Galentine’s Tea Party - A Tale of Sipping, Chatting, & Creating
By Daisy Anna Stonier
Once upon a time, in the week before Galentine’s day, three little fairies, Jen, Anais, and Karma, were preparing a sweet gathering for their knitwear-adoring friends. With delicate, floral teacups, handwritten name cards, and individually wrapped roses dotted across the table, the fairies were overjoyed to have created a beautifully warm atmosphere for their guests, despite some minor chaos along the way. Sleepy
from their efforts, but filled with anticipation for the afternoon ahead, the fairies patiently waited with their goodie bags in hand, for their Galentine’s Tea Party to begin ...
Still filled with joy from hosting the launch party, Jen was already brainstorming what the next Tink Event would be the very next day, and of course, a tea party was the most Tink-coded thing she could think of! Plans perfectly fell into place as a gorgeous venue space was discovered, and with it being fully booked until February 14th, a Galentines themed event was sweetly suggested by a friend. A celebration all about girlhood for Jen, Galentines is a reminder to make an effort to show our girls some love by buying them ‘just because’ flowers, or getting glammed up to go on dates with friends, which is what the tea party was all about. Thoughtfully said by Jen, “Women put a lot of value into, and pressure on romantic relationships, so it was lovely to celebrate a day of platonic ones.”
Entering the room dressed in pretty blouses, silky dresses, and lace skirts, the guests certainly looked the part for this loving occasion. Chatting away as if they’d known each other for a lifetime, everyone settled in wonderfully, as the first round of tea was placed on the table - a delicious earl grey from Bird & Blend...
Arranging her sponsors for the event was an exciting process for Jen, as she had two of her favourites, Minor Figures and Bird & Blend providing the delicious refreshments for the afternoon. As a herbal tea girl, always opting for something floral or a green tea, her choices for the Tea Party menu followed on the same note. The girls served earl grey, a green tea blend, and rhubarb and custard all from Bird and Blend and with Minor figures oat milk. The rhubarb & custard was a favourite for herself and all the guests!
Accompanying the tea, sandwiches were also offered out to the guests, which had been handmade by Jen at 5am that morning - pure dedication from a caring host!
The joys didn’t stop there in this adorable tale, as the leading fairy, Jen, had arranged for a heartwarming and thoughtful activity to take place. Crayons and cards made the perfect match for some valentine’s card making, and the guests used some creative magic to put together the sweetest messages and drawings for those who would appreciate a sign of love at this time of year and beyond...
Making valentine’s cards for her local women’s shelter was an idea that came from Jen’s own personal experience, as she actually spent some time in a shelter growing up. Reflecting on her time spent there, she has memories of children at the school near her doing the same thing, and it was the first time she had received a valentine’s card that wasn’t from her mum. With a cause so close to her heart, being able to give back by dropping off the guests’ sweet cards on valentine’s morning and having breakfast with some of the families and women staying there, made for the best valentines morning she’d ever had.
Layers of knitwear filled the rails, adored by the girls as soon as they set their eyes on them. Gorgeously fuzzy, and delightfully soft, how could anyone resist making one of these garments their own...
Thrilled with the amount of knitwear sold on the day, Jen expressed how special it was to see all of the Tink designer’s pieces displayed together. Froots in particular was loved by the guests, and anything with stripes was a success also! Adding to the tea sipping and shopping was Team Tink's music choices including Garden Kisses by Giveon, Snoh Aalegra, a bit of jazz and lots of RnB. With the perfect atmosphere now created, and Jen free from the overwhelm of hosting over 30 people, she eventually had the chance to go round and speak to everyone. It was so lovely for her to see the new friendships that had formed, chat to her friends, see besties that were having fun together, and even someone who had come with their mum- so special! After all her hard work, moments like these are so rewarding to see people supporting Tink in
real life, and her ethos coming into fruition.
Beautiful surprises also make this story so much sweeter, as the gift of earrings from Karolina, owner of Moulting Press, warmed the heart of our beloved fairy. Jen adored Karolina’s baby-pink-dream of an outfit, consisting of beautiful layering and her handmade rings. What a charming guest for our Galentine’s Tea Party!
Kicking of her hosting fairy shoes for the next chapter, you can find Jen and Tink Collective with Junglicious and fellow black-owned businesses for an International Women’s Day Event on March 8th. Think high-energy DJ sets, tooth gems, tattoos, and of course more knitwear...
To see more content from the event, head over to @tink.collective on Instagram and @tinkcollective on Tiktok.
