Saturday 15 October 2016

Leave your worries at the doorstep

Another day, another flea market.

Although the number of outdoor flea markets is dwindling, October is typically the month when all the big indoor ones are starting.

Our favourite is the one being held monthly in nearby Mechelen and this is where we went last Sunday.

As it was a gorgeously sunny autumn day, crowds weren't too big though. This market really comes into its own on true autumn and winter days, when the weather's too foul for any outdoor activities.


I dressed up for the occasion and chose a handmade suit bought at the sorely missed Blender Vintage Shop a couple of years ago. Judging from the belt loops, the jacket originally had a belt, but as it is missing, I added one of my own to give it more shape. At first glance, you might think it's a woollen suit, but no: it's true polyester alright!








The safest option would have been a plain blouse in one of the suit's colours. Instead, I chose one with a brown and pale orange print on a cream background, and added a matching necklace and ring.













After parking our car at the venue's huge car park, we were glad to see that there were no queues at the ticket booth, so that no time was lost in starting our quest for treasure.


Barely inside the hall, Jos spotted this "mosaic" game, which he spent many happy hours playing with as a child.  By the time we got it home, all the little balls were at the bottom of the bag the seller had put it in, so we had to sort out the colours and put them in the assigned slots. Eagerly watched by Phoebe, who I guess would have loved to help.


The blouse on the left was calling me from afar. It's not vintage, but from a retro brand called Zoë Loveborn. I already own a dress in the same print, but with red trim and buttons.


Right next door was a big stall selling a variety of things, old and new. Guess what I spotted? I saw the box, proclaiming it to be a "Souvenir from Lourdes", and at first I didn't even realize that it contained a viewmaster, complete with two sets of reels and the original booklet. It's a Bakelite viewmaster, dating from the 1950s and although they are not uncommon (in fact, we already have several of them), the Lourdes connection surely makes it special.


This particular flea market has so many wonderfully displayed stalls that it is really slow going. Your eyes have to work overtime to take it all in without missing something. Which is where our next find would come in handy.


At a stall selling the weird and the wonderful, and specializing in "medical" antiques, I spotted a box full of eyebaths. I wouldn't have given them a second glance if I hadn't seen a lady with a small collection of eyebaths, which fascinated me, at the Antiques Roadshow the week before.

I chose two green ones, both made in England. The seller told us they came from a museum in Delft, Holland. Will they be the start of another collection, I wonder?








Although there were a multitude of stall selling brooches, I only bought one this time.

Isn't she lovely?













Next up was this Bakelite light switch, which, as a former electrician as well as a lover of all things Bakelite, caught Jos's attention.


A stall consisting of row upon row of cartons containing everything but the kitchen sink (although I can't be sure there wasn't one hidden at the bottom somewhere), yielded a three tiered Emsa herb rack, complete with all the pots, most of them still containing rather dusty looking and colourless herbs.







The rack cost € 4 which is a silly price for any Emsa item, as they are quite collectible.

We already have a smaller Emsa rack, but due to circumstances we didn't put it up yet, so we'll use this one instead.

I won't be sentimental about the herbs, though.










Ever on the lookout for pretty vintage buttons, I happily browsed through a whole carton of them, and settled on these three sets of green ones, although admittedly, with my slight colour blindness, some of you will say the ones on the bottom left are blue.


Our final purchase for the day were these carton envelopes containing scarves. According to the seller, they date from the 1950s. There was a whole selection of them and after much dithering we chose two differently coloured ones in the same design. As they have so much vintage appeal, I'm planning to keep them in their envelopes and somehow display them.


Half way through the final aisle, our eyes were getting tired and our backs started to hurt, so we called it a day.

I am leaving you now with a final impression of the market.


Can't wait to go back next month.

30 comments:

  1. I don't know how you do it Ann but you find such great stuff.
    Top of the pops for me today is your blouse. Put it with the rest of my collection of my favourites please haha xxx

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    1. Thanks Lynn. I guess I've just had some luck lately. Your collection of favourites will soon need a wardrobe of their own ;-) xxx

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  2. I agree with Lynn, you have the Midas touch when it comes to vintage Ann! My favourite is the suit which I could have sworn was wool! I fancy a skirt just like that, the colours and shape are just perfect. Fancy finding that herb rack with all the bottles-amazing! Xxx

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    1. Thanks Tania! That suit is definitely one of my favourites. Once all those bottles have been empty and cleaned, they'll be ready for use. There was one bottle missing, but the seller was adamant it should be there, and searched the other cartons for it ... xxx

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  3. I think you need to take us all shopping with you!

