Spring has sprung, and this year's events and plans are well and truly underway... and at Jed Phoenix of London we're so excited we can hardly contain ourselves! We've even had to strap ourselves in a little more tightly than usual just so we can tell you all about everything that's going on.

London Fetish Fair, 11th April

Firstly, London Fetish Fair (LFF), the longest running fetish fair in the UK, takes place on the 2nd Sunday of every month, and the next event is on Sunday 11th of April. We'll be there flogging our fabulous alternative fashion wares to the gathered throng of fetishistic folk in attendance. There's also going to be a CP workshop by Vicki and Cat from Freak! as well as some kinky cabaret from 8pm courtesy of Laurie Vanderhagen, at the after-show party Club Vandersexxx.  Find out the full details at the LFF website.

Birmingham Bizarre Bazaar, 18th April

For those of you residing in the Midlands, and anyone who fancies a day trip to Birmingham with a difference, we'll be setting up shop again at the (in)famous Birmingham Bizarre Bazaar (BBB), on Sunday 18th of April. As well as being able to try and buy all manner of alternative fashions at our JPOL stall, there'll be over 30 suppliers of quality kinky goods at BBB, to cater for all your alternative, curious, and downright pervy needs! All this, as well as a plethora of opportunities for getting friendly and socialising, or, if you prefer, you can just stand back and people-watch to your hearts content. The featured 'Demo' this month, which will have your skin tingling in delight, is 'The Art Of The Cane', a detailed examination of this notorious instrument of pain and pleasure, and there's also the After Market Party on the top floor of The Nightingale until 11pm. For more info, check out the brumbazaar website.

Whitby Goth Weekend, 23rd, 24th, 25th April

The ultra popular bi-annual Whitby Goth Weekend is upon us once again! Taking place over three days from Friday 23rd right through to Sunday 25th of April, JPOL will be there with knobs on, and a fully stocked stall, standing proudly amongst the myriad of Gothic and alternative traders in the main room of the Leisure Centre at this mecca for Goths from all around the world. If you're going, do make sure you stop by and say hello to us won't you?

Before I go and have a nice cup of tea to calm down from thinking about all this wonderfully hectic-yet-energising activity, I'd just like to remind you that if you know anyone who would also like to subscribe to the JPOL newsletter, all they have to do is simply enter their name and email address in the "Our Newsletter" module on the left hand side of the JPOL homepage.

Well, that's 'all' for this month - we hope to see you at one or more of the upcoming events this April

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A celebratory 2009 WGW

October 2009 marked Jed Phoenix of London’s 1st Year Anniversary trading at Whitby Goth Weekend. As with most of the big weekend events, there was several weeks of preparation to be done - designing the advertisement for the WGW Almanack, planning the schedule of production, and topping up the stocks of shirts, ties, waistcoats, strap trousers, kilts and the new braces design. Elaine's work on the Wednesday was timed almost to perfection, with her finishing the last garment we needed just as her day ended. I carried on in the JPOL studio, lacing bustles into bustle skirts, threading the webbing belts through the belt loops on the trousers etc and doing a full stock take. Sade, who's doing a 3 month internship with us, had helped Libby do a Halloween costume making workshop at Greenwich Market and had been in charge of the Flip camera. It was only when Libby arrived back at around 9.30pm that she realised that the camera we were aiming to take up to Whitby with us had gone back to Cheshunt in Sade's bag! A slight panic ensued as I tried and failed to find any outlets easily accessible on the route to Whitby that had any Flip cameras in stock. There was still a fair amount of packing to do, and it was getting late, so we decided to make some phone calls following morning to track down the elusive camera.
Thursday morning started early with last minute packing and taking stock down to the garage on the trolley ready for loading into the van. The very nice man from Currys found a solitary Flip camera at PC World on the Old Kent Road that he reserved for us to collect after 10.15am. Cas from Engineers of Desire arrived with her stock and gridwall at around 10.30am and helped Jed "tetris brain" Phoenix and Libby pack the van. The three of us set off at just after 11.30am, detouring slightly to pick up the Flip, and we began our Whitby Goth Weekend adventure for Halloween 2009.

A quick dash from London to Whitby

The journey up the M1 was the smoothest it ever has been and, despite the disappointment that the Yorkshire Moors were cloaked in the dark autumnal sky by the time we reached them, we arrived in Whitby at 6.15pm. We parked up and headed down the hill into the town centre - Cas went to Gutsy Ginger's where she was staying for the weekend, and Libby and I found a curry house.
We all reconvened at The Leisure Centre, after we'd been fed and watered, for set up. I was in the same generously sized pitch as April's WGW and we collaborated with Zoe from FreakyZ Designs and Cas to create a layout, including an all-important changing room, that worked for all of us. Ricky, Fi and their guest, Kat, also helped to get as much of the stock hung up in our two hour time limit.

