Strange Times...............

Well, who would have thought in 2020 we would see one of the toughest things our world has ever faced with a pandemic spreading far and wide across our planet?! I sit here in our cottage and my mind often wonders to what we were up to this time last year. Normally we would be massively busy spreading our time between weekly trips to France to source more stock, back home in the UK selling at fairs and then also working on our online shop too. Our feet would not touch the ground at this time of year and we love it that way.

Now we are in ‘lockdown’, forced to stay at home. Visits out limited to gather essentials only. It’s a weird contrast for us and something we are working on getting used to. Our three cats keep giving us strange looks as if we’re invading their space! They are all used to us disappearing for days at a time and enjoying the house all to themselves. Now they have to share their space, all of the time, with us. It’s a strange existence and I really miss our trips to France especially. They offered a little bit of escapism for us both and we would often up and leave for the Eurotunnel at the drop of a hat. Now we are told to remain at home and I feel a little like a naughty child who has been grounded. I know its for our own safety and of course it’s more important to keep ourselves and those around us free from this horrible virus. We must all do our part.

I don’t know about you though, i’m not good with too much time to spare. I need to keep busy. Its the busy days that make me appreciate the quiet days but too many quiet days and my mind goes into overdrive. So I decided to tackle a job which i’ve had in mind to do for a long time. 4-5 years ago we bought a small shed, second hand from some neighbours of ours who had moved away and were looking to sell it on. When we picked it up, it was in its original wood stained colour. We had not long moved into our little cottage so back then the garden had all been set to grass with just a couple of smallish fruit trees. We set it up and made a quick decision on paint colour and gave it rushed revamp. It was to become my first storage space for my little business. The place I took photos and displayed my newly found treasures. It did the job for several years and as the garden developed it was moved several times.

I soon outgrew my little space and we ended up having a 25ft shed built for us by a neighbour and my once treasured shed became a storage shed full of things we hadn’t space for. Every time my eyes caught sight of the windows and all the boxes and rubbish stuffed inside, it made me a little sad. I never wanted it to become a dumping ground. I had planned for it to be my little studio but at that point my new big shed was giving me enough room in there to do everything I needed. Not any more though! It’s primarily become storage and now offers little space for me to be creative, so my thoughts turned to giving a good old makeover to my little shed.

I set about emptying it (no easy task) and then looked through my stash of paints. We decided from the outset that we would use what we already had in the way of paints as we didn’t want to venture out unnecessarily. We used a simple unbranded eggshell paint for the inside and Cuprinol White Daisy for the outside. If i’m honest (and i’ve had a few messages about what we’ve used) I wouldn’t recommend the Cuprinol. It seemed to require numerous coats, so many, I actually lost count!

I did use a simple primer on the inside first of all. When we first painted it a few years ago I hadn’t painted the ceiling. A job I meant to do but never got round to it. The stain on the wood was pretty strong so it also needed a good couple of coats of egg shell paint to stop any bleed through. Thankfully the weather was beautiful during our project so drying time was fairly quick. The hardest part was the ceiling. Probably due to it still having it’s original exposed wood. I may decide to give it another 1-2 coats in the future but for now it’s fine.

The floor was the last to be completed and the most rewarding. It really lifted the inside of the shed and desperately needed a fresh coat of paint. The floor was the easiest part of the whole shed, I think because partly I could finally see it all coming together and I was loving the over all result of its makeover. I ran up little curtain for the back window out of an old French monogrammed sheet. It doesn’t block out the light but just gives a little bit privacy and security. It’s hung on an old branch we picked up in the nearby woods on one of our daily walks and i’m so pleased with it. All in all it probably took about two weeks from start to finish but without doubt was worth the time and effort. For those of you who follow me one Instagram, you will have no doubt followed my journey.

I’m so looking forward to using my new studio to display and picture my French treasures. I think it will become a place of sanctuary amounts these uncertain times.

Stay safe everyone!

Lizzie xxx

A trip to the centre of the sun, Auvergne (Part 1) ..............

It always feels like a little bit of a battle to get out of the door when we’re leaving for France. Don’t get me wrong. We are always eager to go. It’s trying to leave the cottage in some sort of a decent state before we go thats the problem! Anyone else feel like that? There’s nothing better than coming home to a clean and tidy house after being away. Well it was this which caused us to leave a lot later than we had planned on the Thursday afternoon. It’s not unusual for us to have to push the time of our train back a few hours and we are so thankful for the option to do so.

We do the craziest of things sometimes! Last week we had been selling at Ardingly Antiques Fair on the Tuesday and Wednesday and then, having returned home we unpacked the van and dropped the dog off on her own mini-break . By the time Thursday was over we had driven all the way to Orleans in the Loire Valley and were both tucked up in our bed in the hotel room, exhausted but excited for the next few days.

We had a lazy start to the following day. We’d received some worrying news from back home during our drive down which had us considering turning around and heading back to the UK. Having made the difficult decision to stay we both had an unsettled night so decided to take it easy and enjoy a slow morning and tuck into a lovely continental breakfast.

We drove a further two hours down south, heading for Auvergne and spent the remainder of the day pottering around a few places en route. One of my favourite finds from that afternoon was this gorgeous old throw. I found it buried at the bottom of a pile of old eiderdowns and the flash of red made me pull it out for a closer look..

That feeling of finding something you weren't expecting is so good. It’s like a sudden rush of excitement! The stripes and letters give it such a typically French feel it and I love it.

