The Bird's Yard 12 days of Christmas - first half!

12 jumpers jumping (provided by Mighty Baby)

11 pinnies drying (provided by Kitsch-ina)

10 monsters playing (provided by The Monster Project)

 9 snoods a-snuggling (provided by Marie-Louise)

8 spiders singing (provided by Wildheart)

7 swans a-swinging (provided by Life's Big Canvas)

6 sexy dresses (provided by Lisa Jayne Dann Boutique)

Stolen Banners UPDATE

We are really sad to say that out of 10 advertising banners we put up on Saturday afternoon, there are now only 3 left. The rest were stolen by mindless people over a period of 3 nights (3 on Saturday, 3 on Sunday, and 1 last night). This is the equivalent of stealing £500 from our purses.

We are a small independent business and, like many others, are trying to find ways to save money while still advertising our amazing shop. We want to let everyone know about our shop, which promotes independent retail in Leeds. It's a collective of over 60 designers, and offers a static space for many people to sell their wares. Our tenants put so much hard work in to their products and we are really trying to move Bird's Yard forward.

Here are the 10 beautiful banners we put up on Saturday night: 

These banners were put up to highlight the amazing independents we have in our store and were placed in this spot on Kirkgate to encourage people walking to and from Leeds City Bus Station to venture down to Bird's Yard and discover what we have to offer. As of today (Tuesday), this is what it looks like:

We are so disappointed that this has happened to us, especially at a time when we were moving forward and helping to keep Leeds' independent retail scene alive.

However, we will now try to make a positive out of a negative and will be using this to increase awareness of the shop and of the independent retailers in Leeds. Please help us name and shame these people who have stolen these banners and ruined a fantastic opportunity to promote everyone in Bird's Yard. We have already contacted the police about this matter and they are doing everything in their power to help us. 

What you can do is to tell as many people as possible about this crime and make it known that we will not let this get us down. Please help us by using the power of the internet - Facebook, Twitter, Blogging - to make this into a positive for us. Please also feel free to comment on this post and cause a bit of a stir. Independents need people to pull together and support each other, thank you to everyone who has supported us so far.

We hope you can help.

Bird's Yard x

Stolen banners

Mighty Baby joins the Yard

We are very pleased to have Mighty Baby under our roof! The vintage clothing store, previously on Duncan Street, can now be found in Bird's Yard and to celebrate, they've got some special offers on:

ANY ITEM £10
3 ITEMS £25

So get down here quick and bag yourself a bargain!!

Beth Couture Hats in OXXO Magazine

Beth Hirst's beautiful hats have been featured in the wedding issue of OXXO Magazine. Check out these beautiful pictures!

Of course, Beth's hats are available in Bird's Yard!

Walk This Way by City Rocks (with videos)

Three ladies from Bird's Yard will be at this Friday's 'Walk This Way' event presented by City Rocks. Bird Shell and Couture Hats by Beth Hirst will grace the catwalk and Lisa Jayne Dann will be launching her S/S12 collection.

Michelle Walton (Bird of Bird's Yard) chats to City Rocks about the store and what it means for independent retailers in Leeds:

Watch this video to find out more about Lisa Jayne Dann, her collection and her store in Bird's Yard.

'Walk this Way' is on Friday 21st October at the O2 Academy and features music from I Call Shotgun, Oceans, and Hannah Trigwell. Buy tickets here.

Spotlight On... Lisa Jayne Dann

March
Lisa took part in the Muse Fashion Show to highlight the strong relationship between Leeds and Vancouver. She also got press in an article in the Yorkshire Evening Post 

April

Lisa launched LJD Boutique - and it went down a storm! Finally, somewhere you can get the "Queen of Fashion's" beautifully crafted pieces.

May

Lisa began work on her A/W11 collection.

'Down To Business' featured LJD boutique on 'How to merchandise your boutique'. They used Lisa's as a top example of how to get it right!

Actress Lucy Jo Hudson was seen wearing Lisa Jayne Dann's Mesh Bodycon Dress at the British Soap Awards 2011. Meanwhile, Kerry Katona was papped wearing the white LJD trench coat. Lucy Jo Hudson also wore the Lisa Jayne Dann Grecian Maxi Dress at the Coronation Street 50th Anniversary Party.

June

Lisa's twin sister and designer Nicola Dann's bags were featured in June's edition of Scene Magazine!