Day one of Whitby Goth Weekend - trading in the Leisure Centre

Friday 30th of October saw not only my birthday, but also bought in the best trade over the whole Whitby Goth Weekend, with both repeat customers and some rather excited, mainly male, new ones.  The braces proved a popular addition to the range, and the strap trousers, kilts, shirts, ties and waistcoats made up the majority of the sales. Libby attracted attention from the female customers with her fabulous high waisted skirts that go so perfectly with the womens fit shirts.  Another big hit was the vintage Smith and Corona typewriter, used to encourage passers-by to type in their e-mail addresses for their subcription to the JPOL newsletters.
At 5pm, after 7 hours of selling, the last customers were ushered out of the Leisure Centre, and Libby, Fi, Ricky, Kat and myself headed back to the self catering apartment at the bottom of the hill to get ready for our evening. Following our delicious meal at The Magpie Cafe during the April 09 WGW, Ricky had booked a table there for my birthday celebration. We arrived at 8pm and were greeted by the friendly staff. The Magpie Cafe serves some of the best fish, chips and veggies in Whitby and I'm working my way through the menu! It was grilled lemon sole with boiled potatoes and veg this time, though the big bowl of chips were too tempting and I wouldn't let the waitress take the bowl away until the last of them had been scoffed! After desert, our waitress came out, asked who's birthday it was, happy birthday was sung and I got a cup cake with a candle to blow out.

Day two - Halloween at WGW

Day two of October 2009 Whitby Goth Weekend fell on Halloween and bought about the most visitors to The Leisure Centre. Jon Dea, the manager of the Leisure Centre WGW traders, had arranged some extra special outdoor attractions - The Giddy Kipper caterers and the Custom Car Rally - and these definately added even more to the appeal of the Leisure Centre venue. The cars were beautiful, ranging in all ages and types, from chevvies to custom Morris Minors! Trade for Jed Phoenix of London was slightly quieter on the Saturday than the Friday, but there was plenty of interest and we gathered more email addresses and caught up with customers that I'd not seen for a couple of years.
By Saturday evening, the cumulative effects of the work-load of the previous few weeks started to take it's toll. Libby and I had tickets to the Halloween Ball at The Met, but as we were sitting in Shafiq's curry house, the thought of an early night far outweighed the potential delights of the Ball. And we were planning on driving back to London the following evening after Sunday's trade and pack-down. So I sent Jon Dea a text, apologising in advance for our absence and we got back to the apartment in time to say goodnight to Ricky, Fi, Kat and Rachael and Paul from The Giddy Kipper as they all went off to the WGW Halloween Ball.

Day three - umbrellas, last minute shopping and pack down

The weather of Sunday morning was great for ducks but less so for goths. Ricky gave Libby and myself a lift up the hill to The Leisure Centre for the last day of trading at October 2009's Halloween Whitby Goth Weekend. Unsurprisingly, the torrential rain and strong winds kept many of the visitors away. Only the brave and determined shoppers ventured out, until early afternoon when the weather cleared up. 5pm signalled time to start with pack down, and by 6.30pm, Libby and I were ready to set off back to London. Cas decided to stay on in Whitby for an extra day, so we had one less passenger, and, of course, a couple of bags of empty hangers.
The drive across the Yorkshire Moors, again, sadly in the dark, seemed to take forever - so much open space! The M1 soon stretched out in front of us, however, and Libby and I chatted, and kept topped up with water and chocolate to stop droopy eye syndrome. We stopped at a couple of service stations for food and a decaf soya latte. By Luton, I was flagging severely and at London Gateway, there was no other option than to have a nap in the van! We finally arrived back at the JPOL HQ at around 2am, where we unloaded the contents of the van into the garage. 8 hours later, Charlotte and Sade helped bring the stock back up into the studio and I went off to do the banking whilst they did a full stock take.

See you at WGW April 2010

Whitby Goth Weekend is now a definate part of the Jed Phoenix of London calendar. We've already booked our pitch and accommodation for WGW in April 2010. The dates are 23rd, 24th and 25th April and it's going to be bigger and better than ever! Hotels and self catering cottages are selling out fast so get booking and we'll see you there!

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Following on from the success of the first trip to Whiby Goth Weekend in October 2008, I had an inkling that WGW would continue to be a regular event in the Jed Phoenix of London calendar. Simon and Imogen, who helped out in Oct 08, were busy at another festival, so I took the plunge to work the stall on my own for three days. I'd arranged to give Cas from Engineers of Desire and Martin, a friend of a friend, a lift to Whitby, and they both arrived in Cas's car just before 11am on St George's Day. We transferred Cas's stock and gridwall into my van and set off on our adventure. Ironically, the only major traffic jam was encountered in the first two miles of our trip!

