Antique Hunting in Angoulême

There is a brocante coming up this weekend just 3 kilometers from our home so we have decided to reserve a pitch.  Having decided not to attend a brocante we had booked for a few weeks back this will be our first of the season so with this in mind last Sunday I went out on the hunt for a few more interesting trucs to add to my stock.  It was a bit of an overcast day but ideal for shopping as there is nothing worse than getting hot and bothered when your trying to sift through all the goodies on offer.  

Because my Mum and her husband were over from England for a visit we thought that the most picturesque and interesting brocante to visit would be one held in the supremely elegant Place New York in Angoulême. Luckily there was also a vide grenier which is a kind of car boot sale in a suburb of Angoulême called St. Cybard so I had hopes that one of the two markets would come good.

The Market at the Place New York, Angoulême

Even if your not into antiques the architecture is stunning

The amazing Hôtel de Ville (it's good to be Mayor!)

A view from the Hôtel de Ville to the covered market

The labyrinth of cobbled medieval streets

As it turned out the little flea market in St. Cybard was much more suited to my budget and I managed to buy some really interesting little trucs.  Unfortunately the wonderful and genuine antiques on offer at the Place New York market were well out of my league.  

In my innocence I picked up an elegant vintage car mascot and thought that aside from the obvious use it would make a super paperweight so with that in mind I casually asked the dealer the price.  I put it down pretty quickly when he said 400€.  It might well have been worth that and more but I must confess that mascots are not my area of expertise (unless they are of the doughnut variety -mmmmm..... mascotte aux pommes)

Anyway, it was well worth seeing a proper antique market in such a charming setting and admiring all their lovely wares.  You never know one day I may have the money to match my obviously exceptional taste but for the time being, sadly, I must cut my coat according to my cloth.   

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.