The New Brocante Season

Well this years brocante season has truly begun and having found myself a bit low on stock I decided that instead of having a pitch at the first few markets I would try get out and chiner a few objects.

The brocante that really marks the beginning of the season in the Poitou-Charentes area of France is held in the small village of Le Gicq and we spent a lovely sunny morning wandering from stall to stall and chatting to fellow brocanteurs.  Here are some of the interesting trucs I found that day.

Cute Europa Miniature Alarm Clock - Link to Etsy

Vintage embroidery print roller - Link to Etsy

Post War Fashion Magazines - Link to Etsy

Belle Epoque photo frame - Link to Etsy

I was so happy with my little haul that I swiftly booked for a large brocante that is held twice a year in the car park of a Hypermarket not far from us in the historic town of Saintes.  Last year I didn't book and we nearly didn't get a pitch so I was determined that the same wouldn't happen again this year.  So having booked a stretch of 5 metres on the phone I happily rode off on my Miss Marple bike with the dogs in tow to the nearest post box and sent off a cheque for 17,50€ to reserve my place.

A week of glorious sunshine passed (I even got my shorts out much to Spike's amusement) but as the market got closer and closer it became obvious the weather was not going to be kind.  With reports of winds of up to 50kph (that's about 30mph) and continual rain we decided the night before to cut our losses.

The next morning we woke up late to find the sun peeping through our bedroom window (aghhhhhhhh!) There was no rain and not a breeze in sight.  Spike went down to feed the chickens and gingerly reported back that it was very cold outside but that did little to appease me.

Over a sulky breakfast I decided that we should go along anyway and do some more buying for the stall and my Etsy shop.  Spike looked decidedly panicked as visions of me stomping around the market in a huff whilst repeating over and over the phrase "we made the wrong choice" were no doubt flashing through his mind.  

The Brocante in Saintes

We arrived at about 10.30am and as predicted it was indeed chilly.  The wind was beginning to pick up and thoughts of stock being broken and me sitting there with a big red drippy nose left me feeling very relieved that we hadn't been stuck there since 7am that morning (big sigh of relief from Spike too). 

It also seemed that we weren't the only no-shows.  The market was much smaller than last year and having spoken to a few of the stall holders it did seem that they were having a slow day in regards to sales (the lady doth protest too much, methinks!)   Well, one consolation is that I found these lovely trucs, amongst others, so the day wasn't a complete disaster after all.

Beautiful French Vintage Teapot - Link to Etsy

Art Deco Bookends - Link to Etsy

French Vintage Powder Compact - Link to Etsy

A chilly old day for the stall holders - hee hee (no that's mean... sorry!)

I must confess that I find deciding which markets to book a pitch at very hard to second guess and a brocante that is brilliant one year can often be very disappointing on another.  It's just a matter of taking the rough with the smooth so next time I mess up I shall take a moment to meditate on the very wise words below and try to regain a sense of perspective.  The steaming hot cup of coffee would probably do the trick too.