My April Brocante Trip – Normandy

~ Friday 19^th April ~

After a few months of planning my first buying trip to Normandy the day had finally arrived! Bright eyed and bushy tailed I got out of bed to start getting everything ready.  I must admit I had everything ready the night before with everyone’s clothes laid out in a neat pile. It was an early start – up at 5am and you can imagine having a 15month year old is not that easy.  Having said that I was quite amazed at how well my little Ayla was, she ate up all her breakfast and even had room for some of my toast!

By 6.30am we were all packed up, the van was loaded up, passports, ticket, money – check!  There was a sense of great expectation and I was very excited. It’s been some time since we went over to France since having Ayla,  and...well, you know how it goes...

Two hours later we arrived promptly at the Ferry port and boarded.  Ayla was very excited on board and was running around all over the place, at this point it hit me...there’s no way me or hubby are going to get any rest and the thought of a four hour ferry trip, and then a further hour drive to our first dealer made me somewhat anxious.  Anyhow, Ayla did manage a small sleep of about 20mins only!

Once we arrived, we set straight off and arrived just in time to meet our first dealer.  We walked up to her lovely little Brocante shop which was bursting at the seams with goodies. For me this was like being in a toy shop, surrounding by wonderful quirky objects.  We quickly eyed up the items that we would purchase, agreed a price, loaded them all up into the van and then set off to her warehouse where she had even more stock.  She showed us what she had and then left us to look around...as we sifted through everything we found some great items! 

So a great start to a very long day and by now it was around 7pm, luckily for us we were invited to dinner at the dealer’s house where we were served a delicious homemade lasagne and salad, followed by a scrummy pear tart and lots of wine. Ayla even made a friend! 

 

We then headed back to our B&B to check in for the night. Now I had seen the photo’s of this place online but the pictures did not do it justice...when we pulled up and drove down the long driveway with the sun just setting our mouths both dropped open, what a beautiful place!

 

 

 

After being greeted by the very charming lady of the manor Aude, who lived there with her husband and two children, we were shown to our room which was stunningly beautiful dressed up in typical French style. Huge shuttered windows and very tall ceilings enveloped us – hmm I could get used to this.  But no time to waste, Ayla needed a bath and then bed as it was now 9pm and we needed to be up the next day for 6am...a quick feed, a lullaby and she was out like a light, leaving me to unpack and sort everything for the next day.  That night we both felt very excited about what we could find the next day, I couldn’t sleep glancing at the clock which showed 3am...after that I finally feel asleep...zzzz

~ Saturday 20^th ~

And so after quite a bad night’s sleep, on my part anyway, I dragged myself up whilst hubby and Ayla slept a little more.  I must admit I can be a bit 'military style' when on a trip like this, everything has to be organised and things have to be done to a timetable much to the dislike of my husband who has said it’s like living with a sergeant major! Once we were all up and dressed we headed down stairs where we were meet by the lovely Aude who had laid out the most delightful breakfast, hot croissants straight from the bakers, homemade jams, little almond cakes and coffee lots and lots of black coffee!! 

Then off we set to our first Marché aux puces or Vide-Greniers which are like car boots in this country except of a much better quality.  We arrived around 7.00am on a very cold and damp morning but within the first 30 minutes we had loaded up half the van and found some real bargains! After spending about two hours there we decided to head off to our next dealer which was about an hour’s drive and gave Ayla the opportunity to grab some well needed sleep. As we pulled up the yard was full with items, but it was not only when you get up close and personal do you realise that there really wasn’t anything here that we were after – it wasn’t great to be honest and he’s price tags were far too expensive, so we left with nothing apart from a tureen. The next dealer a few miles up the road was better and she had lots of items that we found would sell really well!

 

 

By this time it was now lunch time and we were invited to lunch with one of the dealers that we were booked in to see.  The lunch was that of typical French cuisine – little slices of crisp bread with crab pâté, followed by home reared chicken eggs and homemade bread, then mushroom and onions tarts served with an artichoke paste and salad, lots of bread and wine, followed by homemade chocolate cakes, with lemon and pear tart, followed by espresso coffee... We were shown around her lovely shop and there were some really great items that we spotted but again too overpriced for what we were prepared to pay for something, so we left with nothing but food in our tummys.

After lunch we stopped off at another dealer’s brocante were we bought two matching pairs of M.O.D yes, Ministry of Defence lights. They are in a beautiful emerald green and are in magnificent order.  We left there very happy as we knew we had found something quite special here.

