Paris Flea Market (part two)

As I mentioned yesterday, the Paris Flea Market has so many amazing things to offer, but one store is my absolute favorite. 

Welcome to Quintessence Playground. This shop really is a playground for people who love interior design and home accessories. There are lots of large scale pieces here, like the globe pictured above and the barrels below. The store is two stories and the barrels are stacked high along the open stairwell. It is quite dramatic. 

This Eiffel Tower is one of my favorite things in the store. It's enormous! I think it would be a really great prop in a store here in the States. (Dear Anthropologie, you should buy this!)

I think it is cool to see American things in foreign countries, especially antique stores. So we snatched a photo of these messenger bags stamped with U.S.A. In yesterday's post I included a couple of photos with California Republic and American flags. 

I had also mentioned how much I appreciate the way stores at the Flea Market display their merchandise. Quintessence Playground is one of the best. I love how these antique keys are displayed on this coffee table. Placing them together in small groups on red panels really makes them pop against the table's distressed wood. 

This table setting is gorgeous. I love all of the white plates and vessels complemented by the large pieces of white coral. Did you notice that the surface of the distressed wood table is the American flag?

The photo below features a collection of scientific beakers. They are really tall and make such an unexpected arrangement. The pink flowers are actually ceramic and add a nice touch of color and texture.

This is the kitchen area of the store and I just love how it is styled. I want this Tom Ford book in my kitchen, too. Random, but very cool. (We photographed this space in black and white because we loved the Instagram effect and in reality this space actually is all black and white).

Here is another table setting that I really liked. The oversized wicker pendant light is very dramatic. And did you see this table? I love it! Perfectly distressed. The items on top are so unusual and interesting.

I wanted to show the benches on both sides of the table, too. They are lightly distressed and upholstered in linen which is screen printed with some graphic letters. This is such a great look. We saw a lot of items upholstered in linen all over the market, a look that it is so clean and comfortable.

Well, that ends my wrap-up of Paris and our visit to the Flea Market! If you are interested in exploring more from Quintessence Playground, you can visit their website here. Also, The New York Times has an interesting article here, with lots of information about the Flea Market. It's definitely worth a read before you begin your adventure. Happy shopping!

Quintessence Playground
14 rue Paul Bert
93400 Saint Ouen, France

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Instagram images via The Pink Chalkboard

Paris Flea Market (part one)

The Paris Flea Market (Marche aux Puces St-Ouen de Clignancourt) is said to be the largest flea market in Europe. Located just beyond the Boulevard Peripherique (the border encircling central Paris), it is open on Saturdays, Sundays, and Mondays. We were able to go on a Saturday, the day before flying home. If I ever go again, I want to be able to visit the market over all three days, since it is so large and impossible to fully see in one day, not to mention exhausting. It's not just walking around for hours and hours that wears you out, but concentrating on the overwhelming amount of beautiful things to look at!

We took the Metro from our hotel to the Porte De Clignacourt stop early that morning. The market opens at 9am and I wanted to get there early so that we would have enough time to shop. We followed these directions from Oh Happy Day and they were extremely helpful. If you ever have a chance to go to this market, I highly recommend printing out a copy of these directions and bringing them with you.

The first thing you see upon arriving are a bunch of stalls on the street. Having been to many flea markets here in the U.S., it is easy to assume that this is the flea market, since it has a very temporary feel, full of tents that are easy to set up in the morning and take down at night. But that's not the case at all. These first stalls that you encounter are actually smaller street markets. They sell clothes, street food, and cheap knickknacks, not the antiques for which this market is so famous. But if you keep going past these stalls, you'll encounter a series of buildings with permanent stores—this is the Paris Flea Market. 

What we know as the Paris Flea Market is actually made up of a dozen individual markets, each in their own buildings. Within each of these markets, many of which can be quite large, are lots of little passageways filled with stores. These stores sell just about every kind of antique you can possibly imagine—from gilded pieces fit for the Palace of Versailles to rustic wooden furniture, from giant lights used on old movie sets to vintage bags and dresses from Chanel and Louis Vuitton, from industrial metal pieces to exquisite sets of china and silverware, and much, much, more. It is also extremely high end. Be prepared to spend a lot of money here!