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  4. amazing!!!
    you find the craziest stuff! :-) love the rendezvous scarves and the buttons are not blue - just a tiny bit turquoise :-)))
    you suit for that day looks absolutely gorgeous! and very well done to add a patterned blouse - very cool! i bet you were the most stylish shopper at that fleamarket!
    hugs! xxxxxx
    p.s.: soso - you found some matching cups..... hihihi....

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    1. Phew, I'm glad they're not blue! One stallholder complimented me on my outfit, so I was rather chuffed. Now that we have the cups, there is no stopping us, of course ;-) xxx

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  5. That blouse IS amazing! I love the idea of that Mosaic game- looks so cooL!

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    1. Thanks Kezzie. Jos promised to actually make a mosaic. He's quite nostalgic about his childhood games ... xxx

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  6. What wonderful finds!! It's a good thing I wasn't at that flea market, I would have spent hours dithering over what to buy!!

    Beautifully put together outfit.

    Happy thrifting ;)

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    1. Thanks! We actually did spend hours dithering, as there were so many things on sale. Happy thrifting to you too! xxx

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  7. I've never seen a glass eye cup (we have plastic ones in the first aid kit, though they don't have a stand. What a fascinating item.
    I love your suit, and the pattern mixing with the blouse is perfection.

    For a few years in the 60's they made viewmasters with sound-there was a small vinyl disk affixed to the wheel that would tell you what you were looking at. The viewer was large and heavy, and the sound poor but I remember getting one for my birthday and thinking it was quite special. Maybe something to add to your collection if you don't already have one.

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    1. We don't have a viewmaster like that yet. Not sure they were even on the market in Belgium. We will be on the lookout. We do have some Bakelite ones with a kind of lightbox attached, so that they can be used even when it's pitch dark. They are quite heavy too. xxx

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  8. You always find cute objects and the Mechelen's market looks rich in different and interesting pieces.
    The pale orange necklace and ring seem having the exact colour of your shirt details !
    Beautiful envelopes and scarves ...

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    1. Thank you Dan! It's a very interesting flea market, which we very much like visiting. I don't think we ever came away empty handed ... xxx

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  9. Belgium does have the BEST flea markets. You find such brilliant things.

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    1. I guess we are quite spoilt for choice here Mim. xxx

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  10. What a lovely way to pass the time. I love looking around such places, you found some lovely items. The eye baths are lovely looking little things. The brooch is too.
    I wish I had something similar near to me.

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    1. We are lucky that there are so many flea markets around here. They're not all that good, though. This is one of the best. I'm quite fascninated by the eye baths, which will probably be the start of a new collection ;-) xxx

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  11. You look lovely in this splendid autumnal looking outfit and as always, fabulous finds. I have never been to a flea market before, but I'm sure ours wouldn't be a patch on the ones you go too xxx

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    1. Thanks Melanie. I only ever went to one flea market in the UK, in Carmarthen. That wasn't bad at all. xxx

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  12. That suit is fabulous, I love it all the more now i know it's polyester rather than wool. The retro blouse is ace, it reminds me of the stuff Diesel made in the early 1990s.
    Our indoor car boots aren't great - when they're outside the sellers are keen to sell their wares, go home and get warm, when they're already warm and dry they stick silly prices on stuff. Boo! xxx

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    1. I knew you'd appreciate a polyester suit! We have quite a few good indoor flea markets here. But I still prefer the outdoor ones in summer. xxx

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  13. I'm loving the Browns in the suit and the flapper pin

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    1. Thank you Kate! I'm quite taken by the flapper pin. xxx

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  14. I love it all, dear Ann, awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww
    XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

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  15. Crikey Ann I would need to be dragged away from somewhere like this, you got some great things. I love the little spice rack and the scarves. Btw, that blouse is perfect with your suit. x

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    1. Thank you Fiona! The spice rack is part of a 1970s range of homewares we are more or less collecting. It's always a treat to go to this flea market. Will try to make some more photos next time, but I'm usually too busy browsing ... xxx

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