…with The Vintage Mafia!
21st June 2014
The Royal Academy , London
On a balmy Saturday afternoon I packed up my trusty red suitcase and made my way to The Royal Academy (The RA).
Never having been to the RA I was immediately taken aback by the glorious architecture, and then as I stepped through the arches to the courtyard I was transported to a beautiful village fete!
The Vintage Mafia (made up of Fleur De Guerre, Jeni Yesterday and Bethan Gwenllian Garland, though I’m sure you know that already!) had transformed the courtyard, laying astroturf, hanging bunting and flowers, and assembling a wonderfully eclectic array of activities and stands! This was all part of The RA’s ticketed Midsummer event to celebrate the Summer Exhibition, and whilst the goings-on inside were arranged by the RA itself, the outside was curated by the fabulous vintage trio, and was where I spent most of my time. A month or so back I was asked by the girls to run some flower garland workshops during the evening, and of course jumped at the chance to be involved and set to work making the necessary arrangements.
So here I was, armed with my red suitcase and trusty assistant Sarah (craft queen extraordinaire and brains behind The Curious Menagerie) by my side and overwhelmed by the beauty of my surroundings. We were shown to a spot on the lawn where a scattering of picnic blankets provided us with the perfect base for the evenings workshops. We settled in….and then the gates opened! People flooded in and the courtyard soon filled up with guests in their finery. Our workshop spaces for the evening were filled in a matter of minutes, and our flower fairy “bouncers” spent the next 3 hours directing hoards of people to other activities they could partake in, but this didn’t stop us attracting an audience. Alongside our flower garland workshops there were plenty of unusual things for the guests to enjoy: from a take-away poetry bar, Lady Angela Harmony’s Edwardian card readings, and Mr Smith’s letterpress workshops outside, to artist’s bingo, macabre life drawing and paper flower making indoors.
Our final session was paused when the captivating Vicky Butterfly took to the stage and entranced everyone with her ethereal and beautiful burlesque! We simply couldn’t take our eyes off her!After our workshops were finished, Sarah and I were able to wander through the event and take in a bit more of the fabulous entertainment. We meandered the warren of halls and rooms and as we did so we passed by a rather surreal silent disco, met the darling Gabby Young who had performed earlier in the evening and viewed some beautiful paintings before retreating back out to the courtyard with a Pimms to sit and enjoy the music as the sun set and the air cooled.