The clock was ticking and we still had to cram in another 3 dealers to see but I could see that Ayla was getting quite upset and agitated so we decided that I would take her back to the B&B and settle her for the evening whilst Johnny went on to see the further 3 dealers. By now it was around 6.30pm and Johnny was feeling tired – bless him he did a really good job driving all day but unfortunately the next three dealers were all too overpriced and so nothing was purchased.

 

 

At around 9pm I saw Johnny driving up the driveway and as he came in he was greeted by Aude who invited him up to her attic to see if there was anything that she would like to sell to us.  As this is a mansion you can imagine the size of the attic it was humongous and had lots fabulous items – unfortunately we just did not have enough room in our van so left with a lovely linen set only.

And so to bed we must go, it was now around 10.30pm – luckily little Ayla was fast asleep. We set our alarms for 5am as we needed to be at the next Vide-Grenier for 6.30am. 

~ Sunday 21st  ~

That night we slept better but the next morning Ayla just did not want to get up so we were a little late and ended up at the fair around 7.30am, but this worked in our favour as most of the stall owners did not start setting up until 8am so we didn’t miss much.

This was a really good fair, the best so far with lots and lots of items that immediately caught our eye. The weather was beautiful just right for truffling through items -  it was lovely and warm with the sun shining through the trees as it was set within a park. It was a beautiful day and I certainly could get used to this...Ayla joked with the locals, pulling up her jumper and showing them all her little tummy, she was laughing and pointing at dogs as they went pass. By midday we were done and decided that the end of our trip was complete.

 

 

Feeling slightly sad that we will be leaving soon we had one final stop to make with our first dealer so we hit the road, along the way we called to make sure she was in but unfortunately we could not get through to her and so we had to abort that plan and head to the ferry port.  On the way Ayla became quite poorly so we had to find a local chemist to give her some paracetemol which seemed to help.  I’m so proud of my little angel, she did so well but I think towards the end my little pickle just wanted to get home.  

We arrived at the port in good time so stopped off for lunch and by that I mean using what we had left in our trusty portable fridge. It was lovely sitting by the sea watching our ferry draw nearer and nearer.

 

 

After 4 hours on the ferry back home and keeping Ayla amused Johnny and I were at the end of our tether...we were so tired, we didn’t even noticed the time so when we went up to the cafeteria at 8pm and said ‘soup of the day please’ the man looked at us strangely and said ‘of the day, you know what time it is? Then we laughed and I said yes, more soup of the night! He didn’t get it but the French don’t really have that sense of humour that we Brits have...anyway he gave us the soup. When we saw the lights at Newhaven we felt a sigh of relief...Home time!!! I felt for Johnny as he now had a two hours drive back home to Bournemouth – what a trooper he is! We were the first off the ferry and headed straight home. It was now 9pm, Ayla was fast asleep, I tried to keep awake but just couldn’t, don’t you just hate it when you try and fight sleep! We arrived home at 11.30pm and didn’t even think about unpacking all the stuff we hit the sack like three skittles. Goodnight!

No rest for the wicked after only 6 hours sleep we were up at 6am ready to unpack the van – why so early? Well, the van we hired had to be back before 8am otherwise a charge of £50.00 is made.  Once unpacked and stored Johnny dropped off the van and I continued to clean up some of the items. 

We looked at all the items we had purchased and were happy with the majority of items. We can’t wait to go back for our next trip and are already looking to return for July.  I have decided to keep back a few items for myself – well, you can’t go all that way and not have anything in return for all your hard work.  So what did I keep? Firstly, I adore French tureens and am building up a collection...I have decided to sell two and keep these three...

 

 

I also found this wonderful little bust of two girls, I was going to sell this but I have just fallen in-love with them so have decided to keep. They are just adorable with their little plump faces and red cupid lips.

 

I have also been looking for these clay pots for a while and we did find quite a few to sell but I have kept back this little pot – am not sure where I will put this yet.  Along with this a lovely glass bottle, these look great outdoors. They were once used to store wine in and were originally encased in a wicker basket as in the picture below, but I decided to take the wicker off to reveal the beautiful bottle.

 

Garden furniture is becoming a bit of obsession for me so to find this lovely metal chair which I adore as I just love the shape and style.  I will use this in my bathroom to hold towels on or possible my bedroom.

