Any Old Iron!

I have noticed a trend in my buying lately that around 90% of my stock is made of metal. I seem to be drawn to silver, silver plate, copper, tin, enamelled metal, brass and iron. Even when I make a conscious effort to buy something wooden, glass or ceramic I still find myself rushing towards something large, often rusty and nearly always incredibly heavy.  

Luckily I have to keep the weight down on my Etsy shop items otherwise my postage fees would be ridiculous.  Without this constraint I do believe we would have a house and yard full of scrap metal and anyone who's watched the vintage series Steptoe & Son will know that this is not a good thing.

Take last week for example I came away with some lovely buys for my shop but all but one of them (a pretty English teapot) was made from some form of metal.  

I found this super 'Foie gras' set in silver plate

I also bought this gorgeous 'Lu' biscuit display tin from the Belle Epoque era but have decided I can't bear to part with it so it's mine, mine, mine!!!

I did manage to stray from the metal by buying this lovely glass lamp but again it's mine, mine, mine (well it does match my bedside lamp perfectly!)

This money box is a new purchase from my ever growing range of tins

 And this tin I just couldn't ignore because it's so BIG!

These lovely Art Deco knife rests are once again silver plated

And this 1930s Mirror and brush set is a mixture of guilloche enamel and metal so that's kind of departure... isn't it???

This beautiful lantern is made of brass (and a bit of glass!)

And finally, I couldn't pass by this rusty old vintage advertising sign (which was very nearly a keeper but I am resisting... for now!) for the French aperitif 'Byrrh' (please don't ask me to pronounce it).

So I'm afraid that as much as I try to tell myself to stay away from the hard stuff it can be so varied and interesting I honestly can't make any promises!

My Old China

Last Sunday we visited a small flea market in a village with a very notable name that is situated about 15 minutes south of Cognac.  

I'm saying nothing!

We didn't find much for my Etsy shop but we did manage to buy two sets of Art Deco ceramic knife rests and a pretty Italian shabby chic soup tureen.

Pretty in pink Art Deco knife rests

Charming duck Art Deco knife rests

A stunning little soup tureen from Italy

I have recently started to collect a particular make and pattern of crockery.  Many years ago when we first moved to France I bought a pretty tureen for it's decorative appeal and didn't really think any more of it so when Spike spotted a little cake stand with the same pattern I just had to have it. 

Such a pretty design from the end of the 19th century

On turning the cake stand over it turned out to be made by the well known manufacturer, Longwy, which surprised us both because Longwy is more famous for a chintzy 1920's flower decoration typically on a blue ground. 

This example is from a fellow Etsy shop owner and is quite charming

The design is called Oiseaux (birds) and is quite a rare pattern especially when it is in green and red as opposed to just the red.  Well I shall keep my eye out for more Longwy 'Oiseaux' trucs from now on as I find it's always more fun when you're pouring over hundreds of stalls to have something in particular to look out for.