The Only Way Is Essex star Lauren Pope wore the LJD Bow Dress available from Glam Boutique and the Grecian Playsuit - the star loved it so much she bought it in all colours! 

The Saturday's Una Healy was seen wearing the LJD Grecian bow dress and was hounded by the paparazzi!  

Coronation Street's Michelle Keegan was spotted clutching Nicola Dann's Twist Bag - this was in The Sun newspaper centre spread, as well as the Daily Star and the Daily Mail!

Lisa's new A/W collection was previewed - thanks to the beautiful Lady D Photography - and orders came rolling in!

Celeb Nicola McLean was photographed wearing LJD at the Larry Crowne premiere.

Top Next model Sophie Bailey wore Lisa Dann's pieces in a shoot with Xanthe and Taheed and fell in love with her maxi skirts!

July

Lucy Jo Hudson was seen again in a LJD bow back dress in OK! Magazine 

Lisa's pieces got features in an editorial piece called 'Velvet Crush' for Spindle Magazine (London) - courtesy of Xanthe/Taheed K-Stylist

Celebrity Nicola Mclean was also spotted wearing a Lisa Jayne Dann 'Goddess' dress to the Duke of Essex Polo - stepping out of a helicopter! 

August

Taheed held a model party at Lavish at Baracoa Luxe Bar where 15 models wore LJD A/W11 and received compliments from Hollyoaks' Jennifer Metcalfe.

Lisa hires a giant stilt-walking robot for the Bird's Yard party and took to the streets with 5 models drizzled in LJD.

Star Zoe Salmon wore an LJD print maxi to an a-list event. 

The Only Way is Essex star Amy Childs wore a cream Lisa Jayne Dann playsuit for her Celebrity Big Brother promo film! 

Lisa is shortlisted for Best Local Designer at the Leeds Retail Awards with her Best friend Jamie (James Steward)

September

TOWIE's Lauren Pope wore a Lisa Jayne Dann Body Con Mesh dress to a the 'Reel Steel' premiere in London.

Actress Sacha Parkinson came into LJD and took away a red Lisa Jayne Dann Pussybow Playsuit.

Celebrity Amy Childs was seen again wearing a LJD paisley playsuit.

Lisa made a capsule collection for an exclusive fashion show at Baracoa Luxe Bar. The event was called 'A Fashion Affair' and was an After Dark Events production.

Ola Jordan (Strictly Come Dancing) wore her Lisa Jayne Dann black bandage dress on the red carpet at the Inside Soap Awards 2011! 

Sacha Parkinson wore her red LJD playsuit for the Inside Soap Awards and made the front page of The Daily Mirror.

Lisa Jayne Dann was thrilled that Coronation Street's Sacha Parkinson was in

OK! Magazine, Now Magazine, InsideSoapMag and Look Magazine wearing her bright red Lisa Jayne Dann jumpsuit - four nationals in a week! Not bad!! 

Nicola Dann's faux fur knot satchels featured in the latest issue of Attire Accessories Magazine.

What's Next??

Check out the Bird's Yard Calendar for upcoming events.

Leeds Retail Awards - we won three!

On Sunday 2nd October, the time had come to find out if we had won any awards at this year's Leeds Retail Awards. As a collaboration we had been nominated for 6 awards (3 of us for the same one!) and last year we won 'Best Newcomer'.

The event was at The Met Hotel in Leeds and we were greeted by lovely cocktails before sitting down for a tasty three course meal and lots of wine! Finally, it was the moment of truth and the host, Rich from Radio Aire began proceedings, and the results can be found here.

We are chuffed to have won 3 awards and Bird's Yard was highly commended for the 'Department Store' category just behind Harvey Nichols!!

So we now have the following awards to put up in our shop:

Local Designer - Bo Carter


Jewellery - Life's Big Canvas


Vintage - Birdshell Boutique


After winning these awards, we celebrated in style with plenty more drinks and headed to Hifi Club for the after-party. Overall, it was a brilliant night and we are so happy that after only a year of having the shop, we have gained so much support from the people of Leeds. Thank you!

Bird's Yard x

Lisa Jayne Dann's clothes in the newspaper!

We had a visit from Coronation Street's Sacha Parkinson a couple of days ago and she bought a red outfit from Lisa Jayne Dann's boutique on the top floor. Today she was pictured wearing it on the front page of the Daily Mirror!