I was so glad to have found this item! It’s an old ceramic water drinking fountain was fixed to the wall and was probably in the street in some old town no doubt. I will use this possibly in the garden mounted on a wall and fill it with plants. It is extremely heavy but I wouldn’t mind it in the house as a statement piece – we will see.

So what did we find then? Well, here are some pictures so if you are interested in any please contact me at brocante-vintage@hotmail.co.uk for prices, to arrange delivery or collection.

Itenery of items for sale                            

French Farmhouse Table              image to come...

 

French Mannequin
 

 

French Shutters a pair 
   

 

French Garden Metal Chairs (slatted) x2

 

 

French Garden Metal Chairs (dot pattern) x2

 

 

Two red formica children’s school chairs

 

 

Two stone acorn heads
 

 

Two wooden slatted garden chairs

 

 

1. Clay pot without lid
 

 

2. Clay pot without lid as above

3. Clay pot with lid as above

4. Clay pot with lid as above

5. Clay pot green inside 

      

              

6. Clay pot with handles as above               

French Flag
   

                 

Linen 

  

Cricket Set
         

           

French Tureen no lid         

 

  

White porcelain wash bowl  

 

        

White porcelain candle holder as above 

MOD Lights   
        

             

Cast Iron bath feet

   

                 

Goodboys Toy Car

        

              

Yellow Enamel Pot Large  

 

        

Blue Enamel colider as above                 

Blue Enamel pot  as above      

Green Enamel wash bowl  as above

Yellow Enamel wash bowl black rim   as above

Yellow Enamel wash bowl red rim  as above

Brown Enamel Wash Bowl   as above       

Blue Coffee Pot         
 

                            

 

Le Creuset Griddle Pan Orange   

  

      

Red Le Creuset casserole dish 

 

Blue Le Creuset bowl        

              

 

Red Cast Iron Nomar casserole dish     

 

                                                       

Wooden Stools     

 

                

Tall Glass Bottle   
 

                            

Copper Tub

 

                                      

Metal Bath small 

 

     

Metal Bath Large   
  

                           

Galvanised bucket with lid   
     

          

Galvanised bucket no lid as above     
               

Copper casserole pot with lid  

 

          

Copper Jug     
 

                                  

Copper Lidded pot    
 

                       

French Sign   
 

                                   

Two Metal Troughs    
 

                                  

Small Wicker glass bottle holder    

 

    

Two Large Wicker glass bottle holders as above

 

On the 14^th May we are off to Sunbury to sell our wares. Pictures will follow...

Thanks for reading me – will be back soon!!

Au revoir

Vanessa

A day selling at Shepton Mallet flea market...

Yesterday, we were at the very popular Shepton Mallet flea market which attracts thousands of shoppers all with one thing in common (to buy second hand goods) and to find that something that one one else has.  It was a lovely sunny day which helped bring in the crowds...

We did really well, selling a variety of goodies and was able to sell a few of my handmade bunting...

 

 

 

 

 

My lovely Ayla also enjoyed the day and she was wrapped up as snug as a bug!

Au revoir
Vanessa x

Just a few things i've been up to over the past 6months....

Having a baby has not stopped me wanting to carry on sewing, upholstering, painting and visiting antique fairs - it's just done on a smaller scale for now...

So, over the past few months these are some of the things I have been doing for pleasure and to sell through Brocante-Vintage.

French Bolsters

My first task was to make some bolsters for our bed. I love this bed the only quibble I have with it is the end! The base of the bed is curved allowing for the mattress to rest a good 11" from the base. Thinking what could I use to close up this gap I decided to buy some foam which needed to be cut to the exact shape. I contacted a company that cuts foam to your exact request - sent in a template and voila I had a foam cushion to seal off this gap. I then had to make a cover so that the foam would not show.

 

Hmmm, after the foam was in place I was still not happy with the way the bed looked at the end, there was something missing so I thought I would attempt to make two very large bolster cushions to sit happily on top of the foam at the end of the bed. I did try to buy some but all were ridiculously priced going into the £100's for a pair this size and made of linen.
 

 

Now, I've never attempted to make bolster cushions and it did take me some time to get my head around how to make the actual things and to cut the circles and the ends to make the drawstring as well as attaching the piping cord (flange). Anyhow after two mock-ups here they are. They are made of a beautiful ivory linen - the two outer ends are tied with satin ribbon whilst the two inner ends have been designed with a drawstring so that I can get in to remove the inside cushion if needed to (I very much doubt though!).

