Sarah-Leigh's Style Files & Hepwrights Summer Social

Vintage and an evening soirée... would not have to ask me twice, I am there. I had the great pleasure of being invited by the lovely Sarah-Leigh from her beautiful eponymous blog Sarah-Leigh's Style files and Catherine Wright of Hepwrights Vintage to their first Summer (Sadly if we can accept we ever had one) Social on Thursday 15th September. Set in the treasure trove manor of Hepwright's vintage boutique in Southampton, a collective of like-minded and creative individuals gathered for a great evening of drinks, nibbles, light entertainment and networking.

Catherine announced that when she opened her shop over a year ago she never did have an official opening party so it was nice to have such a lovely turn-out of friends, colleagues and people whose work they admire to have almost a belated celebratory evening and with the possibility of sparking perhaps new collaborations and projects with each other. Everyone in attendance had nothing but praise for the the hostesses as it was interesting to find out that much alike my hometown of Reading, Southampton and the surrounding areas in the South are indeed a hotpot of creatives however it is much more dispersed. Unlike the capital were you can readily identify hubs of artistic/creative related areas, the towns and cities just outside London are in desperate need of such fantastic initiatives to help bring compatible groups of people together.

I must say I thoroughly enjoyed myself so much so that the time ran away with me and I was so busily soaking up the atmosphere of the evening chatting non-stop that I really forgot to get snapping, however here are a few of my lonesome photographical offering from the evening, however be sure to check Sarah's blog for a professional take.

Having only been to the waterside town of Southampton a handful of times (and yes you really can relish the fresh sea air), I was glad to have been introduced to such a great vintage heaven in the heart of the city and a place where I will have to re-visit to truly have a good rummage through the brimming rails. I saw some immaculate and beautiful pieces which Catherine lovingly handpicks all herself, often restoring vintage items which need abit of TLC, all items are labelled with cute playing cards which state its year of origin.

This is most definitely a shop for your directory and why not pop-in and take a look, Catherine is a mastermind of all things vintage and would be happy to help and welcome you to her humble abode:
Hepwright's, 34 Bedford Pl, Southampton, Hampshire SO15 2DG, UK   
www.Hepwrights.com 

I have far to much to say for just one post, so be sure to keep an eye-out for a few follow-up posts including a summary of handful of the lovely creatives I met on the night and the unique gifts I received in my fruitful goodie bag.

Thanks once again to:

Sarah- Leigh Wade:  Sarah-Leigh's Style Files
Catherine Hepwright: hepwrights.com
Sophie Penn: The Chic Parade