alice in wonderland

Caitlin's favorite quotes

"I've had nothing yet,” Alice replied in an offended tone: “so I can't take more.” “You mean you can't take less,” said the Hatter: “it's very easy to take more than nothing."— Lewis Carroll

life

Life is an opportunity, benefit from it.
Life is beauty, admire it.
Life is bliss, taste it.
Life is a dream, realize it.
Life is a challenge, meet it.
Life is a duty, complete it.
Life is a game, play it.
Life is a promise, fulfill it.
Life is sorrow, overcome it.
Life is a song, sing it.
Life is a struggle, accept it.
Life is a tragedy, confront it.
Life is an adventure, dare it.
Life is luck, make it.
Life is too precious, do not destroy it.
Life is life, fight for it.

be your hero

It is better to conquer yourself than to win a thousand battles. Then the victory is yours. It cannot be taken from you, not by angels or by demons, heaven or hell.
Buddha

dreams

All men dream, but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty
recesses of their minds, wake in the day to find that it was vanity: but the
dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act on their dreams with
open eyes, to make them possible.

T. E. Lawrence

etsy storque London treasure Hunting with cowgirl caities

UK Edition: London Treasure Hunting With cowgirlcaties

Story by cowgirlcaities

Published on Apr
8, 2011 in How-To

Photo by ajom

Caitie Cannon of Wisconsin, U.S., has been collecting
since she was a little girl. Her dad would take her to antique shows
and flea markets before she could even walk, and she's just back from visiting
him where he now resides in London. The pair scoured the city's markets
to stock her two Etsy shops, cowgirlcaities
and cowgirlcaitiesdeux, with vintage wares. Today she
shares some of her favourite spots and treasure-hunting tips with us.

As I trundled up to the customs agent with four bulging suitcases, the
officer asked me how long I had been in London. "Two weeks," I said casually,
with what I hoped was a confident grin. He gave me a look of sheer disbelief,
double checking the stamps on my passport and shuttled me to a special line
where I was asked all kinds of questions. Whipping out a business card, I
explained that I had been on a buying trip and launched into the greatest hits
of my adventures.

The
Markets

I had a great guide (my dad, who lives in London)
but it's worth doing your research before you hit the town — Time Out's
Top 10 Car Boot Sales is a great place to start. Car boot
sales are held all over the outskirts of London, usually on Saturdays and
Sundays. They're filled with non-professional marketers that fill the boot (or
trunk) of their cars and head off to sell their personal items. This is a great
way to find some bargains, learn the history of pieces and meet some really
interesting people.

Portobello Road is everything you can dream of in a market.
It's huge and has an assortment of the latest fashions, jewellery and funky home
décor items. The streets are lined with market stalls, each wheeling and dealing
handmade crafts and some of the most amazing antiques I have ever seen. Running
alongside the market stalls are shops — warrens housing treasures from the dawn
of time. I discovered ancient Roman coins, Elizabethan dining implements,
Victorian décor items and Edwardian silver, to name just a few.

Brick Lane, with the ever-present, delicious aroma from its
many curry houses, is a vintage seeker's paradise. Secondhand clothing rubs its
trendy shoulders with up-and-coming, high-end designer attire. Antique furniture
is piled high all over market stalls and vintage china in every pattern
imaginable balances precariously alongside old toys and fabulous books.

The best market I found by far was the one in Greenwich. The array of
items at this small and cosy setting makes your mouth water. Its food stalls
bring people from miles around and the people are just some of the nicest in all
of London’s market community. I found so many treasures I had to go back to the
car twice, with my backpack loading me down like a redheaded Santa Claus.

Spitalfields has higher-end pieces, but down-and-dirty Deptford
and plentiful car boot sales (like the fabulous one at Wimbledon) are where true treasures can be found after lots of
digging.

London
is close to the sea and traditional market food is jellied eels and winkles
(little sea snails), but you can pass these up for a nice cuppa tea and a bacon
roll. English markets are some of the most ethnic in the world (over 300 hundred
languages are now spoken in London), and you will see this multiculturalism
reflected in the food vendors' hand-thrown noodles, dragon candy, curries and
exquisite chocolates — not just a hotdog and a Coke.

Treasure Hunting Tips

Make sure you wear sensible, comfortable shoes: they will save your feet and
your sanity. Pick up a cheap brolley (umbrella) and dress in layers as the
weather changes on a dime. Bring small bills and change, especially to boot
sales, as you'll find it easier to bargain with small bills and pound coins.
Cash is king — credit cards aren't accepted at most market stalls — and large
bills are fine at the higher end markets such as Spitalfields and parts of
Portobello Road. As always, watch out for pickpockets and panhandlers, just as
you would in any large city.

If, like me, you're a foreigner on a buying
trip, bring an extra suitcase with bubble wrap and tape or find a cheap
secondhand suitcase (or three) at a car boot sale. Wrap all items carefully and
pack things in smaller tins and boxes. Scavenge for packing materials as soon as
you set foot in London, because getting the treasures safely home is part of the
adventure.