One of the most impressive things, aside from the selection of items available, is the way these items are arranged. A lot of the store owners and dealers seem to be designers, and they have really perfected the art of display. It was such a pleasure to browse the stores because I found myself admiring so many of the items and then feeling so inspired by how they were arranged. I have never seen anything quite like it. 

Of course there are shops that are not quite as fancy and a bit more cluttered, reminding me of thrift stores here at home. These kinds of stores offered some items that were more in our budget, and we spent lots of time poking around hunting for treasures. At the start of our day, I had big plans to buy a lot of things and ship them home. But by the end of the day I was tired and probably suffering from sticker shock, so we ended up with just a few purchases—some little spoons (I became obsessed with the little spoons that accompanied my cafe au lait at all of the European cafes we visited), a vintage grain sack that we're going to use as a giant wallhanging in my mom's kitchen, and a metal plaque (written in French, of course). I'll be sure to take some photos soon and share them with you. 

In the meantime, here is just a sample of the design-goodness at the Paris Flea Market. We don't have as many images as I had hoped to share because a lot of the dealers are sensitive about photographs, and many of the shops are dark, but this is a nice little round up. Hope you enjoy!

In my next post, I'll share photos of one store in particular that was so good, it deserves a post all to itself. 

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Instagram images by The Pink Chalkboard

Le Chandelier

If you are a regular Pink Chalkboard reader, you know that we are a bit smitten with light fixtures. That's why I fell in love with these images from a beautiful little tea room in London called Le Chandelier. The name says it all! Gorgeous antique chandeliers fill the space by creating a cozy, elegant atmosphere. The decor, consisting of eclectic furniture pieces, accent mirrors, and tones of pink and blue, is a wonderful compliment to the lighting scheme, and makes the space feel inviting and romantic. Just the type of place I would love to settle into for a delightful cup of tea.

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all images via Le Chandelier

Vintage Finds

I would love to spend weekends scouring flea markets for vintage items and quirky finds (well hello, wheelbarrow bench) but frankly, I often can't find the time. Fortunately, Napa Style has done the work for me! All of these items would add such personality to a home.

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all images via napastyle.com 
from left to right, top to bottom
vintage village water canister
vintage chicken feeder pendant light
vintage milk canister
vintage french oyster basket
reclaimed wood wheelbarrow bench

Clover Market

Clover Market is a wonderful outdoor vintage market located just west of Philadelphia in Ardmore, PA. It started a couple of years ago and there a few sale dates each Spring and Fall. The vendors are all carefully curated so that their vintage and hand-made pieces (which include home accessories, furniture, jewelry, and clothing) really complement each other. 

There was just a sale this past Sunday and I have to say, it was the best Clover Market so far! There were more vendors than in past years and the shopaholic in me was so tempted! It was hard to limit myself to just a few purchases. Luckily there is another sale next month because I am regretting not buying a bunch of things that I spotted this past Sunday. What was I thinking?

One item that I did scoop up was this rotary telephone from one of my favorite vendors, Nannygoat Antiques. The phone is a really great piece--nice, heavy, and authentic. It reminds me of the telephone that my grandparents had in their house when I was little. (Yes, I remember spending the night with them and rotating the dial to call my parents--it was all very exciting at age 4!). The rotary dial on this phone doesn't work anymore which is totally fine because I plan on DIY-ing this little beauty anyway...

Do you remember Jillian's post about her favorite accessories featured in this Fall's Boden catalog? One item that she featured really caught my attention and I've been dreaming about making something like it ever since. Here it is:

Pretty great, right? I adore those polka dots. So my plan is to find a cute pattern (these polka dots maybe, or this zig zag perhaps) and decoupage my vintage telephone. I'll be sure to post photos of my "after."

In the meantime, please be sure to check out Clover Market! The next sale is on Sunday, October 16th. You can find all about the Market here on their site and our blogger friend Susan from Fleurishing posted some great photos from Sunday here. (Hi Susan!)

Hope to see you in October at the next Clover Market!

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top image by The Pink Chalkboard

bottom image via Boden

Vintage Austin

I went to Austin a couple of weeks ago for my cousin's college graduation (congratulations Caitlin!) and while there, I was able to browse a few shops for some vintage treasures. My favorite was called Uncommon Objects. They had such a great collection of stuff...every corner was filled with fun finds.

Great graphic posters and signs.

I love type so I really enjoyed their selection of letters.

It was hard for me not to buy them all...

(all images by The Pink Chalkboard)