Fantastic Plastic

One of my favourite items to sell is bakelite. Especially jewelry. I don't quite know what it is about bakelite that intrigues me so but I know whenever I find it I do the happy dance. Perhaps it's just one of those reminders, a nostalgia for the past, or maybe it's that it isn't made any more and I feel so happy about preserving it? When it comes to bakelite jewelry though I'm almost sure it's the colour.

Gorgeous reds, greens, yellows, and blues and several colours in between, shiny or matte carved or smooth as a baby's.... you get the picture. It's stunning and whimsical and oh so easy to wear. And depending on where you live it's very plentiful. 

Okay so, a little history; Bakelite is an early plastic, the official nomenclature for it is unpronounceable so I'll use it's other official name: Thermosettting phenol formaldehyde resin. Developed in New York in 1907 by Belgiun born chemist Leo Baekeland. It was used initially as an insulator in electrical items as it was prized for it's heat resistance and non conductivity. Insulators, radio and telephone casings, toys and jewelry were just a few of the many uses for this versatile plastic often referred to as "the material of a 1000 uses."

The use of bakelite for jewelry became popular in the 1930's. Figural brooches, and carved bangles being among the most desirable for collectors but many many plane bangles were made and can be purchased relatively cheaply on the bakelite jewelry market.  

Being a Canadian I'm unfortunately in the land of the few, the bakelite market is not strong here but I do find pieces like these simple bangles occasionally. I'm hoping for the day when a fabulous figural brooch comes my way, and when it does, I'm keeping it!

Back to School

Wow, it seems impossible to me that the summer has flown by so fast. In just a couple of weeks the boy will be back to school, the hubby will be back teaching and we'll be resuming our old routines again. I always find it rather bitter sweet, nice to have my working world back to normal but sad not to have their company and our less hectic schedule. 

Good thing I have some cool time pieces to keep me on time. And here are a few ideas that  I hope will help you make a smooth transition also.

Ultra hip polka dots and fashionable large dial will make this retro 80's pop swatch a hit with teens.

And for the mature student a fabulous Geneva swiss timepiece from the turn of the 20th century. 

This one needs some work but would look fab just as a bracelet.

Math teachers might appreciate this British made Boxwood Folding Yard Stick for teaching imperial to metric conversion. 

 What will be the talk of the school yard though is this near mint awesome Snoopy Wallet made in 1965!

So, here's wishing you all a safe and successful beginning to the next school year, Good Luck.

Parrots, Chijuajuas and Storks

A peek into my booth at the Flea Market.

 One thing I love about the flea market is the continuous parade of interesting characters.
Last weekend seemed to be bring your pet week, which I must 

say I do love. Say hello to an Indian Ring Necked Parrot

              and an adorable little chi hua hua I just had to snap.  

But seriously,

here are this weeks new finds in my stall

and 

in my online store

From Paris with Love

New in my kiosk at the Flea Market this week. We are travelling Europe and Asia.

Ah, 1930, summer in Paris, romantic couples strolling along the Champs Elysees...

That's what these postcards say to me, their backs filled with love and longing and adventure. 

These beautiful set of 4 demi-tasse cups and saucers are from post war Japan.

Noritake Porcelain, Nippon Toki Kaisha. The mark dates them to 

between 1947 and 1949

I found this lovely piece on a fellow vendors table. It's a dress applique from the twenties,

the rhinestones are perfect, not even a hint of darkening.

and finally we land in Jolly old England with this precious teacup and saucer from Paragon.

I for one would love to sip tea from this lovely cup.

The Post cards you'll find at the Vancouver FleaMarket Stall 69 the rest can be found on my ebay site, just follow the AuntBetty's link in the sidebar.

Play On

Not sure if there is something to it other than coincidence but I keep finding old card games lately. Last week I stumbled on an old game of Bezique. It's a french card game I'm assuming is a bit like bridge? I am typically not much of a cards player although I'd keep this one handy just because of the box. The decks appear to be unused, it likely sat in someones closet for the last 75 years.

Yesterday I stumbled onto a game of Flinch. This one is an American card game made in Michigan in which players try to get rid of their own cards while trying to keep from taking on new ones.

This box was made in 1913 which makes it 100 years old, cool!

The Purse

 "Thunk", my husband throws a worn brown change purse on the table, "I found this in the tire well" he says as he makes a rather horrified, face. I laugh, and stare down at it, and begin to notice the details. Its made to look like leather but it isn't, I can tell because I can see the frayed cloth edges in the parts worn off by fingers opening and closing the latch over the years. "Somebody used this purse their whole life" I say. "Can you imagine having one change purse for years on end? People used to do that."

