Look what I've found............

..........a whole load of vintage goodies ready for the upcoming fairs.  Its been a while since I did a post like this but I thought you'd like to see some of the new bits and pieces I've found on my travels.  Its always hard over Christmas to find new things as everywhere is slowing down and getting rid of old stock.  I need to start looking forward to spring when all the new fairs start up again and buy accordingly.  My friend Julia from Gazehound Vintage has just started a blog about getting started in the vintage business and one of the chapters is ideas about where to buy your vintage stock.  It is very well written, informative and well worth a read.  It is called Start Up Vintage and is a great starting point for anyone looking to get into the business.

I tend to buy from the same places as they work for me but I feel I may need to diversify this year as it gets harder to find more unusual items.  Having said that though I have been lucky recently and seem to have been in the right place at the right time.  One of my favourite pieces is this cute little flour shifter.

American flour shifter

  

 The flour sifter is American and someone has obviously gone to the trouble of decorating it with the cute ducks.  I didn't even know you could buy actual flour sifters like this one and when I saw it, I had to buy it.  It probably wouldn't be wise to use it but as a decorative piece its lovely. 

Blue bird cup and saucer

 My next find is this oh so pretty and delicate cup and saucer with gorgeous pink flowers and the sweetest bluebirds.  I had seen a full set on someone's Facebook page and fell in love with it.  It took me ages to hunt it down but I persevered and I ALWAYS have my eyes peeled now just in case I come across anymore. Its my new mission to hunt more down as I think it is quite a hard pattern to find.  Having said that though I did come across a cake plate with a similar pattern and although they aren't made by the same people, they compliment each other really nicely and will make quite a statement on my stall.

Some more china now and this oversized cup and saucer really caught my eye.  I'm not sure if its old but I just loved the subject matter and thought it was a great form of social history.

Adams Cup and saucer - The Farmers Arms

They were made by Adams ( a staffordshire maker I think) and they depict the Farmers Arms, the Farmers Prayer and illustrations of farming implements, a really eye catching set.

Old French wheelbarrow

Old German Wheelbarrow

I seem to have a thing for wheelbarrows at the moment and they keep appearing in front of me when I'm not looking.  The top blue one is French and belonged to an old lady from France who had had it since she was a girl.  The green one is German with an iron wheel and that had been in the family for years too.  Its so nice to find things in their original state and knowing that they are fresh to the market.  Both these will make wonderful display pieces for a garden.

Victorian corner shelf unit

Close up of shelf, you can just see the gold leaf on the top left

 I also found this gorgeous Victorian corner shelf unit that needs a good clean.  It would have originally been black with some sort of gold leaf on it but has been painted pink which I actually like much better.  This was going to be coming with me to the fairs BUT we have decided to decorate the kitchen and this is PERFECT for a spare corner so its staying here.  Only thing is, I need some pretty things to put on the shelves like a painted flour shifter or bluebird cup and saucer, just saying ;)

I found this sweet little puzzle and was rather taken with it.  It comes in its original wooden box with the original booklet and ALL the pieces are there.  I know because I did the puzzle and it took me ages which is a bit worrying seeing as these are for children!

Old ammo box

Bullet boxes for a Mauser bolt

This find is really interesting as we couldn't understand what on earth would have been in the boxes.  I liked it because of the colour and I thought the boxes were interesting although they are empty.  Neither Mark or I speak Russian (funnily enough) so Mark asked his Russian friends on Facebook if they could translate.  It turns out that the boxes hold bullets for a Mauser Bolt and are from 1954.  They are actually quite valuable but only with their contents which thankfully were long gone.  A cool find though.

Pose doll

 A cute Japanese 1960s pose doll looking very fancy in her red outfit.

Victorian Valentine card

This is a Victorian Valentine's card.  The detailing is wonderful and I love the honeycomb features.  Its amazing that its lasted all these years.  So much better than today's offerings.

Art Deco french clock

Selection of fabric boxes

Next we have one of my favorites, an Art Deco French mirrored clock.  These are hard to find without chips so I always try and buy them when I can.  Will add a touch of glamour to any boudoir!  I also managed to find some more fabric boxes including one that still had some wax flower pieces. These would have been used in France in the early 1900s as part of a bride's bouquet.  You can still find tiaras made from the wax flowers and they look beautiful.  Simple but very effective.

1930s lampshades

1930s lampshades

I had some of these lampshades a little while back.  They are prototypes of designs for lampshades from the 1930s and are all hand drawn on vellum paper.  When I bought the original ones, I instantly regretted not buying more.  Luckily the lady is a regular at the market and she kindly kept these aside for me next time I saw her.  Really charming pieces.

Old wooden toys

Some sweet old wooden toys.  I can never resist these and these ones in particular caught my eye especially the old car.  Fantastic graphics and great colour.

Old rustic ladders

Old ladders with great patina and manageable size are always great display pieces and can be used in bathrooms for towels or as a decorative piece to showcase your vintage fabric.

And finally an assortment of bits and pieces including a hand painted canalware bucket and some more pretty china.

Well there you have it, I think my spring collection is coming on nicely.  I just need to make sure that they actually leave the house and don't end up getting stashed somewhere!  That's the problem when you buy what you like, you always want to keep it especially the pieces you know you are unlikely to find again.  At least I'll always have my blog :)