OLD STUFF

 

This is a selection of stuff from recent brocantes.

Some of it is old, some not so old.

On the day of our own village brocante the weather was terrible so there were not many stall holders.  This was good news for the lady holding a "vide maison" where people could browse indoors so she had a steady stream of customers.  She said this set of playing card stainless steel dishes had been a wedding present.  Guessing her age I would say they were probably from the 1970's.  I bought them as a gift for some friends who occasionally hold card tournaments.

She also said her house was for sale, or would be once she had cleared out all the stuff (there was a lot of it).  I gave her my number as it could be exactly the kind of small house we're looking for.

This pretty set of espresso cups came from the brocante at Neuilly-le-Brignon.  When I got them home two of them were chipped so I swapped them for some I had already.  It was still a bargain for 2€.

This unusual chandelier came from the brocante restaurant in Pleumartin, the one where everything is for sale, including the dishes you eat off and the chairs and tables you sit at.

It took me a while to find some candles slim enough to fit in it.

This pretty dish is probably fairly modern but it's proved very handy for serving bread or a few biscuits.  A bargain at 1€. 

I got these Pyrex cups from the vide grenier at Le Grand-Pressigny, perfect to supplement my collection of small cups to serve chocolate mousse or lemon posset.  They remind me of the glass cups and saucers that were used to serve coffee in the coffee shops that were all the rage when I was a teenager in the 1960's.

This pretty green plant pot holder looked as though it had never been used.  In fact the price label was still on the bottom of it.  Although the price was not legible I bet it cost a lot more than the 1€ I paid for it.  The pineapple plant is a recent purchase from Ikea.

OLD STUFF

 

Late last year we stumbled upon a brocante shop in Montrésor and bought a few bits and pieces.  I wrote about it here.  The shop is only open on Saturdays and with the weekend weather half decent we went back again a couple of weeks ago.  There are virtually no street markets at this time of year so it's nice to be able to find old stuff at sensible prices elsewhere.  It's now my favourite shop!

Montrésor is a lovely old town and it's good to go there in winter when there are fewer other visitors.  The château itself is currently closed for the winter.

We had a very nice coffee at the bar after a walk around the town.

We plan to go back another weekend for lunch.

And of course another visit to the shop to see if they have any new stock!

The brocante shop is housed in the old Mairie building.

This time I bought a glass topped side table.  It was very reasonable.

It replaces a wooden coffee table which came as a freebie from the déchètterie.

That table has been passed on to a friend who was in need of a coffee table!

The lamp on it was a brocante purchase a couple of years ago.

I bought this painted candlestick.

I also bought some lovely wine glasses, ten in total.  

I don't think they're very old but they are French and very pretty.

I also couldn't resist this set of eight linen table napkins for only 3€ and a lovely old English Denby "cottage blue" teapot.  I often wonder how such things end up in a shop in France.  Our UK home is not far from the Denby factory in Derbyshire.

My most recent purchase of old stuff was this small outdoor table.

It is probably home made.

All last year I looked for something like it at brocantes and vide greniers and found nothing.  Then last weekend we went to a "vide maison" where you find house contents for sale as a result of a clear-out.  Although the street market season is yet to start, vide maisons crop up every so often all winter as people can display stuff in their garage or barns.  

We were late in the day on day two so any good stuff had long gone but this table was still there.  It's exactly the scruffy little outdoor side table I had been hoping to find.  Nick has fixed the wobbly leg and it's just right for the job.  I might tidy it up and paint it - or I might leave it just as it is!

OLD STUFF

 

The brocante season is under way.  (A brocante being a street market for junk, antiques or bric-a-brac.)  At the one I visited most recently, on an unusually warm and sunny day, I came away with a nice little haul.  Total spend 4.50€.

The little terracotta plant holders were 50 cents each.  (Useful for growing on my collection of spider plant babies, the mother of them being a brocante purchase a few years ago.) They are actually quite new and two of them still had price labels of 3.99€ on the bottom.  

The tall glass jug will come in handy as a vase for tall flowers and foliage and was 1€. 

The enamel bowl was the most expensive item, 2€.  I suppose that word has got round that tatty old enamel items are much sought after by the fans of "shabby chic". 

I bought the bowl because it makes a perfect liner for our bird bath which is otherwise difficult to keep clean.  The bath part is very heavy and not easily lifted for cleaning out.  In the summer it becomes unpleasant with algae, dead insects and bird poo very rapidly.  

I can now lift out the basin, clean it and refill it very quickly and easily.  Daily if necessary.  The little birds already seem to love it.

OLD STUFF

 

The posts on the "old blog" about stuff found at brocantes and vide greniers were very popular, judging by the number of page views and comments.  I still enjoy noseying around these street markets.  The season hasn't really got going yet but there was a big one at a nearby village a couple of weeks ago.  It was sunny but freezing cold in the shade so we didn't linger too long.

Sometimes there's a lot rubbish, other times there are real gems, like this pretty cake stand which I got for 2€.  It's not very old and having looked it up on the internet matching items are still on sale and at quite a price.  

You have to wonder why someone would be selling something like this for so little.  I imagine it was an unwanted gift and the true value was not known.

I need another cake stand like I need a hole in the head but could not resist this one!  Bargain!!