Sundae Girl

Morning,

I usually try to think of a music-related pun for the blog title that relates to the content in some way. However, today's was just perfect as it was!

Today we're focusing on our artists. Whilst we are predominantly a boutique selling clothes, accessories and cosmetics, we like to support the arts and anyone who has been in our shop can see all the beautiful pieces adorning our walls. Some of these are available on the online shop, some are not as yet. The pieces we have available include small original pieces by Pippa Alice, canvases and smaller originals by Louise Berrill, originals and prints by Richard Stones, canvases, postcards and framed originals by Rebecca Sturdgess, canvases by Anita Hughes, framed prints by Daniel Cheney, photographic canvas prints and postcards by Clive Wagner, not to mentioned beautifully painted glassware from Dorne Boddington's Smashing Glass. With original canvases starting at £12 and going up to £450, there is something for every taste and budget. So don't forget, not only can we help you look like your amazing and unique self, we can help your home reflect that too.

Our Pick Of The Day is one of these gorgeous works of art. Let me introduce you to Sundae Girl by Pippa Alice. Pippa is our only artist currently who isn't based locally. Her pieces have a fantastic whimsical style that is very distinctive. They're all signed originals, created on handmade recycled cotton rag paper. Sundae Girl is approx 11cm x 15.5cm so she's small enough to fit anywhere! Great as a thoughtful gift for a loved one, or just a fantastic treat for yourself and your space.

View Sundae Girl by Pippa Alice on our online shop.

Hope you've all got a great weekend lined up. We're off to Retro-Beat at The Horseshoe down the road to check out The Francis Jetty and Transmission. We'll tell you all about it when we're back to work on Tuesday! In the meantime, have fun!

Kat

Now Playing In The Shop: Empty Room - Bardot

Fluorescent Adolescent

Morning,

We now have the Louise Berrill Cityscape canvases back on display in the shop and we have missed them! We have 4 of her canvases in various sizes and they are all for sale, starting at £250. But if that's not in your budget, we have a bit of a solution for you.

Newly arrived yesterday, we can now offer these Louise Berrill Cityscapes in miniature (well, miniature-ish!). Louise has produced some new versions on paper using ink and mixed media, and measuring 20cm x 20cm (30cm x 30cm mounted). All still beautiful originals, they are priced at £60 each, and we currently have 5 different ones in stock. This one is called City Fluorescents, and is so much more vibrant and intricate than my quick photo could possibly show! So if you love the canvases, these are an absolute steal by an up and coming local artist, rapidly gaining attention. But then, it's not about investments, it's about having something gorgeous adorning your walls!

Now I have to go quickly draw up some labels for all this lovely art!

Kat

Now Playing In The Shop: Stop Crying Your Heart Out - Oasis

And another week begins

Morning,

Hope everyone had a good weekend. From the visitors we had to the shop, it seems the Max C pieces are proving really popular for summer for the ladies, while the Worn Free t-shirts seem to be the pick for the boys.

Just a quick note to draw your attention to our local produce. We strongly believe in supporting the local community, especially it's artists, which is why alongside our big name labels, we also stock brand from within Northamptonshire. These currently include WAM Apparel t-shirts and hoodies, Maddie bags and accessories, JP Jewellery, Louise Berrill artwork, CDs by The Hounds, and perhaps the ultimate local label, Dr Martens. With all of these, we try to strike a fair deal for the producer in order to support and encourage them, and to offer you something that's different and in many cases, limited edition or one-offs. So next time you pop in, take a peek at some of the local bits and pieces, you may find a gem and lots of good karma!

Pick of the day today is this Temporary:Secretary Plate Of Biscuits ring. Cute as anything, the porcelain plate is about 3cm and covered in little tiny biscuits. As they are handmade, they can vary from the picture shown, but they are all very very cute. The ring is adjustable and 'one size fits all' so should suit most people. Guaranteed to make yourself or someone else smile.

Have a good week!

Kat

Now Playing In The Shop: Stay Too Long - Plan B

Summer Solstice

Morning,

Summer solstice today, and the sun is shining (as it should be!). I'm sneezing like mad with hayfever but we'll gloss over that!

Louise Berrill, whose art we have been displaying, has taken her Cityscapes that we had on the walls for an exhibition next weekend, so in the meantime she has lent us some lovely other pieces of her work. Very pretty and lots of blue, so perfect for a summer's day.

Also perfect for a summer's day is our pick of the day today. This maxi dress is one of the new Max C 'High Summer' collection we have in. It's got a gorgeous feather-print on it (feathers being very in this summer) and the colours are beautiful. With an elasticated bandeau-style top, the skirt flows elegantly to the floor, going from blue at the top to a deep red at the bottom. As always, stock is limited, so whether it's for festivals, nights out, days in the park, or holidays, pop in and have a look at this one. When it's gone, it's gone!

