I managed to catch up with Donna, the proud owner of "Miss Molly" - the shabby chic/vintage inspired caravan, which offers anyone in the Hampshire region the chance to hire her for their special occasion, be that a tea party, birthday, or wedding.
It is so lovely to see these sweet photographs this vintage caravan, and I for one, can not wait to find out more about Miss Molly, from Donna..
It is so lovely to see these sweet photographs this vintage caravan, and I for one, can not wait to find out more about Miss Molly, from Donna..
My name is Donna, and Miss Molly is my labour of love. I've loved vintage for around 5 years now, I suppose it creates memories of the early days and I'd love to have lived through the 1950's and 60's.
Also as a couple, when my husband and I go out we love to find traditional tea shops and old fashioned sweet shops too.
A few years ago I used to sell old fashioned sweets online, making up gift hampers etc.
Then I bought one of those sweet carts and took it out to weddings, which was really successful. My kids loved the fact there was a never ending sweet supply!
Also as a couple, when my husband and I go out we love to find traditional tea shops and old fashioned sweet shops too.
A few years ago I used to sell old fashioned sweets online, making up gift hampers etc.
Then I bought one of those sweet carts and took it out to weddings, which was really successful. My kids loved the fact there was a never ending sweet supply!
I have had a full time job for many years, the last 5 years as a wedding planner, and I currently work for a stunning wedding venue where you see lots of different trends, and vintage caravans being used as photo booths and ice cream vans suddenly sprung on the scene ... But no such thing as a dedicated sweetie caravan.
I love the quirkiness of the little caravans and originally wanted one to put in the bottom of my garden as a little retreat for me.
Inspiration came after watching "George Clarke's Amazing Spaces" so I made my mind up to seek one out!
I love the quirkiness of the little caravans and originally wanted one to put in the bottom of my garden as a little retreat for me.
Inspiration came after watching "George Clarke's Amazing Spaces" so I made my mind up to seek one out!
So I trawled eBay and Gumtree, there weren't many out there that caught my eye. It had to be dinky and I didn't want a full restoration project as I'm useless (and so is hubby)!
I joined a lot of pages on Facebook to get information on things and occasional people sold on there too, but in October 2015, I hit the jackpot.
This cute little tin box on wheels became available. She was originally called "Bella" and she was free from damp, watertight and towable.
The lady lived in Wales, so I couldn't just pop round to see it (I'm in Portsmouth, Hampshire).
I joined a lot of pages on Facebook to get information on things and occasional people sold on there too, but in October 2015, I hit the jackpot.
This cute little tin box on wheels became available. She was originally called "Bella" and she was free from damp, watertight and towable.
The lady lived in Wales, so I couldn't just pop round to see it (I'm in Portsmouth, Hampshire).
After numerous conversations on Facebook and the telephone, I took the plunge and agreed to buy her! I organised a company to go and collect it for me and bring it to me which only took a couple a weeks and then in November, she arrived.
I was so lucky, everything was just as the lady in Wales had told me.
I knew that there had been a leak in the roof and it needed a slight repair, which was not a problem, because but I have a friend who is our handyman, who could do it.
Miss Molly certainly wasn't pretty when she arrived, but I had a vision!
I left it until late December, then spent practically every weekend until the end of February working on her. I stripped out all the inside first ready to start again.
White paint for the walls and ceiling (took 3 coats to get it looking good). I painted the woodwork, shelves, and wallpaper was hung.
My friend has a sewing business, so she made all my curtains and new seat covers.
The ceiling had to be redone, as the leak gotten worse with all that rain we had, but now it's completely leak free!
I was so lucky, everything was just as the lady in Wales had told me.
I knew that there had been a leak in the roof and it needed a slight repair, which was not a problem, because but I have a friend who is our handyman, who could do it.
Miss Molly certainly wasn't pretty when she arrived, but I had a vision!
I left it until late December, then spent practically every weekend until the end of February working on her. I stripped out all the inside first ready to start again.
White paint for the walls and ceiling (took 3 coats to get it looking good). I painted the woodwork, shelves, and wallpaper was hung.
My friend has a sewing business, so she made all my curtains and new seat covers.
The ceiling had to be redone, as the leak gotten worse with all that rain we had, but now it's completely leak free!
Then, it was deciding what to do with the outside...
To get the caravan professionally resprayed costs thousands of pounds, which I didn't have. All of the money in the budget was my own, there had been no bank loans, so I had to watch every single penny that was spent.
Along the way, people said to me she's old, she's vintage, leave her as she is, so with a lot of scrubbing and washing, one day I was amazed at how well she scrubbed up, so was happy to leave her as she was, and yes, there's a few little marks and dinks, but she is over 40 years old!
To get the caravan professionally resprayed costs thousands of pounds, which I didn't have. All of the money in the budget was my own, there had been no bank loans, so I had to watch every single penny that was spent.
Along the way, people said to me she's old, she's vintage, leave her as she is, so with a lot of scrubbing and washing, one day I was amazed at how well she scrubbed up, so was happy to leave her as she was, and yes, there's a few little marks and dinks, but she is over 40 years old!
I knew she was only going to be used as a sweet shop and sometimes a pop up tearoom.
I've been asked if she can go out as a photo booth, but I've declined. There is far too much risk of damage to her, especially the floor, when lots of people are in and out constantly. Plus, there's a few photo booth caravans out there now, so I wanted something different to offer.
She attended her first wedding fair in March, where I took 3 bookings on the day for 2017 weddings, so now it's a case of slowly building the business up.
I love what I've created, and if at the end I decide I don't want to continue, I've still got a little retreat to go in my garden!
I've been asked if she can go out as a photo booth, but I've declined. There is far too much risk of damage to her, especially the floor, when lots of people are in and out constantly. Plus, there's a few photo booth caravans out there now, so I wanted something different to offer.
She attended her first wedding fair in March, where I took 3 bookings on the day for 2017 weddings, so now it's a case of slowly building the business up.
I love what I've created, and if at the end I decide I don't want to continue, I've still got a little retreat to go in my garden!
You can find out more details about Miss Molly from her official website, simply click on the following link below. x
http://www.missmollythevintagecaravan.co.uk/
http://www.missmollythevintagecaravan.co.uk/