LAURA Johnson has a photograph she cherishes. It is of her mother in her wedding dress. True to the fashion of the 1950s it was short, had a puffball skirt and layers of fluffy underskirts.

It is a look that Laura, 50, has always loved. It is feminine, glamorous and is perfectly suited to her petite figure. But it also represents nostalgia and the harking back to postwar Britain and the positivity that went with that era.

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In those days, local bobbies could give a kid a clip around the ear for misdeeds, the corner-shop owner would know every customer by their first name and Elvis Presley was making his first album.

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Laura, from Lower Darwen, believes it is the desire to return to the substance and community of that time that has caused the Crafty Vintage movement to flourish in a way she never expected. In some ways it is an antidote to the throw-away consumer trend that has championed cheap fashion and disposables on every high street.

For those who have never heard of Crafty Vintage, it is a regular utopia for retro lovers. It has attracted thousands of vintage devotees in their VW camper vans and landgirl head scarves to Brockholes and Hoghton Towers for weekends of buying, eating and being entertained in the style of a bygone era.

“Some say vintage is a cult,” laughs Laura, “but I think it is about being authentic. There is something about buying a hand-made craft which makes it special. And the fashions were made to last. It is about quality and endurance rather than use it and throw it away.

"People are getting tired of mass production and everybody looking the same. All the self-service we have is so clinical. It is nice for people to be able to shop and have some one-to-one interaction with the person who has actually created the product.”

From the age of ten, Laura was shopping for clothes at jumble sales. Her parents, who lived in Clayton-le-Moors, were into buying and selling antiques, which is probably where she got her love of vintage and eye for a bargain. While her friends were dressing in the fashions of the day, she would wear tweed two-pieces and be able to carry them off.

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Most of her career has been spent in sales. She owned women’s boutiques Reality in Blackburn and Newport Woman in Preston, promoting up-and-coming designers. “I ran them for ten years and I had cornered a niche market but the high street changed and the multiples moved in and pushed out the small boutiques.”

Today she wears her waist-length hair piled up in a beehive. Her pure-silk shift dress cost a tenner. A silver fish-skeleton necklace belonged to her mother. A superb antique pearl ring she bought for £125 is worth £900. And her Gucci watch was picked up for £40.

Her prize possession is a pair of cream Christian Dior kitten-heel shoes from the 1950s — she bought them for £3. Another find was a Burberry pleated skirt which she bought in Lytham for £15 and is worth up to £500.

She has a dilemma at the moment since a man approached her with a bin bag full of Gucci vintage bags. “He told me that his mum used to shop at Harrods all the time. She had passed away and he had put all her bags together. When I looked in and saw they were Gucci, I was amazed. They are stunning but I could not put a price on them. I am going to try to sell them for him, so when I was in New York I went into a vintage store which was selling designer bags from that era and they were thousands of pounds.”

She has also got husband Dave, an engineer, into vintage with Harris tweed jackets, braces, knitted waistcoats and brogues. The couple also own a 1974 VW Camper van called Babs because it originated in Santa Barbara in the US. They hire it out for vintage weddings and it has its own Facebook page. And for her 50th birthday at Whalley Abbey, Laura had a vintage theme and employed a specialist hairdresser to create an iconic look.

Laura also buys old furniture, paints and distresses it in the shabby chic style so popular today and sells it at Albert Mill in Helmshore.

But the Crafty Vintage idea came to her when she was looking to visit a vintage fair and could not find one in the area. It was a lightbulb moment. “I thought if I cannot find one, I will create one,” she said.

Some thought it would not work, and even Laura has been astonished by the popularity. The Christmas vintage markets she organised attracted crowds of 7,000 from all over the North West. It is now her full-time job. Dave helps out at weekends. So does son Daniel, who works for Marketing Lancashire and is a whizz on social media.

Laura said: “We live in a disposable world. It is getting harder to find vintage but then the fashion of today will be vintage in 20 years’ time. It is a cycle. It is hard to find stuff from the 1950s in charity shops any more. They are full of Primark and George from Asda — supermarket clothes.

“There is a lot of greed in the supermarket industry and some people are stopping spending with them. They are liking the fact that stuff at Crafty Vintage is hand-made, that a person has actually created it and has put a lot of thought and care into it. It may cost a little bit more, but it makes people feel better in themselves that they are supporting the local economy.

“There is a lady who comes to our events who spins. The kids are fascinated by her because they have never seen anything like it. It is part of the local heritage and people are enjoying that.”

So successful is the Crafty Vintage model that Laura is looking to push it out further afield — but she does not want it to get too big. She has dates booked until 2018.

Laura said: “We have a lot of people with a lot of talent taking part. They are wonderful family-friendly events. I am blown away by its success.”