After a few hours of pottering in the 30+ degree heat we headed back to the hotel where we were so thankful for our air conditioned room.

The alarm went off incredibly early the next day and we were out before breakfast. As we headed out of the hotel we instantly knew it was going to be another scorcher. It was warm already and the sun hadn’t even risen.

Our chosen market was one we had found a year ago but we’d arrived a little later in the day. We had promised each other we would return for the next one but make sure we were nice and early second time around. It had given off vibes of being a great one so we were excited to see if we were right! Having found a great little parking spot nice and close, we unloaded our carts and got a wriggle on. The market was held in the centre of a gorgeous old little town nestled in the hills of the French countryside. If you close your eyes, imagine French music playing and scenes of old French village architecture you’d probably not be far off picturing this gorgeous little place. Traders cars and vans were just arriving as we walked into the centre with our trolleys. Tables were being set out and their goods began to appear.

We often begin by quickly whizzing around the whole market first, picking up anything that immediately catches our eye and then retracing our steps at a slower pace as more things appear from the back of vehicles. Sometimes markets can have a bit of a chaotic feel to them early doors, as dealers get a little enthusiastic with their buying but this had a lovely relaxed vibe to it and we were happy to take up a slower pace that morning. It was a funny start to the day on Saturday as the majority of our finds first thing were confit pots or beautiful old stoneware oil jars. These tend to be one of my favourite finds but not something we find an awful lot of up in Northern France so when we do see them, they go straight into our trolley.

As the light came up, most of the traders were all set up and ready for a day of selling. We grabbed a croissant and a coffee on the go from a lovely little patisserie and started out once more.

It was at this point we found one of our star buys. This lovely wardrobe/French cupboard, just as it began to rain. Perfect timing as we were able to take shelter under their gazebo whilst James negotiated a deal without it looking too rude! Thankfully it was just a quick shower and once we’d exchanged money and arranged pick up up later on in the day, we moved on.

It was a day of a couple of showers and then full on sunshine and full on heat. It honestly was like the centre of the sun…….or so James kept telling me! It’s not easy when you are walking round a fair countless times pulling your treasures behind you in your cart, which seems to get heavier and heavier with every step you take and the heat zapping your energy. It was a great fair though and along with our confit pots and the wardrobe, we picked up many other treasures too. We found these two crop spray cans, used locally to spray the grapes in the vineyards. These have already been snapped up and are on their way to the States! James and I had a giggle when I captured this picture. As i popped them down in front of the door, he said: “You are kidding! That’s someones front door?' He was right. The neighbour was pretending to sweep her step while staring, bewildered at our escapades! We quickly popped them back in the our cart and scurried back to the van.

It was a great first day and we headed back to the hotel to catch up on a bit of kip ready for the next day and to enjoy the lovely air conditioned room! …………..

Sell Sell Sell!

The Life of a Brocanteuse

I have two memories of selling at Newark in April. A slightly dodgy stand and lots of coffee!

James and I had spent the week dodging the rain and praying in vain for a let up in the weather for more than 10 minutes so we could pack the van! We started on the Monday but sadly didn’t have a chance to complete it until the day we actually left for Newark. We have decided to look after ourselves this year and we now book ourselves into a local hotel for the night before the fair so we don’t start day 1 in a quivering mess of tiredness. Coffee however remains a must and we have lots of it! In fact I am sure we keep the coffee trailer at the end of the shopping arcade in business!

So after a good night sleep having arrived in Newark a lot later than we’d planned, we made our way to the show ground for 5.30am and hunted for our stand. I say hunted as the numbers seemed a little muddled compared to normal and we first thought someone else had made their self comfortable in our normal spot. We found our home soon enough and after discussing a slightly wonky pole in the marquee which made setting up interesting, we began unloading the van. It always amazes me how long it takes to pack the van and yet how quickly it all come off! James is the master packer and everything is carefully placed so we can maximise the space we have in our VW Crafter. She’s a medium wheelbase so not huge but plenty big enough for what we need and more to the point, much easier to park than anything bigger would be!

It takes several hours to set our little stand up and thankfully James is happy to be gently directed as to where everything should go. I love putting our treasures together and making them look at home on the shelves, tables or pieces of furniture. Buyers swing by as we unpack and often things get snapped up pretty early by dealers.

Once we’re set up our first cup of hot coffee is consumed and James takes the reigns. We are very different cookies James and I. Those of you who have met him will know he’s not shy. Far from it but thats why we work well together. You see I am! I’m quite happy hiding and popping my head out when needed. James loves chatting and if he catches you, you could be on our stand for quite a while and leaving with a much lighter wallet. I put it down to his East End roots. I swear he considers himself a bit of a dell boy character selling at the market and every now and again I gently remind him we’re not selling apples and pears! In all seriousness though, I couldn’t do it without him.

It was a busy fair for us at Newark with our French treasures being purchased by people from all over the world. Over the past year we have gained regular customers from Japan, The States, Canada, Europe and even as far as Australia. We sell to Pinewood studios who pursue the fairs to gather props to feature in upcoming movies, TV adaptations and even off to TV programmes such as call the midwives. Our bobbins were snapped up by Sky TV to feature in one of their drama series (we were told which but we’re sworn to secrecy).

So there you have it! My first blog for our new website! I plan to blog our trips to France, our selling and adventures and lots of bits in-between from our large shed in our garden so watch this space for much more to come! Thanks for dropping by!