I recently found myself in Paris with a day to spare (lovely situation to be in!), and decided to finally check out the famous flea markets, having read about them on design blogs for years and been completely seduced by images of the weird and wonderful. I wasn’t disappointed.
Being a bit of a chair fanatic, I was in my element with the amazing selection of battered chairs in need of a loving home. I’m sure whether the prices were intended as an opening bid for negotiation, but sadly, these were all a million miles out of my budget – there was that, and the fact I suspect these might have slightly exceeded my hand luggage allowance.
A recurring theme was large collections of the same thing, from bottles to dolls’ heads, and I always think arranging similar things together looks great, almost no matter what they are.
Although, I must confess the dolls’ heads were a bit creepy – but not as creepy as the massive collection of dolls’ eyes! And yet somehow, I quite liked the skull…
There were of course some slightly more conventional items for sale…
…including antiques and vintage furniture from every era you could hope for.
I loved this pile of fabrics, and this pile of suitcases… piles of goodness!
I loved these frames so much I thought they could make a feature in themselves – just stacked as they are here. The unexpected, and often unintentional, combinations at the flea market were sometimes as inspirational as the items themselves.
Even the signage was getting in on the retro vibe… loving all the yellow.
And the shopping trolleys were simply fabulous…
Hands up who had a good time…
Further reading for the especially geeky:
- out and about :: marni
- out and about :: soho design walk
- out and about :: blog tour nyc
- out and about :: ventura lambrate
Wow those photos are amazing. And a bit creepy!
Which ones did you go to and are any of them open on Saturdays do you know? Off to Paris next weekend so any tips gratefully appreciated!
Thank you! Yes – most of them are open on Saturdays. I’ve emailed you some more info. Enjoy!
I’m going to Paris this weekend. What is this market? I want to go!
Thanks for the comment David. I think we went to Marche aux Puces de St Ouen and Puces de Clignancourt, but definitely not the place to find a bargain from what we saw!
A friend of mine who goes over quite a lot recommended Puces de Vanves / Porte de Vanves on a Saturday & Sunday, but also recommended you get there at 6.45 for a 7am start! Bit of a dodgy area, but amazing quality and variety. It’s also the oldest flea market in Paris, apparently…
Have fab weekend!
Those chairs are amazing, which flea market(s) is this at? I went to the St Ouen market when I was in Paris and got some old vintage metal handles that I still haven’t decided what to use for yet!
Love these photos Katie, and definitely agree with you about the frames – fabulous style statement in their own right!
I have to reiterate that those doll heads with the missing eyes and hair are bleedin’ creepy. Dolls in general have a creepy aura, as if they are always watching you. But all in all, those are very interesting items I especially loved the fabrics and frames.
Thanks so much for the comments Helena (see above for which market it was), Louisa and ‘Fitted Kitchens'(!). Agree with you re the dolls heads, but that’s kind of why I like them! 😉