DIANE Cooke talks to the queen of retro and the brains behind the Crafty Vintage movement which has swept through East Lancashire LAURA Johnson has a photograph she cherishes. It’s of her mother in her wedding dress. True to the fashion of the fifties it was short, had a puffball skirt and layers of fluffy underskirts.

It’s a look that Laura, 50, has always loved. It’s feminine, glamorous and is perfectly suited to her petite figure. But it also represents nostalgia and the harking back to post-war Britain and the positivity that went with that era.

In those days local bobbies could give a kid a clip around the ear for misdeeds, the corner shop owner would know every customer by their first name and Elvis – who represented a new and exciting music direction - was making his first album.

Laura, from Lower Darwen, believes it’s the desire to return to the substance and community of that time that has caused the Crafty Vintage movement to flourish in a way she never expected.

In some ways it’s an antidote to the throw-away consumer trend that has championed cheap fashion and disposables on every high street.

For those who’ve never heard of Crafty Vintage – it’s a regular utopia for retro lovers. It has attracted thousands of vintage devotees in their VW camper vans and land girl head scarves to Brockholes and Hoghton Towers for weekends of buying, eating and being entertained in the style of a bygone era.

“Some say vintage is a cult,” laughs Laura, “but I think it’s about being authentic. There’s something about buying a hand-made craft which makes it special. And the fashions were made to last. It’s about quality and endurance rather than use it and throw it away. People are getting tired of mass production and everybody looking the same. All the self-service we have is so clinical. It’s nice for people to be able to shop and have some one-to-one interaction with the person who has actually created the product.”

From the age of 10, Laura was shopping for clothes at jumble sales. Her parents, who lived in Clayton-le-Moors, were into buying and selling antiques, which is probably where she got her love of vintage and eye for a bargain. While her friends were dressing in the fashions of the day, she would wear tweed two-pieces and be able to carry them off.

Most of her career has been spent in sales. She owned women’s boutiques Reality in Blackburn and Newport Woman in Preston, promoting up and coming designers. “I ran them for 10 years and I’d cornered a niche market, but the high street changed and the multiples moved in and pushed out the small boutiques.”

Today she wears her waist-length hair piled up in a beehive. Her pure silk shift dress cost a tenner. A silver fish skeleton necklace belonged to her mother. A superb antique pearl ring she bought for £125 is worth £900, her Gucci watch she picked up for £40.

Her prize possession is a pair of cream Christian Dior kitten heel shoes from the fifties, which she bought for £3. Another find was a Burberry pleated skirt which she bought in Lytham for £15 and is worth up to £500.

She has a dilemma at the moment since a man approached her with a bin bag full of Gucci vintage bags. “He told me that his mum used to shop at Harrods all the time. She’d passed away and he’d put all her bags together. When I looked in and saw they were Gucci, I was amazed. They’re stunning, but I couldn’t put a price on them. I’m going to try and sell them for him, so when I was in New York I went into a vintage store which were selling designer bags from that era and they were thousands of pounds.”

She’s also got husband Dave, an engineer, into vintage with Harris Tweed jackets, braces, knitted waistcoats and brogues. The couple also own a 1974 VW Camper van called Babs because it originated in Santa Barbara in the US. They hire it out for vintage weddings and it has its own Facebook page. And for her 50th birthday at Whalley Abbey, Laura had a vintage theme and employed a specialist hairdresser to create an iconic look.

Laura also buys old furniture, paints and distresses it in the shabby chic style so popular today and sells it at Albert Mill in Helmshore.

But the Crafty Vintage idea came to her when she was looking to visit a vintage fair and couldn’t find one in the area. It was a lightbulb moment. “I thought if I can’t find one, I’ll create one.”

Some thought it wouldn’t work, and even Laura’s been astonished by the popularity. The Christmas vintage markets she organised attracted crowds of 7,000 from all over the North West. It’s now her full time job. Dave helps out at weekends. So does son Daniel, who works for Marketing Lancashire and is a whizz on social media.

“We live in a disposable world. It’s getting harder to find vintage, but then the fashion of today will be vintage in 20 years’ time. It’s a cycle. It’s hard to find stuff from the fifties in charity shops any more. They’re full of Primark and George from Asda - supermarket clothes.

“There’s a lot of greed in the supermarket industry and some people are stopping spending with them. They’re liking the fact that stuff at Crafty Vintage is hand-made, that a person has actually created it and has put a lot of thought and care into it. It may cost a little bit more, but it makes people feel better in themselves that they’re supporting the local economy.

“There’s a lady who comes to our events who spins. The kids are fascinated by her because they’ve never seen anything like it. It’s part of the local heritage and people are enjoying that.”

So successful is the Craft Vintage model that Laura and her family are looking to push it out further afield, but she doesn’t want it to get too big. She has dates booked until 2018.

“We have a lot of people with a lot of talent taking part. They’re wonderful family-friendly events. I’m just blown away by its success.”