Flea Markets in Paris

Marche d'Aligre is one of the lesser spoken about flea markets in Paris, in fact no-one ever told me about it, I found a small mention in a magazine years ago. The three well known markets (more info on those below) are all next to the periferique, the main road that circles Paris and they are all weekend markets - some are open Monday too - but the brocante at Place d'Aligre is open every morning except Monday so you have more opportunity to visit it.

At first it looks like alot of antiques but get further in and there are stalls like this with boxes and boxes of stuff - far more promising for bargains!

This market shares the Place with an amazing fresh food market and an indoor food market. There are cafes around so it's a good morning out with lots to look at and buy and a coffee stop; it's about 5 minutes walk from Metro Ledru-Rollin on Line 8, a little south east of the Bastille area in the 12th arrondissement.

I can really recommend a morning in this neighbourhood. I went on a Tuesday that was actually a public holiday (victory day) and lots of places were closed so I was happy to turn a corner and find everyone busy and working as normal.

Puces de Montreuil

I really like the grubbier markets because I'm looking for old kitchen stuff for my work and so the Marche aux Puces at Porte de Montreuil in the south east is a favourite. It's open all weekend and Monday though most will pack up at Monday lunch time. Warning - This is not picturesque Paris. Go to Porte de Montreuil metro, line 9 then walk east (follow the crowds) on the left around a portion of a huge roundabout (Place de la Porte de Montreuil) and you'll come off at the start of some stalls. For the brocante walk down it's hill, turn left and follow the bottom aisle all the way north til it ends - the other aisles are all new stuff. When you get to what appears to be the end do continue 40 yards or so up Avenue Gallieni as there is a yard on the right with alot more stalls; proper scruffy stuff here so good for a proper rummage. I found quite a few things for my work here. There are no collectibles and trendy stuff up this end, it's like boxes of stuff found on the streets or from house clearances so it's not chic at all and regular tourists would not come here. I read some reviews on the link and see some people felt scared here and one got pick-pocketed - well you need to be careful of that in every big city but yes this is more edgy and may not be for you but I've always felt fine here as I don't look like a tourist or ever have a ladylike handbag etc. 

Marche aux Puces de St Ouen also known as Marche aux Puces de Porte de Clignancourt

There  is plenty online about this the most famous flea market in Paris so I'll not write too much but you need to get to the heart of this market and then go to the west end of it where the real bargains are; the banana boxes of junk but at the high end there are shops of ornate baroque furniture so this place has an amazing range and feast for the eyes. Orientate yourself from Rue des Rosiers. I love the Marche Vernaison off that road but it's too expensive for me though lovely to look at everything here. I love these town houses on one of the roads near here, the whole market is like a small town itself.

I wouldn't say I'm a hat person particularly but I couldn't resist the displays in this shop. And if you come here be sure to have lunch at the amazing La Recyclerie which is right by Porte de Clignancourt metro line 4, the market is 5 or 10 mins walk from here.

These coffee pots were in the Marche Vernaison; there are many named markets within the whole market area.

And here are some of my finds from across these three markets. I presume the bigger metal disc is a stencil to sieve an icing sugar pattern on a cake - I may even use that in my kitchen! I cant wait to rewire the little turquoise glass stand and see if I can do something with that.
I only ever went to Porte de Vanves market in the south once, (Sat/Sun only) it was mostly antiques, hardly any bargains so I never gave it another go, but it's great to look at and maybe there is a bargain in there somewhere.

Bruxelles, it's Flea Market and Europe

I'm very sad that today Britain has started the process of leaving the EU.

I was interested to hear stories from my French aunt of fleeing northern nazi occupied France for the south as a child and how a nazi soldier gave her a sweet and her grandmother smacked it out of her hand. I always thought that a union of countries pursuing human rights and moderating each other was for the common good because then a tyrant leader would have all the countries to answer to. It's not unheard of to elect a tyrant! peace hasn't been valued much in the vote.

By timely coincidence I was in Bruxelles recently, hearing a whole mix of languages at every turn. I hadn't been here since I delivered a chandelier to the British Council offices here in 2003 and then spent the weekend scouring the flea market on Place du Jeu de Balle. I was happy to find it hasn't changed much. In London you feel there is no stone unturned - all is developed, but in the St Gilles area that's not happened so ruthlessly - yet - and I hope it wont.

Even if you don't buy a thing it's fascinating to see what people are selling - half a baguette anyone? many of the boxes look like they're from a house clearance and never been sorted and half the stuff is broken. These used to be my favourites and I'd rummage for hours but now I have alot of great stuff to work with already and a generation on the stuff is different.

