Make Hay While the Sun Shines

Contrary to popular belief it frequently rains here in France and has been doing so on and off for a couple of weeks now, but a week and a half ago we were lucky to have a brief respite and went out in search of bargains.

Our first stop was very local to us in a hamlet called Genté and the day began well with the sun breaking through the mist rising over the vineyards.

The fair at Genté was in most part a vide-grenier (which translates as 'empty attic sale'). These sales generally have more private people from the surrounding area selling than professionals so the gems can be few and far between.

As with most vide greniers we had mixed luck but managed to find a few quirky trucs that I haven't yet managed to process but can't wait to share when I have.

We then went on to a brocante in the very pretty village of Tesson and found some more treasures as well as some super plants for our courtyard garden and some delicious asparagus from a local farm.

After a couple of hours wandering the pretty streets of Tesson the weather began to really hot up and the humidity was building so we decided to quit while we were ahead and visit the beautiful medieval town of Pons just up the road for lunch.

We booked a table on the terrace of a charming traditional restaurant and went for a wander around the nearby Donjon (which gives the restaurant it's name) and it's stunning topiary gardens.

You never know what rare flora and fauna you might find in gardens of this type... could that be the hitherto thought extinct 'Lesser Spotted Spikius' I spy???

A breathtaking view over the surrounding countryside

Since that lovely day I've struggled to find a good day to shop for bargains or take photographs of my stock as the light hasn't been so good so I'm so glad we made the most of it when we could and look forward hopefully to sunnier days ahead.  

Féte du Travail in Rochefort

It's been a while since my last post (about six months to be completely honest!) but now that the warmer weather has returned so have I!  

I've had a very busy winter working on the renovations of our town house in Cognac with my husband Spike and building the stock levels back up for my Etsy Shop after a very busy Christmas period.

The glorious weather has made us concentrate on the courtyard of our house and to my absolute joy we have installed a second hand fountain that I found online a few months back.  There's still so much to do but having planted up the flower beds it's a good start (although our puss 'Raoul' seems determined to squash my endeavours).

Still very much work in progress but Jakie doesn't seem to mind

This May Day weekend (Fête du Travail) we had a choice of so many flea markets in our region it was difficult to decide which to visit but eventually plumped for a brocante held in the pretty town of Rochefort.

I was delighted to come across some yarn bombing while we were there and long may this trend continue!

The bandstand near the flea market is simply charming

The sun was out and the flea market was full of interesting trucs that I snapped up and are soon to make an appearance in my shop.

An eclectic mix of trucs and so many bits and bobs to sift through

Here's just a small selection of my many buys from Rochefort that are waiting to be processed.

It's a tough job but someone's got to do it!

Panic Buying!

Now that November has arrived the brocante season is slowly drawing to a close and I know from experience that it will be pretty tricky finding stock for my online shop over the winter period so I'm making it my mission to get out to flea markets as much as possible to find what I can before it's too late.  

The last couple of weekends I've been very lucky and managed to acquire some really interesting trucs in particular the Sunday before last when we visited a large brocante in the coastal town of Meschers-sur-Gironde.  

The brocante in the pretty town of Meschers

We arrived early to get the best bargains and the weather was beautiful so the traders where in a good mood which always helps when haggling.  We had already made our way around the market by lunchtime (having run back to the van to unload our buys a couple of times) so we decided as it was such a lovely day to take a drive along the coast to St George de Didonne for a leisurely lunch overlooking the sea.

Being a Sunday this little restaurant was the only one open and although
it doesn't look much we were very pleasantly surprised

The plat du jour was fish which was lucky because I am a pescatarian

A little windblown but very content

Some of my buys from Meschers before being cleaned and researched

This coming weekend we are planning to go to a brocante an hour north of us in a village called Loulay.  This flea market holds particularly fond memories for me because it was there two years ago that I first tentatively shopped for stock for my new Etsy Shop little knowing that it would develop into such an important and enjoyable part of our lives in France.

Café Culture

Café culture is an integral part of French life as is a good strong cup of coffee.  As a lover of 'the bean' I really enjoy all the paraphernalia that goes into making France's beverage of choice and here are a few 'trucs' I have for sale in my Etsy shop at the moment that add a certain vintage twist to the proceedings:-

If you love Art Deco here is a vintage Peugeot Frères Coffee Grinder with Bakelite top

and a stylish coffee filter and hot water jug combo with Bakelite handles

Or for shabby chic interior this enamelled coffee jug and filter is just the thing

If you're more 'country chic' how about this cupcake pink Melitta coffee filter?

And for the sophisticate this Limoges porcelain demitasse epitomises 1930s style 

But these little retro espresso cups from the 1970s are not for sale.  They wait safely in storage until the opening of my future coffee shop/brocante... well it's good to have a dream isn't it? (maybe next year!)

Antique Crockery for the Seasonal French Table

The joys of this time of year in the Charente region of France are the beautiful autumnal colours, the gorgeous light and the wonderful local produce.  With the sun low in the sky we have been treated to some stunning sunrises this past week and the leaves on the trees are slowly turning and showing off shades from velvety deep russets to fiery bright scarlets.

The lovely view from the top floor of our house in Cognac

Last weekend I went hunting with Spike for items for my online shop at a brocante market not far from us in Cognac.  The market in Ars (I commented on this unusual name in a post last year!) is one of the last of the season and I wanted to stock up for the Christmas rush in November (fingers crossed!).

It was a lovely bright morning and the Autumn fair was charming but I didn't come away with as many goodies as I had hoped for.  However, the things I did find I was very pleased with particularly a large blue and white ironstone serving plate.

