How time flies! We're celebrating our first birthday this month at Muddled Vintage and what started out as a fun side hustle has turned into, quite frankly, a bit of an obsession. When we're not working on our actual day jobs, you'll find us rooting through boxes of mis-matched glasses or styling and photographing our latest finds for the website.
Muddled began as a way of raising a few extra pennies for our pottery hobby. We both love cocktails and all things vintage so sourcing and selling secondhand glassware was a natural progression.
We like to put about the story that we were so excited when we had the initial idea that we raced out the door to track down our first pieces, leaving a half-finished pot spinning on the wheel. It's actually not far from the truth. We really were that excited and we still get just as excited a year on.
A large part of the thrill is in the hunt. We love nothing more than searching for treasure at antique fairs, secondhand shops and auctions. We've been surprised by just how much beautiful glassware there is in our small corner of Cornwall.
Some items are well-loved and come with a history. Others are still in their original box, clearly unused. Either way, it gives us enormous pleasure to know that they're being given a new lease of life.
Of course we often across odd numbers or single glasses, survivors from sets that have suffered breakages over the years. Rather than consign them to the recycling bin or charity shop, we've started putting them together in new mix and match sets so they can continue to be used and loved by a new generation.
This first year has been about finding our feet and working out what our customers want. We know, for example, that large Pall Mall Lady Hamilton coupes sell like hotcakes so we'll be working hard to source more of your favourites. We're also building a collection of antique pieces which we're planning to list over the next few months.
One of the highlights of 2023 was working with Ben and Lisa from Mount's Bay Distillery. Based just down the road from Muddled HQ, they produce a range of rums and gins inspired by the sea and landscape of Cornwall. We developed (and, of course, rigorously tested) cocktails for all of their products and Helen designed a series of recipe cards which Muddled and Mount's Bay customers receive with all of their orders.
Just before Christmas drinks journalist and cocktail guru Alice Lascelles borrowed some of our glasses for the photo shoot for her new martini book. We're huge fans of her books so this was quite a thrill for us and we can't wait to see which ones made the cut.
Of course none of this would have been possible without your continued support so thank you and cheers!
Helen & Christen
Comments