There's alot of religious stuff and ornate ceramic tureens, it's different to Paris and this flea market is on every day from 7am til 2pm. The days vary and Saturday seems a really good one.

I managed to admire these hangers without having to buy any, must be maturing!

This is the resident cat at the Brocante cafe on the corner of the square - what better combination than cats - coffee - cafes - flea markets - exploring cities, what a happy weekend!

I found plenty of urban collages to feast my eyes on. I'm already looking forward to going back. keep your eyes on Eurostar offers as my trip was only £52 return from London, great value.

Scrapyard Heaven

I had driven past this place over a year ago in deepest Devon, glimpsed it and made a mental note to come back - it did not disappoint! This is my kind of heaven, I get so overwhelmed I cant look properly because it's such a feast for the eyes. I took along visiting sculptor friend Gloria Carlos; a fellow hunter of interesting objects.

I'm already looking forward to my next visit. I need a small heavy object to weight a table standing piece and there must be something here.

I wonder how many old family run places like this there are left. It reminds me of where I started out decades ago searching at the long gone Paramount Metals yard in Brixton, south London. Things I found there dictated how my chandeliers evolved; aluminium bar and ball chain, the latter they always let me have for free as it rusted, it was for pulling blinds and ended up there attached to the aluminium top frame and became such a useful component for me.

Being a countryside scrapyard there was plenty of old farm stuff, a huge plough, rabbit traps, saws, stirrups etc and we admired this handsome 'Perfect' root cutter which sliced beetroot and the like apparently, for livestock.

And this is some of the treasure I came home with; several circular, useful looking objects amongst other stuff and I was so happy to find lots of weathered chain, not too heavy duty. I don't like new shiny chain and it's hard to find old stuff just when I need it, especially the matt figure of eight links - they're so useful as I can open and close the links and use them as hooks and links. I think I shall be visiting this place regularly.

Car Boot Treasures

Early morning sunshine drew me to the nearby car boot sale today. I often try to avoid going because I don't need more clutter - you know the feeling - but then what if I miss something? - and today was a good one and each item I bought was £1. Above is a silk Braque/Picasso inspired scarf in good nick. It's going in the box of potential presents. 

Then I found some little silk hankerchieves that look 1930's so I bought four of those.

They really are a dainty size and I thought I'd use them to wrap small presents, but folded on the cross they do reach round the neck and can be knotted so I could wear them - well I'm definitely not going to be blowing my nose into them!

I think this one might be my favourite because I like the mark making as if it's been coloured with pastel crayons.

CAR BOOT FIND OF THE DAY - Feeling lucky! - I couldn't come home without my Zoltar the Gypsy Lottery Fortune Teller also for £1.  Do click play as the image resolution sharpens in play. Listen to him roll the R in Thunderball, I love his accent and will definitely be taking his advice!
(sorry this doesn't seem to appear on ipad - had a week of techy nightares so I wont attempt to resolve, but it's on my instagram page)

I think all my time in the Penny Arcades at Dingles Heritage Fairground awoke my eyes to him. I was just playing the machine below a few days ago.

Occasionally you win! and I won 20p on one of these which is loud tumbling out as 10 x 2p pieces and that means 10 more plays - all good fun and I'm happy that all the fairground's winnings will go to preserving the collection of rides and machines. They are currently fund raising the buy and restore this Moonrocket - I can't wait to go on it.

Booty

Arriving at the car boot sale in Devon shortly after the rain made shopping easy - most people had packed away, so a with a quick look round I found a nicely tarnished metal filigree dish for £1, it was probably more before the rain, and a collection of old pulleys for £2.50. I wonder of I'd have found these in a large sea of bric-a-brac. 

I use pulleys for my candle only chandeliers (scroll down) but I've never been keen to with electrical cable because of any movement in the connections, however it is perfectly possible if you use the right fixtures and you can buy electrical cable that also has a support cable in it to take weight.

I may use these for industrial effect rather than hoisting, I absolutely love all useful looking fixtures even if I haven't a clue what they do!

Christmas Tree Decorations

I usually use branches to make a festive tree and I've managed to accumulate decorations over the years so that I have a curious collection by now. The oldest is a little antique Santa and the most modern a 3D printed mesh bauble with a reindeer inside.

This bauble was given to me by the artist Lucy Casson, it's one of two from a collection she found in a charity shop years ago. We were both exhibiting on the recycling scene (before the word upcycling was used) around the year 2000 and she knew I'd appreciate the making. The above is made from washing liquid nozzles, plastic beads and a ring of spikes from a dismantled plastic flower - ingenius!

