A suitcase full of inspiration

Today I went on a traditional day out to the seaside. I packed my metaphorical vintage suitcase, boarded a train and headed for Margate. Although its glamorous glory days are long gone, Margate still has that magic and shoots of creativity and craftiness are beginning to push through the boarded up shops and derelict buildings. Dreamland still dominates the seafront but is now wrapped in scaffolding, ready for the dispute between the land owners and the council to be resolved and regeneration to start. As my dear friend and companion for the day pointed out when she dropped me back at the station, the lights of the Dreamland sign are back on and that is surely a good indication of things to come.

List of inspirational places in Margate

Turner Contemporary Gallery

pretty much everything
the shop
the pop up cafe
Rodin's Kiss
Turner and his crackled oil paint
Hamish Fulton and especially the Margate 1234567 Walking

Margate Old Town

Frocks and Stock - how could I not love a charity shop with its own little haberdashery section

Blackbird - Shop - Studio - Workshop

The Greedy Cow - Brie and apple or halloumi and grilled pepper sandwich or both (if you are out to lunch with a lovely friend who's good at sharing)

Showtime Retro Furniture - complete confirmation that a vintage typewriter is just that type of 'must have' item that I couldn't have lived without for a second longer

Rough Trade - today was the opening of a collective of fabulous creative sorts, makers of beautiful things and traders of very lovely stuff

The Seventh Magpie - just love - love - love, there can never be too many shiny things or too much treasure
Sarah Hinds - mixed media extravaganza - colour, texture, text, form, light, shape - totally inspirational

Kirsten Jones - mixed media, beautiful tea party subjects with flowers and washing lines, dictionary text, letters and postage stamps, stitched, ink and coloured acrylics - a collage of treasured memories and imagined histories

To be continued with the Emporium....

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