En route, we used the benefits of Cas's sat nav and stopped off at The Leather Family's house in Chesterfield for a leg stretch, cuppa and catch up. The sat nav was less beneficial, however, when we left the A1 and headed west towards Pickering. We had a classic moment of being sent down a B road which turned into a dead end. We were greeted by an elderly gentleman who warned us that the SAS were training nearby and that we'd best make a hasty retreat - using a good old fashioned map, of course!

We arrived at The Leisure Centre in Whitby at around 8.15pm, having stopped off at the town's Co-op supermarket for supplies. Unloading the van was a pretty smooth, well practised operation. Martin helped both Cas and I with setting up our gridwalls, arranging our layouts to incorporate a changing room that nested between Jed Phoenix of London, Engineers of Desire and FreakyZ Designs. Ricky Razor from Adixxtion Corsets, with whom I was sharing a rented cottage for WGW, helped hang all the clothes. And I had a couple of spare short rail extensions to lend Ange from Spank who had the pitch opposite.

At around 10.20pm, John and Silver, the Leisure Centre trader co-ordinators and proprietors of Enter The Asylum, ushered us all out for the night so Jeremy and the Leisure Centre team could lock up. Ricky and Fi gave me a lift down the hill to our self catering cottage and it wasn't long before tired heads hit soft cotton-clad pillows.

Day one of Whitby Goth Weekend April 09 start with a brisk 8.15am walk across the swing bridge, along the harbour and up the cliff path. It took an hour or so to finish arranging the stock and making the final preparations, and by 2pm, a fair few sales had been made. Being in the main room of the Leisure Centre, in a great location (ahead and slightly to the left as you walked through the main door) was a definate advantage over the pitch we had at WGW October 08. The fact that I was working the stall on my own was completely fine. There were enough people I knew around me to help out if I got stuck, and I enjoyed being almost constantly busy.

Trade on Saturday was just as brisk. There was much interest in the new Global Warrior outfit and I found out that quite a few Whitby Goth Weekend attendees had a passion for martial arts! Customers who had bought Jed Phoenix of London clothes in the past visited the stall and brought their friends. And a couple I met in Camden Town in 2002, for whom I made the groom's wedding suit, came and purchased a shirt, tie and waistcoat. Shortly after 5.30pm, once the last few sales of day two of WGW April 09 had been completed, a meeting between the founder of the event and the Leisure Centre traders took place. Plans for the next Whitby Goth Weekend were discussed and it has to be said that things got pretty heated at times. Many people's livelihoods depend on events like WGW taking place, but there are also other commitments in a busy business calendar that are booked months in advance. The suggestion that Autumn's WGW might be moved away from the Halloween weekend therefore stirred passions for a number of reasons. Whiby has strong associations with goths because of it's links with Bram Stoker's Dracula. And goths, Dracula and Halloween are what draw several thousand visitors to Whitby every October. The meeting between the traders and Jo Hampshire lasted an hour or so, with many people continuing discussions into the evening. Fi, Ricky, Lizzie, Becky and I had a table booked at The Magpie Cafe at 8.45pm, so, after resting our aching feet at Dove Cottage and talking about the meeting for a while, we headed off for the best fish and chips in town! The food at The Magpie Cafe is delicious - a fact that is reinforced by the length of the queues for both the eat in and take away service. The fish is caught locally and is available either battered, poached or grilled. I had grilled monkfish with chips and vegetables, deciding that I could work my way through the other types of fish on subsequent trips to WGW. Ricky became "CorrupterMan" as he shared his chocolate dessert with me, and our lighthearted, innane and silly sense of humour carried our full bellies back to the cottage.

The third and final day of April 09's Whitby Goth Weekend was much quieter than the Friday and the Saturday, with far fewer customers coming through the door. The last few WGW flyers, detailing where the main events of the goth weekend were taking place, were handed out around Whitby. And booking forms for adverts for October's flyer were given to traders. 5pm signalled the close of trade. Martin, despite deciding to stay on in Whitby for another couple of days, came up to the Leisure Centre anyway to help Cas and I pack up and load the van. Ricky, Fi and the girls also lent a hand. By 6.30pm, we were ready to head back to London.

The journey home was relatively easy as the motorways were pretty clear and free flowing. Stopping off at a motorway service station, however, I noticed that the steering was much heavier than usual. By the time we got back to South London at 1am, I found parking the unloaded van in the garage quite a struggle. I phoned the breakdown services the following day and the very nice man from the AA told me that the power steering pipe was leaking. With the van being on contract hire and under warranty, I drove slowly through the London traffic on Tuesday morning to the mechanics. They not only fixed the power steering, but also cleaned the van, saving my arms from the heaviness of the steering, and my feet from crushing even more spilt bombay mix into the floor of the front cab!

All in all, WGW April 09 was very successful for Jed Phoenix of London.

See you at WGW October 09!

Tags: Whitby Goth Weekend

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Tags: Whitby Goth Weekend

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