And strangely the maker - or someone - had labelled it 'Floral Spikes 1974', how curious, it's like an anthropologists label from Pitt Rivers Museum.

This is the other one, a green lady from foil wrappers with a button for a collar and small buttons for hands and feet.

This knitted tree is a real favourite. I bought it from Emmaus charity shop in Portslade on the outskirts of Brighton some years ago.
HAVE A LOVELY FESTIVE SEASON!

Case Study

 I bought this suitcase from a charity shop recently.  I haven't fallen for those styled stacks you see as I always thought it would be annoying to have to keep unstacking them every time you were looking for something. I just liked this object. I think I'll keep fabric in it.

It has some really nice labels on it and a tartan type paper lining. I always found those authentic travel labels so lovely, though Waterloo to Staines is not that exotic! You used to see suitcases like that in old films that they never show on TV anymore, why don't they show Jean Harlow or Marx Brothers movies?, I love the dresses from the 30's best - such lovely draping and fabrics. Ever seen anyone pack a case properly in the movies? No it's practically non-existent, they throw things in all crumpled in a frenzy then squash the lid down with a tail hanging out.

I'd like to know this case's stories; it seems to be hiding the fact it's been to Singapore. When I was a teenager I bought the tin below in a junk shop.

And more recently I couldn't resist this little one, it's a money box for skinny coins.

I love the colours and graphics on this and the little key works.

 I bought it at Spitalfields Antique Market ( see 2 posts ago) for £10.

And here's Otis with suitcase all ready for social cleansing (!) before eviction day last year.

Spitalfields Antique Market

 I knew about this Thursday market for years before I visited - sometimes I need to avoid temptation - but it's a great day out as you can meet a pal there for lunch and the market is there all day. I managed to come away with just 2 purchases - both for my work; glass drops and little tin moulds.

Last time I came here I bought a little tin suitcase money box which I'll show you in another post soon, you definitely find your favourite stalls here where the dealer has a good eye.

I noticed this impressive carved skull because my friend the artist Gloria Carlos works with ornamenting animal skulls.  I don't do dead things in the home myself - look at the stuffed ducklings on the top stall, my heart sort of skipped a beat when I saw them.

'Money for Nothing' on BBC

A chance glance at Rupert Blanchard's blog alerted me to this series of programmes; Money for Nothing on BBC iplayer. Hurry it's your last chance for the first one of fifteen episodes as that's available until 7th Oct 16.30pm, then each consecutive episode expires a day after the previous.

Sarah Moore intercepts things about to be dumped, gets artisans to revamp them and sells them on. Happily it's all done seriously well, not dabbling dilettante upcycling that there is so much of now, no this series uses some of our favourite talented artisans like Rupert Blanchard and The Rag and Bone Man. I don't like everything that gets done but some are great and having seen 3 episodes so far you really get the point about our wastefulness and neglect of potential use.

Recent Treasures

These twin dogs called my name from a stall in Tavistock Market. How feeble is my attempt to not acquire too much more stuff.....but I'd never seen a pair like these, a fun variation on the classic Staffordshire spaniels. They were £15, again I thought maybe I'd give them as a present but actually they're not going anywhere!

 
I love the very straight legs of the little puppies.

More things from the same market, some from the £1 table, the little scissors I thought I'd use in a chandelier, the little fridge I just couldn't resist, might keep some earrings in it. The old jug has a little crack but beautiful fern engravings on it. And purely for my work so needing no justification 2 fantastic sets of pastry cutters £15 for the 2 large sets. They have mucky pastry on them still - just like the good old days of car booting (20 years back) when I found loads of this stuff and no-one else wanted it and thus the chandeliers could grow. And four of the 12 pressed punch cups I found - it's not always easy to find nice ones and these are a style I don't usually see.

From a Devon charity shop; Woodside animal rescue, for 50p I had to get this because of the accordion!

A boot sale sweep; old hooks and mature hinges all 20p each, hoping to use the hinges in a chandelier. Other odds for my work and then something I  really don't need - a lidded baking dish; I could become a Pyrex fanatic if I let myself because the design is so great. I love the lids on these dishes, they sit underneath well, and right way up or upside down on top or the lid can be a separate plate. It's the decoration on this one that appealed, I love those French style drawings of onions etc - this was £1 - so had to come with me.
I found 5 things in the house that can go to the charity shop so I've almost justified the recent haul.