As soon as I saw this antique plate made by the French potteries 'Mintons' I could imagine it on a rustic table and loaded with figs so when I came to photograph it I just couldn't resist popping out to buy some.

These figs were whoppers and I think they look stunning (although they do make the plate look smaller than it really is!)

Here are a couple of sauce boats that were also lucky brocante finds that are now gracing someone else's table

This cloche & plate combination is very pretty and would be ideal not only for cheese but also for serving up a Christmas pudding! 

And just imagine a warm winter soup or casserole served in this elegant tureen.  If you're wondering what happened to the figs I rustled up a rustic fig tarte tatin...

 

 

... which although not the most refined cuisine in the world (certainly not up to chef husband Spike's standards in the looks department) it does taste absolutely yummy all the same!

  

A bit of Glamour Amidst the Dust

I haven't been writing many posts lately due largely to the ongoing renovation of our house.  From experience (and we have plenty of that when it comes to house renovations) it's a good idea once in a while to emerge from the dust and destruction to remind yourself that there is still enchantment and glamour in the world.

Luckily for me I have the opportunity to handle such lovely things that I can indulge in a bit of daydreaming of more elegant times which for me is encompassed by the Art Deco period of the 1920s and 1930s.

This beautiful cut glass perfume atomiser epitomises the taste of the 1930s

And if you can't afford diamonds this stunning topaz bracelet is the next best thing

Don't forget to keep the champagne on ice with this Art Deco ice bucket

A long string of pearls are a classic oozing with elegant Art Deco style

And perhaps after dinner cocktails made in a cut glass cocktail shaker are a good way to round off a sophisticated evening of indulgence

This little opaque glass Art Deco pin dish has found a permanent home on my dressing table and always brings a smile to my face

All being well the next month or so is going to be a busy time for my Etsy Shop so my posts will probably continue to be a bit few and far between but remember when reality bites that there's nothing better for the soul than to let a little glamour and sparkle into your life.  

A Day in Dordogneshire

It's that time of year in the French brocante calendar that you will inevitably begin to run into the same stallholders and in turn the same stock over and over again so having been tipped-off by a mysterious man in the know (nudge nudge wink wink... and a few taps to the side of the nose) we set off south to Verteillac, a village in the Dordogne that holds a flea market on the first Sunday of every month (OK it's not that much of a secret but we didn't know about it).

Early morning and just beginning to warm up

We arrived in the picturesque village nice and early just as everyone was setting up so after a croissant and a steaming hot cup of coffee the game was afoot (I've gone all Sherlock Holmesy).  Of course we had heard the stories about the Dordogne being inundated with the English so we thought they wouldn't notice if another two sneaked across the border.  Anyway it appeared that the number of English residents had been vastly exaggerated as at first glance the majority of the stallholders were French as were at least half the chineurs searching for that early bargain.   

Sitting outside a café with a coffee people watching

As the cold morning air cleared and the sun came out we felt as though we were on holiday and strolled around the charming French village feeling relaxed and happy. We also bagged a few unusual bits and pieces (trucs) for my Etsy Shop and were very glad we'd made the effort to go a little further afield.

Click to see listing

Being into quirky and unusual trucs I was particularly thrilled when I found this gorgeous little antique dog collar that once belonged to Tarzan - a petit chien from the centre of Bordeaux.

Click to see listing

I also bought this great looking tea caddy (or tobacco jar - we couldn't decide) and a beautiful little signed bronze pin dish by the renowned Parisian maker Louchet (I didn't know that he was renowned until later after a bit of research but that's half the fun of this game).

Click to see listing

As the morning drew to a close we stopped for a bite to eat in a charming little restaurant on the square and it was then we began to notice that all the other diners were also English.  We're so used to waffling on to each other safe in the knowledge that the majority of people around us have no idea what we're saying that we felt we had to be a bit guarded and for us that was a bid weird.  We also find that it's easy to lazily zone out the French language in restaurants until it becomes a series of Gallic sounds (unless is sounds interesting then our ears prick up) so being surrounded by English chatter that we couldn't ignore was quite an annoying distraction (and did I mention weird?)

A beautiful little village with a real holiday vibe

After an unusually whispered lunch we decided to do a final circuit of the brocante to see if we had missed anything and it was on our way back to Piggy (our van) that I heard some old music playing in the background. To my absolute and slightly over the top delight (I may have jumped up and down clapping my hands) a couple of stallholders (yes they were English) had a 1930's HMV picnic gramophone for sale (Spike wasn't so keen but I reminded him of the cuckoo clock purchase and he knew that he was defeated).  

Whenever I come across these little gems they usually don't work properly (something to do with a spring I've been told) but there was no doubt about this one as the wonderful sound of Fats Waller blared out from this precious little box.  It was so loud in fact that I asked the vendor if there was any way to turn it down while we discussed the price - he told me 'to put a sock in it' (how rude!).  

My little gramophone that could do with another outing in the open air
(as could the wallpaper in my office... preferably the dump!)

After much umming and ahhing and a lot of arm twisting we negotiated a few early 78's into the deal and I headed off home with a big grin on my face (and Spike of course... minus big grin).  There's no denying it, my little HMV is very LOUD if you play it indoors but the volume can be muffled (as suggested by the seller) by stuffing some cloth inside it. My only issue with it now is that it's a bit fusty so it's causing a wee bit of a stink in the corner of my office (suggestions on a postcard please).  

All in all a successful day's shopping and in a few months time we'll no doubt make another buying trip to the pretty little village of Verteillac in Dordogneshire.