February 14, 2016

A Simple Valentine's

Last weekend at the Flea, I stumbled upon this lovely Valentine's table setting - antique French tartine pans turned into chargers, layered with old fashion goodness. I love it's simplicity, rawness, and subtle homage to Valentines with the red stripes in the antique linen. This raw setting is the perfect counterbalance to a holiday known for its manufactured love. To all you love birds, enjoy today and everyday.

{Image by Brooklyn Boheme}

October 25, 2015

Paris Brocantes Loot Shoot

by Brandi Brown in Brocante

Shopping Les Puces in Paris is enough reason for me to hop on a plane to Paris, and this trip I hit up both Porte de Vanves and Les Puces de Saint-Ouen (and successfully so I might add). While Porte de Vanves is a bargain-hunter's mecca for wares easily packed in luggage (smalls, linens and artwork), Les Puces de Saint-Ouen is a sprawling design mecca with inventive re-purposed goods (which means, generally more expensive). Beware, a trip to Saint-Ouen is likely to result in hiring a shipper to transport your over-sized treasures back home.

My first shopping stop in Paris is always the Porte de Vanves flea market, which is held every Saturday and Sunday near the Porte de Vanves metro stop. I prefer to fly into Paris either Friday or Saturday, so that I can leverage my jet lag to arrive at the brocante the next morning at an ungodly hour. Since Les Puces de Saint-Ouen is open on Monday, I save this Puce for after I have done my damage at Porte de Vanves. Plus, the vendors are more willing to bargain (more than the obligatory 5-10% discount) on Monday because Monday is "their Sunday" and the stalls are relatively quiet. The downside of this strategy is that many of the vendors are closed on Monday, but, hey, c'est la vie (plus, if I had any success on Saturday or Sunday, I have less money to spend by Monday anyways)!

I put together this little loot shoot for you to share in the success of my brocantes adventures from this trip.

My loot this time around was focused on paintings, maps and religious artifacts (oh, how I love broken religion artifacts...both beautiful and a political statement about the state of modern religion). The terrible wig on this oil pastel stopped me in my tracks, and for a mere 30Euros, it was mine!

I fell in love with this stately pig at Les Puces de Saint-Ouen. There's just something about the juxtaposition of the antique gilded frame against the kitschy painting.

The carvings on this wooden holy water crucifix are divine, and the mother of pearl in-laid cross and seashell basin were just too beautiful for me to pass.

I love a vintage map, and this cloth book unfolds to a road map of the Paris area. It was love at first site. I only wish I would have purchased the other road maps! The wooden rosary from Lourdes will decorate one of my statutes at home.

Brocantes Shopping Tips

If you're hitting Les Puces de Saint-Ouent, strategize your plan of attack beforehand. This is a massive market (the largest in the world) with alleys of different types of goods, so look at a map beforehand. Here's a good map and description of the various markets at this Puce.
Go in the morning as it becomes very crowded in the afternoon, and the French like to close for lunch and pack-up early.
Don't bother bringing your passport because antiques don't have VAT refunds.
Bring plenty of cash and only one or two essential credit cards because most vendors don't take credit cards.
When negotiating, the French will generally go down by 20%, but be careful not to offend the vendor with too low of an offer. The French will walk away if you insult them. Ask "le meillieur prix" for the vendor's best offer.
If you're planning on going "big", contact a shipper, such as Hedley's Humpers, beforehand. The shipper will pick up your goods for shipment.

Photos by Brooklyn Boheme.

September 13, 2015

Loot Shoot Sunday: Best of the Flea

by Brandi Brown in Brocante

Chippy blue painted door juxtaposed against pastel pink ballerina slippers

My home is indebted to flea markets around the world, without which my house would be empty and soulless. I like to browse the fleas not only for treasures but also decor inspiration. Flea market vignettes offer an education in layering, re-imagining the obsolete and pairing the unexpected with the norm, creating a curated chic home. Here's my roundup of this week's best of the flea.

Enamelware and bottles re-purposed as vases corralled in a vintage sifter

Baskets - round, with handles, square, with lids, or lined with linen - no matter how you shape them, I cannot get enough baskets and the flea offers a plethora. With a toddler, there is always stuff that needs to be contained and concealed, and baskets are the perfect, decor container. The woven chunky-rope basket is the "little black dress" of every room.

Vintage French-school prints in muted tones offer an affordable chic wall space filler, and a layer of depth to a contemporary space.

An easel to display a mirror, canvas or television, yes please! I love the subtle remnants of paint on this easel, a remembrance of the creativity that once took place on this grande painter's tool. The blackening age of the mirror is divine.

Vintage pottery hold silverware on a lovely red enameled bistro table, ready for the perfect backyard fetes. I love mixing and matching vintage silverware. The quality is far superior to what a dollar can buy you these days, and the delicate designs of vintage wares make every bite of dinner more delicious to the eyes.

Graphic black and white textiles satisfy my craving for B&W decor. These African mudcloths would be fabulous on a stool, pillow or a french gilt chair, or even thrown across a dining table.

Mannequin and shutters become table-top display

Images by Brooklyn Boheme.