Mini Bunting from vintage seed labels

I saw this mini bunting today on the lovely Tea for Joy blog (UK) - isn't it sweet!?

It shows a Cork pen pot from Papermash (£9.95), styled with mini bunting made from vintage seed labels from Burgundy Brocante (from £6.) So simple, yet so lovely - and recycling at its best!

Festoon - a definition

I was perusing the internet this evening when I happened to fall upon the Martha Stewart Living Radio blog. One of her pre-Christmas posts talked about the definition of the word 'Festoon', and I thought I'd quote a little of what she said here as it really defines why we chose this name for our company in the first place...

"Festoon is most commonly used as a verb meaning “to decorate” in a general sense. But a festoon is technically a specific kind of decoration. You’ve seen those long, chainlike decorations that are suspended from the ceiling, high on the wall, or across a corner. Some blaze a message across them, such as Happy Holiday. They’re all called festoons. It’s kind of like bunting meets a banner.

A festoon can also be an architectural detail, like a chain ornament carved into a wall, as if imitating the other festoon. This festoon is very similar to swag. The primary difference is that swag is always hung with fabric. The Romans hung plenty of swags and festoons in the public square. During the Renaissance, they made a comeback. We’ve unfurled them on any special occasion ever since. Perhaps the real difference between swag and festoon is that festoon began as a festival tradition. Yes, there’s a reason why festival and festoon sound so similar. Both words come from the Latin festa, which was the word for holidays. And what did they do on holidays in ancient times? The one thing that remains that same is a celebratory feast. Yes, feast is also related to festoon, which is fitting, because both are integral parts about being festive..."

I love the word Festoon - knowing that our company name derives from the words 'festival' and 'feast' brings warmth to my soul!!! Let's hope people continue to unfurl swags and festoons on special occasions for many years to come...

Let's ring in the bells for the New Year!

Festoon has had a long, long Christmas and Summer holiday but is now back in full force for 2010, refreshed and raring to go, with lots of new designs and ideas in the pipeline. We sold so many of our Christmas buntings with their little bells, and had such a lot of positive feedback, that we're going to offer bells on buntings as an add-on option on our shopping cart in the future.

The bells would particularly make a lovely addition to our wedding bunting - can't you just imagine hanging the bunting in an outdoor setting, a gentle breeze making the bunting waft and the little bells jingle?

Merry Christmas from Festoon

Festoon is taking a little break for Christmas and won't be back until the New Year, so I just wanted to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and look forward to catching up again in 2010!

x x x Jenny x x x

Handmade Christmas Gift Guide

I can't believe Christmas Day is only NEXT WEEK - we are too excited for words at our home! Most of our pressies are now wrapped and under the tree, looking gorgeous and proving very tempting for the kids, who can't resist picking them up, shaking, prodding and trying to peer through any gaps in the wrapping.

I'm sure it's the same in all your homes, but for any of you who haven't quite ticked everyone off the gift list yet, I wanted to introduce you to the Handmade Gift Guide - a lovely selection of gorgeous handmade goodies, created by a bundle of handmade designers (including Festoon) with the help of clever graphic design from Nykie from Noo Creative.

You're sure to find some last minute stocking-fillers here!

Japanese double-sided fabrics

I've recently discovered some gorgeous Japanese double-sided fabrics, perfect for making bunting.

Using these fabrics it's possible to make bunting that can be strung across a room and look nice from every angle, without needing to sew double-thickness... so a less expensive option for the customer as of course we are able to sell them at a much cheaper price.

The fabric is a gorgeous cotton-linen mix, so feels lovely, and the patterns are adorable too.

Here's a sample of one of our new double-sided designs called 'Robots'... at the moment exclusively available on Trifle.

Mega Christmas Giveaway

Our bunting seems to be appearing everywhere at the moment! In addition to the fab competition being run by Fairy Bread (as mentioned earlier), Festoon is also sponsoring the Mega Christmas Giveaway at Handmade Kids this week. They have two fantastic packs of handmade goodies to give away by Friday - one girl's pack and one boy's pack. The boy's pack includes our gorgeous retro Spaceman bunting and I definitely recommend you head over and enter - all the goodies are divine and would make perfect Christmas presents.

I particularly love this handy notebook from Poppy Bean and Bloss:

Enter to win here and don't delay - entries close at midnight on Friday 27th November!