Sunday 23 July 2017

Flea-bitten

Last Sunday the tables were turned for once as we had our first proper stint at selling at a flea market.

The market itself, which is being held yearly in our village, has been going from strength to strength, until last year it reached our front door, with the people trading at the stall in front of our house parking their car so close to it that we were almost unable to get out.

We'd vowed to take that pitch this year, and we did!



The perfect opportunity to sell off some of the surplus stuff cluttering up our basement, including some vintage items, a boxful of vinyl offloaded to us by our ex neighbour, and the toys Jos's grandchildren have long ago outgrown.

I also put together a rack of vintage and retro clothing, which I'd outgrown, some of it quite literally.

There was also a suitcase full of shoes and handbags and a display of no-longer-loved jewellery.



We got up at the crack of dawn, as sellers started arriving and putting up their stalls, early buyers on bikes maneuvering between the half-finished displays.

By 7 o´clock, we'd already sold a coffee grinder and a slightly damaged vintage tin child's stove complete with little pots and pans.

Although people were clearly drawn to my colourful display of frocks and blouses, I didn't make a sale until a Dutch lady came along and bought about a third of my stock, as well as all of my handbags!

She later returned and bought more stuff after I'd replaced the empty hangers with new items.



To fill up the empty gaps, I'd put out some vintage Barbie clothing, doubles that I had accumulated during my collecting years. To my surprise, these got some interest and I sold a few pieces, the last customer later returning for an item she'd regretted not buying. I left her talking to Jos, while I got out the rest of my doubles, which she happily browsed through, making another couple of purchases.



Of course, I made some forays myself, leaving Jos to hold the fort (and selling off some of my clothing in the meantime). I didn't go wild, especially as I had less time than usual to look at things properly, but I still picked up several pieces of jewellery: some rings and clip-on earrings, a couple of brooches and a necklace.



I spotted this exquisite micro-mosaic crucifix and held my breath while asking for the price. Needless to say, I wasted no time when I was told it cost € 2. I've seen similar ones selling for at least € 30 on Etsy!



My final purchase was this gorgeous pair of vintage shoes, which I can't wait to wear in autumn.



All in all, we sold well and, more importantly, we had a great day. We'll definitely do it again next year.



I was completely knackered and kept nodding off in the evening.

But not before letting you have a proper look at the dress I was wearing.

It's a vintage wrap dress trimmed with rick-rack and with the most wonderful butterfly sleeves, which I picked up at a charity shop event back in March. The brooch, a huge white poodle, is modern, but isn't he lovely?



I'd taken the next day, Monday, off to put away the unsold stuff and have a rest. It was a fine and sunny day, so we retreated to the garden with a drink and a bowl of cherries.

Did any of you do the earring thing with the doubles when you were little? I can never resist doing it, even if there were no doubles to play around with here ...



And yes, we have a new garden table, which is a bit bigger than our old round one. We had to go out and buy it on the Saturday, as the table we'd originally planned to use for the flea market was found to be in a bad state.

I even had another stint at painting my toe nails. I nipped into Kruidvat (the Superdrug of the Low Countries) when I went into town, and found these handy pens. They have a felt tip instead of a brush, which seems to be working for me.  I picked them up in all available colours!  It's a pity there's no green though ...


I could definitely get used to a three day weekend ...

Back to work on Tuesday it was, and yes, back to the high twenties too!

I was adamant to wear this funky top, which I'd bought at Think Twice quite a while ago, but had forgotten all about. The green skirt, bought in the sales a couple of years ago, went perfect with it. In order to keep the high collar of the blouse away from my neck, I added a scarf clip which used to belong to Great Aunt Josephine.



The sandals were given to me last Sunday by my friend Ann. She's the one who gave me all those shoes back in June. They are, if possible, even more comfortable than the jelly shoes!

On Wednesday, temperatures of 30°C were predicted, so I opted for a cotton sleeveless dress.

Yes, I finally got around to wearing the colourful stripy dress I bought in Cardigan. It's looking a bit crumpled here after a day in the office ...



With all the colours, it was easy to accessorize. I added a belt, beads and watch in bright blue, a chunky red ring, red and white bangles and a Turquoise plastic brooch, incidentally also bought in Cardigan, albeit a couple of years ago.

As Think Twice was in the middle of another one of their famous sales, with everything down to € 5, I needed to get out there.

This is what I found:


It looks like I was in a maxi mood ..

There was another maxi skirt, but I'll be wearing that in one of my next posts!

30 comments:

  1. Can you hear me screaming ? Firstly because how fabulous that you can set a stall up right outside your front door. No loading and unloading of cars.
    Secondly I'm screaming with frustration that I couldn't be there, I'd have had a ball rummaging through your clothes rail.
    I love the dress you wore for the day
    Lynn xxx

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    1. I'm sure that if you would have been there, I'd have sold out in minutes, but then again, I would probably have let you have them for free ... xxx

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  2. I'll join Lynn in screaming!

    I'd have been attracted to a stall filled with toys and vintage clothing. I'm glad it went well for you-as you say, the location was perfect.

    Yes, you certainly were in a maxi-mood, and they're all lovely-great finds. For a hot week of weather, you managed to look perfectly cool and well...perfect.

