Shops: Keep Calm and Go Shopping

On Thursday evening I went along to the Keep Calm and Go Shopping event in the City Centre, which was being held in Hummingbird. There was another one of these events a few months back but I didn't manage to get along as I was at a concert that night (Cancer Bats, if you're asking). So I made an extra effort to make it along this time around as some of my favourite local brands were there selling their goods and I always enjoy hanging out at Hummingbird (with it's squishy sofas, delicious drinks and excellent decor like vintage birdcages hanging from the ceiling) so it seemed like a no-brainer! I met up with my friend and we made a night of it.

We went a little later as Pizza Express was calling our names and when we arrived (a little later and fuller after 7pm) the place was buzzing with groups and pairs of girls sipping cocktails and looking at the different stalls. It was my first time upstairs in Hummingbird, and I must admit I fell in love with all the little rooms and general layout of it. If I'm ever throwing a party in the future I would consider it as a venue, there were rooms of different shapes and sizes, which at this event were being used by the designers and brands involved to showcase their products. I usually go to these kind of shopping fairs in larger, open-plan venues so wasn't sure if it would work in such a fragmented space, but I think it did (although I still prefer everything to be in the one place).

The first room was the 'Posh Room' which had Something Different and Ursula's Treasures set up in it. A strong start to the evening! I've mentioned Something Different in my previous outfit posts and I was looking forward to getting my hands on a couple of her glittery bows (just what I need, eh?). I had shown my friend Something Different's bows before online and she was excited to see what would be there as well. We were not disappointed - it was Bow Heaven (OOH HEAVEN IS A PLACE ON EARTH)! After being truly spoilt for choice, I decided on two small glittery bows (£4 each) in rainbow glitter and a summery orange glitter (to go with my new orange dress that I blogged about recently). My friend bought a gorgeous larger bow (£6) in a petrol glitter which will look fab in her pastel-hued hair! Top marks for a Something Different's display area too - with loads of bows, hairbands and shoe clips to choose from. It was just a shame we couldn't buy them all!

We next had a look at Ursula Treasures - who I'd never seen before but I thought their designs were fantastic and very well-priced. I'm kicking myself for not getting one of their skull bracelets now, but hopefully I will see them at more craft/ shopping fairs over the Summer. Their cute flower earrings were only £1.50 and as well as jewellery, they also had flower hair accessories and sunglasses on sale. This brand is one to watch for sure.

In the next room we visited Tammy from DIY nails had her decals and false nails set up, and was busy creating some nail art on one of her customers. There were lots of decals for people to browse, and some of the false nail sets were marked down which was good! There was also the offer of some on-the-spot nail art, which I thought was a brilliant idea since some people like the look of nail art but aren't able to do it themselves. It started to get a little bit crowded so we headed upstairs to the top floor.

Upstairs was a larger space with a DJ set up and a bar area, with clothes stalls from Hardwear, Annie and the Mannequins and Once Upon a Time Vintage. This was the most busy area, even though it was the biggest one, and I could see lots of girls excitedly buying clothes from the racks set up. It was nice to see the Hardwear clothes in 'real life' because I'd seen and admired them online before. Once we'd looked at all the clothes a truly abysmal cover of a Destiny's Child song (whose name escapes me now) started to play. My friend and I looked at each other - time to go!

After visiting all the shopping areas we headed back to the ground floor's main bar area, found a squishy sofa to sink into and spend the rest of the evening chatting over cocktails and mocktails. I had 2 Lemon Bon Bon's and they were as yummy as they sound!

Did you go to Keep Calm and Go Shopping? Did you buy anything? Have you ever seen Bow Heaven?

Thanks for reading!