Sunday 31 May 2015

The Beginning of Summer

Well, so they say anyway!

I can't believe it has been so long since I got back to this blog - if there are any followers out there who are still with me then give yourself an extra cornflake for breakfast!  Well done for your stamina!

So, what has been happening at my wonderful Lily Maud Vintage?  Well, if you've been over to the website recently you will notice some changes, beginning with the front page and for each of the listings.  There are still some teething problems but I am getting there slowly.

I asked a number of people who are experts in websites, including my own designer, the amazing Rhys Welsh, for feedback and have put their suggestions, together with a few of my own, in to the new site. 

So, a front page which tells you Lily Maud Vintage is a store and you can buy the items you see!  Taken away the slider of pics which many people found just too much and, in its place, put pictures of two beautiful cups - here they are :

These are very special cups so I shall tell you a little about them:

The teacup and saucer at the back of the picture is stamped 'Ashley Fine Bone China Made in England 22KT Gold'.  Try as I might it seems impossible to find out much about the manufacturer, even though it has a crown motif above the stamp.  I'd be really happy to hear from anyone who does know something about it. You can see how interesting it is - gold filigree pattern on a yellow background at the top of the cup and the edge of the saucer. Then a gold band separating the main pattern which is of fruit - two pears, some cherries and white and black grapes, on  a white background. Gold fluted edges and a gold handle complete the beauty of this vintage cup and saucer.

The front trio is equally beautiful but  in a completely different way!  Covered in the most delicate pale blue pheasant pattern with gold edges, this trio was made by the Derby pottery between 1877 and 1890 so may be considered as antique pottery rather than vintage.  It would have been amongst the first of the output of the Osmaston Road Derby factory. It is perfect in every way, no chips, no cracks and I love it! One day I may be able to let it go and add it to the website but I'm not ready for that quite yet!!

I've also added a link at the bottom of the front page 'Latest News'. I thought it may be a nice idea to tell visitors, both new and returning, that new lovelies have been added to the site and what they are. I  aim to update this as soon as I add something new and the news will roll over on a monthly basis.  I hope you will think this a good idea.

Inside, the pictures of the lovelies on sale have been enlarged and the description now features at the side of the picture rather than below.  In spending time editing and reviewing the site, I have discovered a number of irritating things and these may irritate you too :  the font used is not consistent across the site, I am editing to make it all look the same; the site looks different depending on which browser you are using to visit - Firefox, MSN etc. I'm sorry about that, but there isn't anything I can do to make that right.  I go to the site via MSN and used to use Firefox - having discovered the problem, I now use MSN because it looks better! 

Well, that's the news for today - back to the garage for more sorting and photographing my vintage lovelies to put up throughout this coming week!

Thanks for reading, please leave a comment either on here or on my Facebook page.  See you again very soon.

Lily Maud

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