Strictly Come Dancing's Ola Jordan was also pictured wearing one of Lisa's pieces - that's two outfits on one page!

To buy these for yourself (and more!), visit her website here.

One of the best Vintage stores in the North!

We received an email a few days ago from The Fashion Network to explain that we have been featured in 10 of the Best! Out of all the entries and nominated companies, the panel of industry judges, including John Lewis, Mail on Sunday, Drapers, and my-wardrobe chose us as one of the best Vintage stores in the North and we didn't know anything about it!

 

Spotlight On... Bo Carter

October 2010 and Leeds Fashion Show was Bo's first fashion show, her first sewing machine, her first drawing, her first made clothes, her first runway, her first tear over a sleeve sewn into the neck, her first joy of loving her own clothes, her not so first redbull, her new life.

A month later, it was the Virginia Fashion Week (USA). Bo's first fashion show abroad and her first trip New York which included a search for Project Runway's Tim Gunn!

In February 2011, Bo was hoping to head to Bangalore Fashion Week in India. Unfortunately she lost her passport and her visa wasn't issued in time. This was her biggest disappointment yet, but she will be back!

March 2011 saw the Oxford Fashion Week, which marked Bo's first disappointment and anger over the fashion world. However, it was her first meeting with Models of Diversity.

Bo continued her journey into the illustrious world of fashion at the Bradford Fashion Show in April 2011, meeting many new people and having plenty of fun. Later this month, she visited the Chelsea Fashion Show, working with Models of Diversity and the Tree of Hope children's charity. Here, she met the world's tallest supermodel Amazon Eve, as well as IT Boy and CBeebies' Cerrie Burnell and had plenty of fun!

May 2011 saw Bo's best fashion show so far, the Mercedes Benz Fashion Week in Malta. It was her first Mercedes Benz experience, her first red carpet, her first sample of glamorous life on a yacht, her first 5000-strong audience, her first big interview, her first runway shared with world-famous Julien Macdonald.

In July 2011, Bo opened her first shop, Bo Carter, at Bird's Yard. It was her first rail and finally her own retail space!

A month later, Bo went to her second US show at the Baltimore Fashion Week appearing live on TV and meeting plenty of models and designers all week.

At the beginning of September, Bo went to Iceland Fashion Week, describing it as 'a great, cold place!'. She also took part in Romanian Next Top Model, having a great time with all the cameras and filming crew!

Coming Up!

This October, Bo will be at Fashion Bites Back in Leeds and the Leeds Fashion Show on Friday 14th October at the Leeds City Museum.

For more info, click here and visit her website.

Leeds Retail Awards

Last year, we won 'Best Newcomer' at the Leeds Retail Awards and this year, we have more good news! We've been shortlisted both as a store and as individuals. As a collective, we've been shortlisted 8 times across 6 different categories, giving us a boost after our first year of trading on Kirkgate.

We're shortlisted in the following categories:

• Local Designer - Bo Carter, Lisa Jayne Dann and Melissa Dawson (Parlour Millinery)
• Womenswear - Bird's Yard
• Jewellery - Life's Big Canvas
• Vintage - Birdshell Boutique
• Department Store - Bird's Yard
• Retail Assistant - Chloe McGenn

It's great to be nominated for so many different awards and lovely to see so many independent stores in Leeds making their way onto the lists too.

If you would like to support Leeds' independent retailers and vote, here's the link. 

Have a good weekend!

Bird's Yard x

Ground Floor.

A few pictures of just a small selection of whats on offer on our ground floor at Birds Yard. A truly unique array of items!
We'll be posting some more pictures of whats available in our boutique, and we also have an exciting event to share!

Welcome to Birds Yard.

Welcome to the new blog of Birds Yard, an independent boutique based in Leeds which boasts three floors of interesting and individual items from talented designers.
The shop is packed full of gorgeous vintage pieces, including ladies wear, jewelery, clothing, arts and crafts and even furniture.

We're based a few minutes walk from the main shopping area, tucked away waiting to be found. At the moment, we're aiming to build up awareness of our lovely shop and want to connect with those who will be interested in what we have to offer. We have such a wide variety here at Birds Yard, there's something for everyone!

Don't be shy, get in touch for more information. You can visit us at our website Birds Yard, follow us on twitter or connect with us on facebook. You can also email us at birdsyardleeds@gmail.com if you have any queries or just want a chat!

Birds Yard x