OPENING Sew Very Vintage has been a dream come true for myself and my business partners Madeline Tanner and Devon Masters.

It has enabled us to have a permanent base for creating, styling and selling our products, as well as receiving daily feedback and interaction with the most important part of our business, our customers.

Each of us ran our individual businesses prior to the shop in different ways.

For me, vintage fairs which then progressed into larger vintage festivals were the main outlets for my business Frocks in Swing Time, which offers ladies a wide range of original vintage and vintage style clothing, predominately from the 1920s, 40s and 50s.

Such events still continue to be an important part of my business, and are a fantastic way of spreading the word about our shop to a wider audience. Last weekend I had the pleasure of trading at Bolesworth Castle in Cheshire for Children in Need's CarFest.

It is a joy to attend such events, as many raise a fantastic about of money for charity as well as being a fabulous way for friends and family to spend a weekend together. CarFest is, not surprisingly, a festival focused on those who love a motorcar!

However, there are many other aspects to it, such as dance lessons with Strictly Come Dancing stars, a carnival parade, vintage funfair and the vintage village which I was trading from. Entertainment in the form of singing and dancing keep the atmosphere buzzing, while customers can shop from the various stalls of a vintage nature.

Next weekend I will be part of another large vintage festival, this time much closer to home at Newbury Showground. For anyone passionate about vintage music, classic cars, dancing and vintage fashion then this is an event not to be missed, with three entertainment tents, a huge display of classic cars, caravans and bikes alongside a huge vintage marquee where you can shop to your heart's content.

After visiting me at festivals, many customers have followed the shop on facebook then at a later date paid us a visit in Wallingford. Some have travelled from as far afield as Winchester, which is a huge compliment. Of course in visiting the shop customers can then find a much wider range of choice, with jewellery created by Devon, craft supplies from Madeline and handmade gifts from Cristina, to name just a few. The beauty of sharing a shop enables us to offer our customers a diverse and eclectic mix of products, which are now also available online at sewveryvintage.co.uk

So if you haven’t been in, please come and visit us at 10 St Mary’s Street