 

Four Dining Chairs

So, what next...well, hubby and I have waited a good year and a bit to find some French style dining chairs that would complement our table. After many months of trying to find something, despite the fact we even tried to find some at the many Brocantes in France we came away empty handed it was only after a few months that Ebay revealed a set of not two but four. They needed quite a bit of work! They would all need painting and upholstering...upholstering OH GOODNESS I thought to myself whilst hubby was just over-the-moon to finally have found something, it was mwah that would need to do the upholstering and having never been on any course I was somewhat apprehensive of the task they lay ahead. We bought them off a lovely lady from Clapham in London who had previously bough them from an auction. So, off home they came with us, after a few coats of paint, some detailing added to the groves I began the dreaded task.

 

I purchased a beautiful 100% linen and set to work using a staple gun to secure the fabric into place over the wadding this was no easy task but after the first chair was done a few (aggravated screams and frustrated shouts!) three days later they were done - phew, never again I vowed to upholster again. The only thing left to do was purchase some braiding to cover the staples. This was the easy part gluing the braiding into place. So, here they are...

 

Cast Iron 19th C. Banister  ~ SOLD

 

On a recent trip to France we stumbled across this item at a local brocante - actually it was hubby who spotted it. Here is the listing that went up onto my Ebay shop...

Wonderful mid 19th century cast iron banister which was formally part of an outside staircase to an old Chateau.

Beautifully constructed with draped material design to middle with what looks like some forna to the top.

The base still has the original cement still intact at the base. It has a lovely patina effect all over in wonderful aged tones of greens and greys with flecks of orange which is of course the rust.

This item would look simply stunning propped up in the right room either as it stands or painted then distressed to reveal the wonderful colours. Personally I would leave as it is but that is just my opinion...

Measurements -

Height ~ 33"

Width and the widest parts ~ 4 1/2"

Thank you to the gentleman who purchased this item!

Victorian Pine Chest of Drawers

Another item that I have been trying to source for our bedroom was a Victorian pine chest of drawers that I could paint and distress. I spent the best part of a day googling ' Victorian pine chest of drawers' I then came across this beautiful chest of drawers on a website called Preloved. The lady who owned the chest only lives a few miles from us out in North Dorset.

Here is the before picture (sorry is so small!)

 

And here is the after picture...the chest has been painted in Annie Sloane 'Original'. I must admit her paint is quite thick so I had to water it down quite a bit to get a smooth consistency - this is how I like to paint. So after x3 coats plus drying time of only 20mins apart, I applied one coat of clear wax and allowed to dry (2hrs), distressed, then applied another coat of wax but this time allowed to dry overnight. The next day I took a lint cloth and gave it a good old buff.

 

I am very happy with the end result - she now stands proudly in our bedroom. The one thing I love about old furniture is that it is just so robust, the drawers are lovely and deep which makes storing all my bits and bobs an easy task. Next was to buy some scented drawer liners and am currently still in the process of sourcing some antique keys which will go into all three of the key holes even if they don’t actually turn the locks it will be lovely for decorative purposes only.

 

 

Vintage Shabby Chic Bunting

On Sunday we are off to Shepton Mallet Flea market. I will be taking my Vintage style bunting that I have been making over the past two weeks. All are made of oilcloth and are perfect for parties etc. I have two designs available with two more styles in the pipeline...

Here is the first design...

~ Vintage French Shabby Chic Mix in the following fabrics ~

 

 

£15.00

Here we have 5 metres of handmade oil cloth bunting with 12 flags on oatmeal cotton bias binding with 40cms on each end for hanging (this is within the 5m).

with 6 different flag designs...

1. Rosetta in Sky

2. Polka Dot in Red

3. Vintage Gingham Check in Pale Blue

4. Felicity in Grey

5. Polka Dot in Rose Pink

6. Vintage Gingham Check in Red

The second design...

~ Blue Country Gingham in the following fabric ~

 

£15.00

with one different flag design in Blue Country Gingham.

If you are interested in purchasing any of these butings just drop me an email at -

brocante-vintage@hotmail.co.uk  

Well, that's all for now...sorry is such a long blog this time round - I hope you enjoyed reading!

Vanessa xx

 p.s. Next post will blog about my trip to Shepton Flea Market...