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    1. I'll need some earplugs with all the screaming going on! It's a struggle to keep looking cool sometimes, I'm quite glad temperatures here are more moderate than yours. Don't know how you do it. xxx

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  3. Wow! That is some stall you setup! Good for you for crossing over to the darkside (evil laughter). You're a SELLER now!

    Gosh those shoes are gorgeous! Far superior than almost all retail shoes for sale!!

    happy thrifting ;)

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    1. Thank you! I must admit it felt a bit weird being on the other side ... xxx

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  4. I have never seen nail varnish felt tips before - what a good idea.

    Do you think that lady who bought loads of your stock was buying for herself, or do you think she's a vintage trader?

    I have a dress with quite a similar pattern to your funky green top. I shall study yourt pictures for accessorizing inspiration!

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    1. I have a niggling feeling she was a trader, Mim. I'm glad she bought so many things, still I would have preferred selling to someone like us! xxx

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  5. own flea marked stall at the front door - very comfortable!
    wow for selling so much!! but no wonder - your stall looks very inviting!
    the brown shoes are very chic & elegant und that mosaic cross was unbelievable cheap :-)
    cute red wrap dress - love me some flutter sleeves <3
    you´d well to take the monday off - after such successfull trading. and of cause i do the double cherry earring thing - BW eats them from my ears then....... ;-D
    i thought the green combo is a dress - such perfect matching!! and your stripe-y sundress from cardigan is summer perfection..... (cant see any crumbles!)
    maxi galore in the last pic!!
    huge hugs!!!
    xxxxxx

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    1. p.s.: saw the felt tip polish - can you report later how it works long term??? please :-)
      xxxx

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    2. We were quite surprised we sold so much ... and of course I had to look "the part" to lure people to our stall. Lots of ladies were tempted but didn't buy because their other halves didn't like it. Oh, and now Jos will want to eat the cherries from my ears as well ;-) xxx P.S. I'll keep you posted on the nail polish ...

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  6. If I'd have been there I suspect I would have bought all of your handbags too! How fab to be able to sell from your own doorstop.

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    1. I'm quite sure you'd have bought them all, Gisela! Anyway, so much for making space ... I went and bought no less than five handbags this week! xxx

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  7. Good for you and congratulations that it was such a success.
    It's lovely seeing you in those summer outfits, the weather here is terribe, I'm dressed like winter at the moment!
    Obviously the poodle brooch is a winner with me. xxx

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    1. I was thinking of you when I pinned on that brooch! The weather's not been that good here either lately. Belgian summer's about as good as British summer, I guess ... xxx

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  8. How fab to be able to sell outside your house so you can keep popping back inside to fill any spaces! I'm delighted it went so well. Even after years of doing it selling to like-minded people gives me such a thrill.
    Love your new frocks and the poodle brooch. that nail polish looks wonderful. I hope we get some here. xxx

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    1. I loved having the stall, Vix, but it's definitely hard work, even when we just had to step outside to set up that stall. I had to think of you! Lots of people were attracted to my colourful rail of clothes, but I lost count of how often I heard the words: I wish I was brave enough to wear this ... xxx

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  9. Those felt tips are a good idea. Maybe Primark will pick up on them. I used to enjoy doing car boot sales. I always came back with new purchases as well as selling bits.

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    1. I guess it's unavoidable that you come back with new purchases ... I just bought less, as I didn't have enough time to browse the other stalls ... xxx

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  10. well, I totally agree with Vix: so fab to sell outside your house so you can refill your stall in a moment!. That's fabulousness!.
    And such a lovely wrap dress, you look (particularly) gorgeous in red, love the color, and love the poodle! and your red sandals! they look comfy&cute. Glad that you find those felt-pens to paint your nails, what a great idea!
    Lovely green ensemble too, fabulous color! and I like particularly your striped dress, it looks fresh and summery and so nicely accessorized!, lovely for a hot day!
    besos

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    1. Thank you Monica, you are making me blush. I must say I felt fabulous in the red wrap dress. All the things I wore are definitely keepers ... xxx

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  11. Looks like you've discovered a new talent: vintage sellers! I'm not surprised that you did so well judging my those photos of your stall, especially that rack of colourful dresses. Now that is what you'd call eye-candy!

    Looks like Think Twice has come up trumps again with those lovely maxis you brought and you've got more room now after the sale to pick up more gorgeousness like these! xx

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    1. Thank you Liza! I'd be lost without Think Twice and their fabulous sales days. I think half my selling stock came from there ... And if it's only a couple of €, you are tempted to try new things ... xxx

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  12. im loving the ric rac and the poodle brooch your wardrobe is so amazing and skipper love her!

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    1. I had a feeling you'd love the Skipper case, Kate. The rick rack and poodle brooch I was sure you'd like ... xxx

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  13. love the rick rack and the poodle brooch and skipper she is my favorite

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  14. I had never seen those nail polishes : the felt tip seems to be a very smart idea! I should ask if something similar is sold here ...
    The stripy dress looks lovely on you!
    P.s.
    Selling your unused things in the flea market sounds fun!

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    1. Thank you Dan. I've seen that l'Oreal have a similar range of nail polishes ... xxx

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  15. how lovely to be able to sell right outside your front door - much better than being blocked in by someone else!
    Hurrah! for green skirts :)
    I love that poppy maxi
    xx

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    1. I'm waiting for the perfect opportunity to wear the poppy maxi. The green skirt does have one flaw though: no pockets :-( xxx

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