Hello, I'm Sophie...

Remember me? I've been hibernating for a little while to get the new shop on track and all of our lovely brides looking beautiful for their individual special days! After all, it's mid wedding season and I've been super busy creating the dresses of dreams

So much so, that it's been a little while since I've got to design anything for myself! Inspiration has been everywhere with wonderful brides sending me image after image, Paris Haute Couture fashion week (always excited to see Marchesa!) and endless Autumn/Winter 13/14 updates in all the magazines, but with being booked up until mid August isn't giving me much time to get drawing.

Marchesa - Pre collection S/S 14

After having a lovely read of Lionheart Magazine today (available in store!) it's got me more inspired than ever. The wonderful interviews with artists and makers, couple and founders of The Green Kitchen, an account of a week in New York (the travel bug starts biting whenever I read about NY) and a wonderful illustrated article on Silhouette, the magazine is packed full of interesting people and ideas.

To be honest, I'm not entirely sure where I'm getting at with this! With 2 beautiful dresses being collected tomorrow, a lot of weight is off my shoulders! Maybe i'll fit in a little time to design soon, after all I'm a midnight designer! Hopefully to be made before the end of year...

♥

Shine on you crazy diamond

The new store is officially launched and it looks great. Last weekend Cardiff's Castle Arcade welcomed Hubbard's Cupboard with a big smile, and in return we introduced our brilliant suppliers, seasoned the party with tasty macaroons from Marmalade Cookery School, and invited everyone to have a go at making beautiful pom-poms with Helen!

As was to be expected, the new store features loads of up-cycling and re-purposing decorative ideas, and today I am going to share one of them with you guys!

How to make a collection of miscellaneous lampshades.

Hubbard's Cupboard hat lampshades.

A web of quirky lampshades is currently shining over our store. Looking up to our ceiling you'll find not only up-cycled vintage lampshades, but also hats and plant pots!

To make your own quirky lampshade you'll need:

- a light bulb fitting cord with ceiling cup;

- a hat or a cute plant pot to serve as lampshade;

- A drill and the correct drill bit for the your lampshade of choice (masonry drill bit is needed for china!);

Instructions:

Drill a hole on your hat/plant pot. The opening should be the size of the opening of the fixture you have bought. Unscrew your fixture, place the lampshade in between and screw is back together. If you are using a hat, make sure that the bulb won't touch any part of the fabric (the high temperature of the electric bulb might set the fabric on fire). We recommend using an upside down ceiling place inside the hat!

Finally you just have to secure the ceiling cup using a drill! Easy :)

Back to the future

Shell and I went back in time - sadly not driving a DeLorean - to those hectic days that preceded our store's grand opening. Remember? Painting, decorating, testing, assembling... Well, we are happy to announce that we're doing it all over again, because it is time to move forward and dream bigger!

In a matter of weeks Hubbard's Cupboard will be living under the emblematic roof of the Castle Arcade! We will be sharing yet another awesome space with Shell, who is going to be in charge of our mega wedding emporium.

Hubbard's Cupboard will remain faithful to its ethos and will welcome a much wider selection of must-haves that you must check out! I am very happy to invite all of you guys to our grand opening, which will be taking place on the 29th.

Believe me, it will be hard to miss us, and impossible to resist us. There will be flashy Lindy Hop dance shows, delicious sweet treats and crafty workshops. You know the place. See you there?

DIY Tie Dye

So if you didn’t know we have the most fantastic range of tie dyed tee’s now in store at HC. All of our tee’s have been hand dyed with procion MX dyes, so not only does the color last longer and is more vibrant but each one is unique!

As we know girlies, sometimes the men’s tee isn’t the most flattering for our shape so if you’re really loving the tie dye and want that special hand done piece but struggling with the fit, here’s our tutorial on getting the best cut out of the tee! It’s simple to do and completely changes the look!

1. Take your tee, fold it in half and cut the neck line and bottom if you want to crop it too! Don’t go overboard with the neckline – we suggest cutting a maximum of 3 inches from the original neck!