 

Beautiful Antique and Vintage French Mirrors

Following on from yesterday's post I'm so excited start off with these 3 beautiful frames each of them have been mirrored with a bevelled edge.  All are original wooden frames, none are reproductions! 

The first two were sourced directly from France and the third from a flea market here in the UK.

This exquisite decorative antique wooden frame from France, has to be my favourite with its lavish design, scrolling floral and shell emblem at the top and middle in decedent shades of bronzes and golds.

£150.00

The second is a very large and exuberant antique wooden frame again from France, would really add that something special to any room. The decorative features on this frame is simply stunning in shades of dove grey and flecks of bronze.

 

~SOLD~

£200.00

Lastly, a lovely little Vintage wooden frame which has been distressed by yours truly in Annie Sloane paint and gone over with x2 coats of wax to seal and protect the wood.

£90.00

 

All will be available very soon on my ebay store - click on the link below which will take you directly to my BV shop.

Brocante-Vintage

However, you can buy directly from here if you wish.

Back soon with more scrumptious finds!

Au revior x

Let me introduce my beautiful baby girl - Ayla Isaia...

On a cold January morning (15th @ 2.35am) my beautiful baby girl Ayla Isaia entered our world.  She made it bright and sunny and I have had the most amazing experiences thus far.  Of course its not all been plain sailing but you soon forget all the challenges so easily when you see your beautiful daughter staring back at you with those big sea blue eyes!

~ A y l a ~

So now my beautiful girl is approaching 7 months, (can't believe she's already 7 months!) its time to start selling more beautiful French items...I will of course be starting on a much smaller scale until the time is right to continue with my larger furniture pieces, but for now I'm enjoying truffling at the brocantes in France and Flea Markets here in the UK, just on a smaller scale.

I hope you enjoy what is to come...

Vanessa & Ayla x

Vinatge French Steamer Trunk goes on a journey...

 

My beautiful Vintage French Steamer truck was sold two days ago via my ebay store...naturally, I always like to find out where my items end up and this time I was plesantly surprised to see it will be going to The Stables in Camden, North London. 

Owner, Christina has kindly organised a courier to collect the trunk and it will soon be on its merry way to the shop...I must say the store certainly looks impressive as they seem to have every single item of vintage luggage imaginable...

THE STABLES CAMDEN

 

Original Vintage Luggage

UNIT D37 - CAMDEN STABLES MARKET - LONDON

Have a lovely weekend!
Vanessa x

My Lovely Customers...

When you sell an item, it’s all very exciting – receiving that email or call from your customer stating that they are interested in your item.  As I do not have a shop at present and am 32 weeks pregnant this is not the right time to start to set up shop (which I would dearly love), so with most of my items they are sold through eBay or Gumtree.  Even though this is a wonderful way to sell my items, my customers totally rely on my photographs (which are taken in the best possible light) I always think about how my customers will react to actually seeing the items in the flesh.

Recently, I had two deliveries to make over in North London, one was in Hertfordshire the other in the gorgeous little quant town of St. Albans.  Item one was the beautiful Original French Armoire which was sourced from Normandy and was made as one piece, the only part that comes off is the actual crest at the very top, the rest is as one solid piece so you can imagine the weight of this item.  Thankfully I have a very strong husband on hand to help me with the moving part. Sad to see her go, she was wrapped in layers of bubble wrap and placed carefully in the van.

Then our second item to be shipped off was a delightful pine farmhouse table with white washed wicker chairs and matching seat covers.  So with the van packed Thursday night, we set off early Friday morning from Bournemouth to London...Once we arrived at our first destination we were greeted by a lovely couple Antonella and her husband who was thankfully able to help get the Armoire off the van and safely into their beautiful home.  I must say that once it was stood up it looked very much at home.

Pictures to come soon...

Back on the road once again early Saturday we made our way to St. Albans where we meet the lovely Katie who loved the table and chairs and has kindly sent us pictures of the table and chairs in her new country kitchen...I think it suits your kitchen Katie!!

As I mentioned, I’m 32 weeks pregnant so unfortunately I now have had to take a break from furniture restoration, so it was nice to end with such lovely customers...I will continue after a few months but for now I will continue to source French items on a much smaller scale and deal with my Vintage linens and small interior items...

Thanks for reading my blog and enjoy your weekend!

Au revoir et avoir un beau week-end – Vanessa x