition stands. As the standard size for the majority of exhibition stands is 6ft (being a metric girl) we make up two metre lengths of bunting. Prices really depend on complexity of the work – but on average it is £18/m.

Last week we made up two lots of corporate bunting for different clients.

(1) By Gina Ltd – is a stunning wedding jewellery & tiara maker in the North East, who now also stocks wedding shoes and accessories. Gina also finds time to manage Just Perfect wedding gallery in Washington! Gina was quite particular in what she wanted, bespoke bunting to reflect the quality and style of her brand. What I love about Gina’s logo is its elegance – I wanted to combine this with some way of showing a bit of bling to reflect her jewellery. Using raw silk flags, we created a 2 metre length incorporating elements of her logo, and using her corporate fonts, created an overlay effect so that the corporate colours could show through. I think she was happy……

“Just received my personalised bunting from Emma Bunting and it is AMAZING! I love it…thank you so much! Pictures of it in use will follow tomorrow! She’s excellent and can do anything you want! I love mine x”

(2) Love Bouquets – is a Multi Award Winning company making stunning crystal and silk wedding bouquets, based in Bury, Lancashire. What I immediately loved about this corporate logo was the colour – a dark navy, and the little butterfly fluttering around the letter O. Using the corporate fonts we created the LOVE BOUQUETS bunting, but played a little with the butterfly – adding glitter and diamontes to the finished raw silk and satin design. This was a tricky one though as we handcut each letter!

“Wow my new bunting has arrived made from raw silk so happy x its amazing shes hand cut out each letter in navy silk and layered other fabric over with a hint of sparkle I am amazed xx”

Here are just some of the photos from these two – if you want a quotation, please just email me at hello@emma-bunting.co.uk

Thank You!

 

Emma X

www.emma-bunting.co.uk

Working progress and finished piece

The LOVE BOUQUETS logo

Navy satin on raw silk

Our own butterfly

Working progress and finished piece

Bringing the bling of the jewellery into the design

The finished piece

The fabrics