Hope everyone is having a good Monday.

Kat

Now Playing In The Shop: I Know - Pfilbryte

Unorthodox goes arty

Morning (just!)

Despite what I said yesterday, I did end up going to the refurbished Horseshoe Inn's reopening. It looks fantastic! Wellingborough is definitely on the up.

This morning the Louise Berrill canvases we have went up. They are from her Cityscapes collection, and they are amazing. They have already attracted a lot of attention, too! Louise is a local artist and her work can be see on her website. The ones we have in store are for sale, so if you fancy treated yourself and investing in a great young artist, these are for you. For those with a little less cash to splash, we also have the A6 size hand drawn Pippa Alice artwork. Each of these are signed originals and are on handmade recycled rag paper (and are on display in our counter if you want a look).

So naturally, the pick of the day had to be some of the new artwork. This piece is called 'Heart Of The City', dates from 2008, and is acrylic and mixed media on canvas. The way the light hits the gold leaf on the picture is incredible, and the textures are really impressive. I love it.

Anyway, if you're in Wellingborough this afternoon, SteveO is out flyering for us again, so keep an eye out for him!

Kat

Now Playing In The Shop: Can't Stand Losing You - Feeder

TGIF

Morning,

Yay! Sunshine! I can have the door of the shop open without freezing! Although it does let in the noise from the roadworks, but I can drown that out with the music.

I've had quite a few enquiries in regards to bigger sizes. Currently, these seem quite readily available in the men's clothes and the t-shirts we stock, but not in some of the other lines. Currently, Max C only go up to a UK size 14 but some of the styles mean they may fit someone slightly larger, whilst the Death Kitty items tend to be marked in small, medium or large or s/m and m/l. The large size appears again to be about a 14, although this does depend on the style of the item. We have a changing room and people are encouraged to try anything on if they are unsure. You never know! As it is frequently reported that the average size for a woman in the UK is a 16, I am eager to cater for as many people as possible and have found labels that do bigger size ranges, and hope to have more of these in stock in the future (but as there is not unlimited space or money, this cannot be arranged instantly). So please bear with me, and I will try to provide our customers with what they want.


Tomorrow sees the launch of the Cityscapes artwork we have in from Louise Berrill, and I will write more about that then. For today, our pick of the day is this Max C navy blue dress. Blues are all over the place this summer, as part of the nautical look, so this dress with the white trim is perfect. It also reminds me of Alice In Wonderland so it ties in nicely with the recent Tim Burton adaptation, and would look great with one of the Temporary:Secretary 'Alice' necklaces.

Anyway, hope you enjoy your weekend. We're open tomorrow, then I'm popping down the road to The Horseshoe to see their new refurb. They're relaunching tonight, but someone has to be here looking bright eyed and bushy tailed at 9am so think I might miss that! So if you're in Wellingborough, well worth checking it out.

Kat

Now Playing The The Shop: You Got The Dirtee Love (Live at the BRIT Awards) - Florence + The Machine & Dizzee Rascal

Quarter Birthdays

Well, it's my quarter birthday today (meaning it was 3 months since my birthday). Am celebrating with a bottle of water and a Tic Tac. Very rock and roll. Have also been chatting with a lovely elderly gentleman who is a bit of a local history buff. Have discovered that 15 Silver Street was Curry's in the 60s. And a tobacconist before that. Since then it seems mainly to have been a cafe, except for its brief stint as a childrens bookshop, and a couple of years of being empty before Unorthodox came along. It is also on a map from the early 1800s so still got a bit of digging to find out what it originally was. Unorthodox: fashionable and educational!

From this weekend, we will be stocking Louise Berrill's artwork. She is a local artist who is extremely talented and very up and coming. Plus, it will brighten up the place a bit! So yes, come in and have a look (although for those too far away, I'm sure I'll be featuring some of her work on the Facebook page, Twitter, and on here). Her work is amazing, so very excited!

The pick of the day today is this Death Kitty skirt. It tends to be the first thing people make a beeline for when they come through the door! Neon pink skull print, black lace trim and ribbon at the top, pink mesh tutu at the bottom, it's for those who want to look kickass and cute at the same time. I was thrilled to hear this week that the makers of Death Kitty are launching a men's line, Devil Dog. Since their stuff is well designed, good quality and reasonably priced, I'm really looking forward to seeing it.

Kat

Now Playing In The Shop: Pantomime - Orgy