an autumn loot shoot

There is a sense of urgency in the air as we head towards the end of the brocante fair season.  Fairs start earlier in the morning, even if it is dark and cold, and we all know that we soon won't be seeing the same familiar faces on Sunday mornings, scattered over the village squares, and country lanes of Normandy.

So this morning I headed off early with two friends and the morning saw us buying at two different fairs.

Here is some of what I brought back: my personal favourites are the silver plate egg cup set, (which I think would look lovely with roses as a table centre, but then you know me, I'll put flowers into anything)  ...

 Some wonderful old ribbon reels in gorgeous complimentary colours.   Some grosgrain, some plain ...

 a handful of excellent dinner knives to be restored, and a stunning handmade copper saucepan ....

Two very sweet 'vide-poches', pocket emptyers, made of fine china with a latticework edging .........

and a rather splendid mannequin, that was happy to line up beside another that I found during the week; (just looking at that waistline makes me feel faint!)  ...........

and some beautiful lids to tureens.  I'll be offering these for sale as a set, they would look charming hung on a wall in the same way that plates can be hung.  The bonus to hanging lids is the extra detail in the handles!

Thank you to everyone who has emailed me for information about coming here to buy brocante next year, you will be receiving replies tomorrow - promise!

Also thank you to the kind readers who have asked about the on-line store.  The summer months simply haven't been the best time to list, and sell and pack and post.   But now that things are quietening down  here,  I'll be listing a load of goodies for you to pick from.

In the meantime yo are very welcome to email me directly, if you wish to enquire about purchasing anything you have seen.

Thank you for reading me, you really are the best bunch of bloggers!

buying at french antique fairs

Here are some of the very very many pictures I took at the fair today.

Huge, colourful, interesting, amusing, tempting ...... just some of the adjectives that could

 be used to describe the bi-annual antique fair at Chatou.

I adore these large fairs.  They are a great place to find specialist vendors; to negotiate fair prices; to take as much time as is needed to hunt down that special piece, and to learn more ......

A thing you notice straight away at the french fairs, is how the vendors like to get organised for eating and drinking together .....  tablecloths, bottles of wine, ...... three course meals   ... normal, we are in france after all!

At Chatou you can find large dramatic statement pieces ....

phenomenal fabrics ....

vintage industrial .....

or a breathtaking 150 year old china service (if you want to see more of this then take a peek here ) ...

I can't even show one per cent of the goods to be seen and enjoyed,

Just one of the places I love to shop, be it in Paris or in Normandy.

Next year I'll be welcoming a limited number of  guests to shop for
antiques and brocante at my favourite addresses.

If you're tempted by the idea of shopping here and if you'd like some more information, 

just a drop me a line and I'll be happy to answer any questions.

paris antiques

This is not the  time to sleep, I'm returning to the huge antiques fair at Chatou, just outside Paris, today -  when I get back I'll have loads of pictures to show you .....

the giverny loot shoot

 Yup, Giverny is where I went to shop today, the fair started in the streets before dawn and I was there, flash light in hand, looking for goodies. and when the sun came up and I needed a pause from brocante I slipped into the gardens of the impressionist museum and immersed myself into my favourite 'white garden'.

Here are a few things I saw at the fair but didn't buy, that includes the little pup above, he was so cute, tied up to a vendors chair, but really really wanting to trot down the street after us!

 

 And here is what I did bring home, pharmacy bottles, unused old linen; a cool leather postman's satchel;  a silver plate water pitcher;.............

 a length of unused dishcloth fabric, dated and perfect for a table runner;

this perfect sized bottle dryer, that I actually found for a friend visiting from Australia;  

and behind it the most amazing roll of 19th century wall paper.... 

this wallpaper is rather wonderful - scratching my tiny brain for ways to use  - what would you do with it?

more white flowers when the going got tough!

 the sweetest egg carrier;

 a pile of old school books and notes from biology lessons, dated 1903!

I have my favourite out of this lot, but tell me please, which is yours?!