Count Your Chickens!

Yesterday I was having a conversation about keeping chickens as it's something I've been longing to do for some time now. We grow our own and have a small orchard and so hen keeping just seemed like a natural progression. I was lost in the thought of freshly laid eggs for breakfast and baking and having the girls to keep me company while gardening......

Photo: Little Emma English Home

However, just as I was locking up for the night a movement in the moonlight caught my eye - and there they were, a shadowy pair of foxes trotting silently along the field side of my garden.

A timely reminder of the reality of keeping chickens don't you think?

Antiques ARE Green

As a source of vintage homewares Homes & Dreams are proud to support the aims of the 'Antiques Are Green' campaign.

The sole purpose of the campaign when it began in 2009 was to raise awareness of antiques being environmentally friendly. Antiques are items that have been recycled for many generations which means any carbon footprint in making them has long gone and they are recycled by handing them down to family members and friends or by selling them on through a dealer or by auction. By passing them on in this way, we are helping to conserve natural resources.

Antiques are Green.org was launched “to promote the green credentials of antiques”. This not-for-profit campaign aims is to get antiques recognised for their genuine green credentials “sustainable, re-usable and re-saleable”.

The importance of protecting the environment cannot be understated. The environment is not ours to destroy, but something which we have been given to protect for future generations. The “green movement” has focused on achieving this goal by reducing fossil fuel emissions and preventing deforestation. These endeavours have made huge inroads, but as a world we need to consume less and reuse more - “antiques are a perfect way to take the green movement into our homes”.

As more consumers become sensitive to green issues it is hoped that this will help boost trade and help consumers realise they are making a genuinely green purchase. Antiques are a great buy, good value for money and a very enjoyable, sustainable purchase. This web site brings together a wide selection of items offered from all types of businesses, which will continue to be added to. Future development of the site is also planned. In September 2010 the antiques trade commissioned a carbon footprint analysis of an antique chest of drawers against its modern equivalent - the results speak for themselves-the new item had a carbon footprint 16 times higher than the antique' - taken from the Antiques are Green website.

The aims of the Antiques are Green campaign are:

To promote antiques as an alternative form of recycling and conserving natural resources.

o encourage existing consumers and attract a new audience who may not have considered buying antiques before.

To encourage businesses and organisations to consider environmental issues when making decisions related to their business activities.

To offer help and advice to businesses and consumers on reducing their carbon footprint, dependency on fossil fuel and becoming greener.

To promote environmental projects such as tree planting, conservation and protection.

To make a tangible difference and be part of an environmental conscience which permeates all areas of day-to-day life.

We are proud to support the national ‘Antiques are Green’ campaign to encourage consumers to consider antiques, vintage and reclaimed items when it comes to furnishing their homes. For further information on the Antiques are Green campaign visit http://www.antiquesaregreen.org/

All Spick & Span

Dolly Pegs £1.65 from Homes & Dreams

Spring cleaning has come early at Homes & Dreams! Last week we decided to reorganise our category pages on the website to make it easier for our customers to find what they are looking for as over the next few months we will be increasing our ranges to offer a larger variety of products.

So now when a customer clicks on one of the main categories on the 'Home' page rather than having to scroll through all the products in that category they will now be able to choose which section they wish to view. We hope that this will make it easier for our customers to find just what they are looking for.

Not only has the website had a tidy but our store room has too - well, all those new goodies will have to go somewhere!

If you are having an early spring clean why not check out out new 'Utility & Boot Room' section. We'll be adding lots of new products over the next month ready for some serious spring cleaning!

A Last! Our Latest Project

Over a year ago we were contacted regarding our vintage shoe lasts. Would we be able  to provide a large quantity of them for display purposes to an international chain of high street stores?

After plenty of sourcing (on our part), much designing (on their part) and a lot of negotiation (on both parts) we were finally able to come up with an action plan. So over the last year we have been providing a steady quantity of vintage shoe lasts to be made into point of sale displays to go into their stores around the globe.

Just before Christmas we got an email - would we be able to provide 1,500 lasts by the end of January so that they could finish the project? Oh, and could they all be left feet and ladies shoe lasts?

So this week saw us doing a 450 mile round trip to deliver the lasts!

All packed and ready to go.......

So that's it, 1,500 lasts successfully delivered! We can't wait to see how the shoe lasts look on display in the stores.

Industrial Salvage

Ok, so by now you have probably realised that I'm a sucker for industrial and commercial vintage. I love giving a new lease of life to items that are destined for skips (I had to draw a line at the false teeth molds that had just been dumped in a skip during a conversion of an old dentist's surgery though - it was the look on my friends faces that stopped me, otherwise who knows?)

I was happy to discover these vintage wooden bobbins which I think make interesting decoration pieces. These particular bobbins were made by the Wilson Brothers Bobbin Company who manufactured bobbins and shuttles for the cotton industry. Stacked en masse I think that they make an unusual display -

Vintage Bobbins £5.50 from Homes & Dreams

This is how they would have originally been used in cotton mills when Britain was a manufacturing giant.

Commercial and industrial salvage can make a quirky addition to your home and by using reclaimed materials you also achieve an extra green brownie point! At Homes & Dreams we have an ever changing selection of vintage salvage - why not take a look and see how it could be reused in your own home to add interest to your our living space.

A Busy Start!

Love Letters Were £16.00 Now £12.00

Well firstly a belated Happy New Year to you all!

Here at Homes & Dreams it's been a busy start to the year so far. Just before Christmas a project that we've been working on finally came to fruition (I can't spill the beans yet but will in due course!) and so the beginning of the year has been tied up with that and organising the chaos left over after a very busy December!

As the stock room has been reorganised to make way for our new spring ranges we are having a clearance sale over on the Homes & Dreams website. These are a just a few of the bargains that are still available........

Wooden Heart - Was £3.50 Now £2.50

Ivory Heart - Was £1.50 Now £1.25

Have A Very Merry Christmas

It's that time of the year when things get a little hectic at Homes & Dreams and so things have been a bit quiet on the blog front as we concentrate on making sure everything is packed and posted out to our customers. So whether you are a customer, a blog follower or if you have just stumbled across this blog then we would like to wish you a very