WE had a fantastic celebration of our one-year anniversary at the weekend and lots of customers popped in at Sew Very Vintage to help us celebrate.

Saturday is always a busy day for us but it was particularly busy for us on Saturday as we celebrated inside the store.

Lots of our regulars came along and there were some new faces too as we put balloons up and invited customers to take advantage of some special offers.

With any purchase made on Saturday customers were entered into our prize draw, where the lucky winner will receive a complimentary £50 gift voucher to spend in store.

The shop houses four different businesses, from an eclectic range of gifts, craft materials and handcrafted pieces to vintage style clothing, shoes and accessories.

I linked up with Madeleine Tanner and Devon Masters so that we could open Sew Very Vintage together, after testing the market with a series of pop-up shop businesses.

As a town Wallingford has done an excellent job of promoting and supporting pop-up shop businesses and we have definitely benefited from that support.

Customer reactions to the shop continue to be really encouraging, including some really lovely feedback left on our shop Facebook page.

It was a double celebration on Saturday as we also set up our website.

It's something we have all been looking forward to for a while and although it's an investment it will definitely be worth it for the business.

We have already received a number of orders and people can browse our products online and buy online or they can see something and reserve it and then call in at the store.

The website means we can spread the word more widely about the fifties-style fashion we sell.

We have noticed that as well as having a very loyal following in the Wallingford area shoppers are also coming from further afield, including places like Henley, Reading and Didcot.

People tell us they like coming to Wallingford because there are lots of independent stores in the town.

And Wallingford has a wonderful community spirit, making it such a pleasure to run a business within the town centre.

We have many new lines that have arrived recently, from new summer dresses and accessories inspired by the 1950s, to fabulous craft making kits and materials that will keep crafters happy.

One of the recent highlights has been Wallingford Carnival.

Madeline Tanner has worked alongside other local businesses to form the Wallingford Craft Hub to promote the fantastic assortment of craft shops available in Wallingford.

Collectively the Craft Hub formed part of the carnival procession, which resulted in a rosette being awarded for their efforts.

It was wonderful to see so many people attending the carnival this year and we now offer a crafters' trail guide at the store.

It's a little map and people who come into the store can find out about all the different locations for crafters - where they should visit and what activities they can do.

I have a busy summer ahead, taking a vast selection of my new range of vintage style clothing and accessories to a variety of vintage festivals.

It's been a fantastic first year in the shop and we look forward to the next 12 months.