 And then I'm off down a train of thought that leads me to who used it and what they bought with it and how the few coins it held were probably enough to buy supplies for a week. That's another reason why I love what I do, that moment where I travel forty, fifty, a hundred years back in time and try to imagine the life of the person who used the tarnished object I"m holding in my hands.

 She was a woman in her mid to late thirties, her skirt to the floor, pince nez half way down the bridge of her nose, holding her purse open desperately searching for the right change. "I'm so sorry Mr Cooper, I'm two cents short. You know how it is these days, everyone scrambling just to make ends meet." He gives her a knowing look, and motions to her to close the purse.

"You're not drinking your coffee?" He says to me.
 "Huh? Oh, I-I was just.., following links, in my head, (he looks at me confused) you know, remembering who had this etc, etc." I place the purse in my own bag and go back to reading the Straight.  Until the next one......

The 3 R's Re-use, Re-use, and, you got it, Re-use

I went to the movies at International Village last week.  It's a huge mall filled for the most part with inexpensive cheaply made junk. It was at once a good and a most disillusioning experience. It was good in that after spending an hour or so window shopping I came to the conclusion that I am definitely on the right track professionally, but bad in that I saw how much garbage we are heaping onto this already full and sagging old world of ours. I realized that I can no longer take part in this so called "Global Economy". I can't shop at Dollar stores, Wall Mart, Winners, Ikea, Superstore, or any other big box store, Canadian owned or otherwise. And that is precisely the reason why I do what I do.
  There are good things out there folks, good functioning useful things that can be used again and again.   Things to make you look pretty, things to have fun with, things to relax with, it's all here already about a billion times over. And so here are a few of those choice things:

It's astounding to me that people seem to have stopped wearing watches. I know, everybody has a cellphone which has the time on it, but a watch is more than just a timepiece, it's a piece of jewelry and some are so incredibly elegant. I wonder how many battery operated watches will still be working a hundred years from now? These two are a Lady Elgin and Crest (Hy Moser, Swiss) watches from the 40's. They look fabulous on and are comfortable to wear.

When I saw this Kilt on the hanger I bolted for it, not too many of these still kicking around. The leather straps are still soft, and the skirt, with a little dry cleaning, will look smokin with a pair of vintage boots.

And Perhaps to add a little colour a Beautiful Turkish scarf. It's an enormous (42" square) 100% silk scarf with hand rolled edges, hand sewn and absolutely stunning.

you know the drill

Flea Market Etiquette

I think it's time to have the talk. Don't be nervous, we've alll had to hear it, or learn the hard way. Myself, I learned by trial and more than a few errors. Yes, I'm talking about Flea Market Etiquette.  (You mean you thought I was talking about something else?)

All right, Rule # 1: Kind Words go a long way to getting a good deal. If you are hoping for big discounts don't start by dissing the merchandise or the seller. Telling a dealer what's wrong with their item is almost guaranteed to stall negotiations. If there are flaws (and often there are, we are talking about items that are generally 40-50+ years old),  most dealers worth their salt will point them out to you. That's a good time to suggest a small discount.

               Rule #2: Even if you are one of the appraisers from Antiques Roadshow please be humble, let the dealer tell you what he/she knows about the item first, then if you have something to add, add it with a little humility. Most dealers I know are happy to get new information if it's delivered with a little finesse.

               Rule #3: If you're planning on low balling with your offer, preface it with  a little humour at least. Re-Selling is an extremely difficult way to earn money. Few if any dealers ever get their items for free and most make only marginal profits on the majority of their sales. We are there because we love the thrill of the hunt, we love connection to the past, we love the history and provenance. And, most of us at least, like the social aspect of buying and selling in a community marketplace.

              Rule #4: Please, for the love of God, don't ask how much an item is and then tell the seller what an amazing deal you just got on the same item from another dealer.  We are happy you got a good deal- we really are, but our prices are set by what we paid for our items, which may be much more than what the dealer you bought your item from paid.

              Rule #5: Consider This; A vendor spends a good portion of their time outside the fleamarket searching for items to sell. When and if they find something worth selling they then have to take it home and begin researching and preparing it, (ie, cleaning or repairing and pricing it). This all takes much much more time than you realize. Then they have to haul their goods to the market and arrange them in a nice display. If I added up all the time I spent in prep for going to market I'm pretty sure my wage would be far less than your local Barista's. Soooooooo, please consider that the next time a vendor tells you a price for something. We are always happy to negotiate but please don't make us give you our shirts. For some of us this is our only source of income and I'm not complaining, just asking a for  a little consideration and respect.

Thanks so much to all of you who support these markets and make our work that much more enjoyable. My deepest hope is that next time you visit a flea market, you have fun and hopefully go home with some great finds and a good deal or two. Cheers.