About a bird

A while ago I noticed a blackbird in our cumquat tree, she was trying to build a nest but the bits of straw etc. kept falling through the fork in the tree. For days she flew back and forth, only to see her efforts fall to the ground. I decided that she needed a little help, I put a little platform of twigs tied together with wool in the fork of the tree. The next day she looked a little confused, checked it out for a while and then got back to work. Over the next couple of weeks she went on to construct the Taj Mahal of nests, and then settled in to lay and hatch her family. Every day I watched her and her partner, he came to take over when she went to eat. Then disaster, I heard her squawking in alarm and lots of rustling in the tree, I raced outside only to see a cat running off down the street. My friend was gone and and there was nothing left but for a lot of feathers and 3 perfect turquoise eggs in her beautiful nest. For the next couple of days I was so upset, made worse by her partner waiting on his own in the garden, apparently they mate for life. Then miraculously she returned, but it was too late for the unhatched eggs. This year she managed to build her nest all by herself and had 2 healthy chicks who have now left,  my friend and her partner are still there every morning and often at night.
 This is one of the reasons I called my business l'uccello, it means bird in Italian.

This is her nest, it was even more perfect when she had to abandon it, it took me a year to take it down. I was deciding whether to call my vintage haberdashery business l'uccello, I was already producing a range of scented home wares for Kleins Perfumery under the name, so I took it as a sign of good luck. Like the bower bird l'uccello collects lovely things to arrange artfully, so it seemed an appropriate name for a vintage haberdashery.

There are lots of lovely birds at l'uccello, here a few of our favourites.

Part of our vintage haberdashery and craft collection

Our Favourite Penelope Durston pillow

My absolute favourite piece of fillet lace

We have a series of these plates by Dierdre Hunt, so well known from the Tuckfields Cards that we love to collect.

 

Like all good former ballerinas we love swans

More birdy stitchery

These little vintage millinery birds are so cute!

It's the swan thing again, think I must have an Odette complex.

Birds are lovely don't you think?