Branding, RAG Week, Clothes and Cakes!

I'm aware I've neglected this blog for a little while, so other than another couple of Christmas markets I took part in with F6 Studios (which were wonderful, I even picked up a genuine leather vintage skirt for a tenner!), here is what I've been busy with...

Firstly as it is the new year and at the beginning of January people tend to 'MOT' things, something that had needed sprucing up for a while was my old logo. It's not that there was anything wrong with it, but although less is usually more, I felt the logo was perhaps a bit too minimalistic for the style of my accessories, which tend to have a decorative quality whether that be a print or selective embellishment or appliqué. After toying between bows and skeleton keys, I decided that a bow would be more appropriate as it can be sharp, feminine, quirky, sexy and simple. It took me a while to get back to grips with Illustrator, but I managed to create this bow logo, keeping the same font and using only my initials for a more striking effect. I'm sooo happy with the new design! For the swing tags, I incorporated the same teal Pantone shade of my previous logo, which was printed onto textured watercolour card, embellished with a silver eyelet and black grosgrain ribbon to tie.

New business cards

New swing tag

New swing tag

More recently I was kindly welcomed back to Newcastle University where I took part in the last RAG Week event of the year, which was their Vintage Fashion Fair and Tea Party. I was delighted to be involved with RAG Week again, as not only is it for a fantastic cause but it's also where I had my fashion show debut only several months ago. It was lovely to see the girls again and to see the result of their hard work (which they managed to juggle with final year exams!), and they managed to raise almost £700 for charity at the Vintage Fashion Fair and Tea Party alone!

Here are a few pictures I took of my stall on the day, unfortunately I somehow forgot to take a picture of the rail which had the majority of my accessories on (doh!), but here's a small selection of accessories, some of which were featured at Gladrags and others that are more recently made. As well as some accessories, I also included some dried rose petals in small gift boxes and organza bags to sell for Valentine's day, which is fast approaching. After trial and error of accidentally burning/shrinking the petals, I eventually concluded I had to double wrap them in tea towels before putting them on top of a wood burner and babysitting them for exactly half an hour. The best thing about them being real petals is: A) far more romantic than plastic or paper petals to decorate a candle-lit meal and B) they can also be used to freshen up wardrobes and/or underwear drawers, so definitely worth the extra effort!

'Melanie Kyles' Stall

'Melanie Kyles' stall

Real dried rose petals

Pair of 'Dusty' collars and cuffs

And as all of the accessories are hand-made, I've hand-threaded a selection of vintage and retro buttons onto my business cards, for anyone who would like to try their hand at reviving or up-cycling some of the more forgotten parts of their wardrobes!

New business cards

When the event was more quiet, I had a wander round some of the other stalls that were there, which were all selling vintage clothing. Some of the shops I'd heard of but not seen, as they're based in Sunderland and Whitley Bay so was nice to finally have a look at them. It was lovely to meet the other stall holders and get to rummage through their vintage treasures; things I was really tempted into buying were the baby-doll vintage dresses at 'Scout', soft leather backpacks at 'The Yesterday Society' and gorgeous versatile scarves at 'Dregs of Society'. 'Bowler Hat Vintage' also had some stunning, original length dresses and skirts which felt more 'Attica' than 'Best Vintage'. I even had a little experiment with the stall holder trying different broaches with my own 'Dusty' collar, tapping into the 'embellished collar' trend for Spring!

Scout Vintage

The Yesterday Society

The Yesterday Society

Dregs of Society

Lovely ladies of Dregs of Society

Dregs of Society

My 'Dusty' collar with vintage broach (Bowler Hat Vintage)

Bowler Hat Vintage

Bowler Hat Vintage

Bowler Hat Vintage

Bowler Hat Vintage

Finally here are a couple of pictures of the fabulous bake sale the RAG team put on, with everything being only 50p! The huge circus cake won the prize for best cake, but I was rather partial to the Oreo cupcakes, which seemed to be blended Oreo cookies with white and milk chocolate buttons on top...and ended up being my lunch for the day! The Ryan Gosling cupcakes were also rather popular.

All in all I had a wonderful day and I'm very grateful to the RAG girls and the support they have given me this year, and I wish them all the best for whatever they progress to once they have graduated. Plans for the immediate future include launching my website and writing a couple of fashion articles for new Gateshead-based magazine, Engage, so keep your eyes peeled!

Melanie xx