2. Once you’ve snipped it, give the edges a gentle tug to help the material roll back on itself and make your rolled hem.

3. Then fold back the sleeves a few times and rock it over your new denims or skinny skirt!

For something a little different why not try cutting upward slits into the bottom to create a fringe edge instead of completely chopping off or maybe cut the tee lower in the back? 

♥

xoxo

Recycling, upcycling, repurposing.

By now I trust you've already noticed our overwhelming passion for upcycling and repurposing all kinds of "waste" and unwanted objects. This way of doing things has quickly evolved into a lifestyle, and now we find ourselves applying it to nearly everything that we do and produce. So, for those that aren't very familiar with these relatively new eco terms I'm going to try to explain them very quickly.

Let's take, for example, a shabby old chair. If you want to recycle it, you'd have to shred it down to it's raw material - wood - and then use that material to make something else. Yes, recycling helps us to reduce the amount of raw materials that we extract from nature, but it is not an entirely ecological activity, because it involves (in most cases) complex industrial processes.

Let's say you are happy with the overall design of the chair, and just want to upgrade its look - in that case upcycling is the thing to do! Strip down the old paint, cover the seat with a funky new material, add embellishments and give it a new soul while keeping its basic structure!

If, however, you are not interested in changing how the chair looks but what the chair does, repurposing¹ is the word! Who says that you can only use a chair to sit on? Who says that a box can never become a bookcase? Yes sir, a VHS case can indeed become a shelve! A cheese grater makes a great lamp shade, and a wine rack makes a great display for accessories! You just have to use your imagination.

I hope these definitions inspire you to look at wasted objects from a new perspective, but if you'd rather have some "hands on" inspiration just pop into our shop and have a look around. At Hubbard's Cupboard you'll find not only stacks of awesome eco-minded products, but also fresh upclycling and repursosing decoration ideas! You're more than welcome to pop in :)

¹ A lot of people might argue that upcycling and repurposing are the same thing, but I disagree. The first one involves transformation and the second only requires imagination.

And now for something... kinda cute!

I think it is about time we had a little Hubbard’s Cupboard spot here on our blog!

As you well know by now, Hubbard’s Cupboard is not just a store. It is a meeting place, a movie theater, a mini concert venue and a workshop for all things vintage and quirky. Inside this creative hub live together all sorts of suppliers and artisans, who we will be introducing here, one by one, every week!

Today we'll begin with Something Kinda Cute, a design business created by Shell, our friend and partner in crime – you know Shell, right? SKC specializes in quirky and creative wedding stationery. When they are not designing personalized invites, they are planning events, showcasing at fairs, building new ideas, and even wining awards!

With such hyper-active talent driving the business, no wonder SKC grew into an established and well-regarded brand, with clients spread all over the UK. Shell is also in charge of the Little Wedding Emporium at Hubbard's Cupboard! So, if you'd like to check out SKC's latest designs and browse for unique wedding items just pop in for a visit!

xo xo

Ch Ch Ch Ch Changes

This is the time of the year when we start digging around in the bottom of our wardrobe in search of summer clothes, and end up finding amazing fashion gems! It is therefore the perfect moment to launch the "closet" feature of our little blog. Here we'll share garments that are important and significant, and we'll invite you to do the same. We'll show you clothes that have been in the family for years, clothes we've found, clothes we feel good in, clothes we've made and even clothes we've paid an absolute fortune for!

We'd love you to submit photos and stories of your own. There is only one rule: your chosen garment has to mean something to you!

Catarina, blogger and writer, will kick things off by sharing a picture and a few lines about her trustworthy army jacket. Enjoy!

This army jacket went through a lot before arriving in my closet. I can't account for its time in service, but I can trace its history back to a little second hand shop in Barcelona where it was bought by one of my work colleagues. Some years later, deciding to make a closet clearance, she organized a clothes swapping dinner. The jacket didn't excite the curiosity of the other guests, but when I caught sight of it, hanging alone on the corner of a sofa, I knew it had to be mine!

I love it a) because it is a timeless style, and b) because it is a double-recycled garment.

xx

Cat