Haggle
a little — it’s a fine art, so don’t be too demanding or offer an outrageously
low price, but sometimes you can get a few quid knocked off. A wonderful local
catchphrase you can use is “What’s the best you can do?" The majority of places
give a discount, especially when you buy a number of items from a
stall.

Whatever your treasure is, you can find it in London. First
edition Dickens, mother of pearl buttons, clay pipes, union jacks, antique keys,
ceramics, funky clothes, beautiful tins or the perfect Willie and Kate wedding
memorabilia. If you can't find what you are looking for, chat up the market
stall owners as and ask them where you might try. The marketers can be a
wonderful, tight-knit community, and they may be able to direct you to someone
who can help you fill your suitcases to the brim. Then maybe, just maybe, you
can find enough treasures to have the customs agents shake their heads with
disbelief.

Many thanks to Caitie for sharing her tips
with us! Tell us about your favourite market in the comments below.

Vintage On The Etsy Blog | Shop Vintage | UK
Edition

Tags

london treasure hunting

As I trundled up to the customs agent with
my four bulging suitcases the officer asked me how long I had been in London.
Two weeks I added casually and with what I hoped was a confident grin.

He gave me a look of disbelief, double
checking the stamps on my pass port and shuttled me to a 'special line' where I
was asked all kinds of questions. I explained that I had been on a buying trip
and pulled out my business cards and launched into the greatest hits of what I
had done in London, and it wasn’t a discussion about the touristy places, the
tower of London and Buckingham Palace it was about the London Markets.
Spittlefields, Deptford, Tripe’s Fields and Portobello Road, about Greenwich
Market, Brick Lane, Wimbledon  and boot
sales in Farmers Fields…….. That was my trip, the treasures I had found and the
people I had met.…and I loved every minute of it.

I thought it
would be great to share some of my treasure hunting tips and my favorite places
with all of Etsyland.

London
Treasure Hunting:

I personally
like to start with Wimbledon Market (held on a greyhound race track) at the
crack of dawn, followed by 2-3 boot sales and then hit up a few of the larger
markets such as brick lane or Portobello in the afternoon….but note that each
of these really can be all day events.

By far my
Favorite market was Greenwich for its small size, great, friendly people and amazing
food stalls. The biggest was Portobello Road which has literally something for
everyone. Spittle fields for higher end pieces, down and dirty Deptford and the
fun and fast paced Wimbledon where true treasures can be found after lots of
digging, and the boot sales, sigh, the boot sales which are held all over the
outskirts of London usually on Saturdays and Sundays.

Places

Research
your markets I had a great guide (my dad) but you can also find so much
information now on the web one great place to start is time outs web link…….. http://www.timeout.com/london/shopping/features/1786/Top_ten_car_boot_sales_around_London.html

Boot Sales
are made up of non professional marketers that fill the boot (or trunk) of
their cars and head off once a week or so to sell some of their personal items.
This is a great way to find some bargains, learn the history of pieces and a
chance to meet some really great people.

I personally
like to start with Wimbledon Market (held on a greyhound race track) at the
crack of dawn, followed by 2-3 boot sales and then hit up a few of the larger
markets such as brick lane or Portobello in the afternoon….but note that each
of these really can be all day events.

Portobello
was everything you  can dream of in a
market, it had the new interesting clothing lines, jewelry and funky home decor
items. The streets were lined with market stalls, each wheeling and dealing
handmade crafts and some of the most amazing antiques I have ever seen… running
alongside the market stalls were the shops, warrens of antique shops housing
treasures from the dawn of time. Ancient roman coins, Elizabethan eating
implements, Victorian décor items, and Edwardian silver, just to name a few.

Brick Lane with
the ever present delicious aroma of curry houses, was a vintage sellers
paradise, rock-a-billy clothes rubbing shoulders with up and coming high end
designers. Antique furniture piled all over market stalls, second hand china in
every pattern imaginable balancing precariously alongside old toys and fabulous
books.

The best
market I found by far was that of Greenwich, the array of items makes your
mouth water, the food stalls bring people from miles around and the people are
just some of the nicest people in all of London’s market community. I found so
many treasures I had to go back to the car twice, with my backpack loading me
down like a redheaded Santa Claus.

Food London
is close to the sea and traditional market food is jellied eels and winkles
(little sea snails) but you can pass these up for a nice cuppa tea and a bacon
roll. English markets are some of the most ethnic in the world ( over 300
hundred languages are now spoken in London) and you will see this
multiculturalism  reflected in the food
vendors, hand thrown noodles, dragon candy, curries and handmade exquisite
chocolates…. Not just a hotdog and a coke…it’s a feast for your taste buds….
Even though jellied eels don’t do much for my taste buds except make me
question what the heck I am putting in my mouth…… tee he

TIPS: Tips
wear sensible comfortable shoes….bring your favorite tennis from home… they
will save your feet and your sanity. Pick up a cheep brolley (umbrella) for you
never know when it will rain. Dress in layers as the weather changes on a dime.
Bring small bills and change especially to boot sales…. It’s easier to barging
with small bills, and pound coins. Cash is King, no credit cards on the market
stalls but at the higher end markets such as spittlefields and parts of Portobello
Road big bills are fine, and as always watch out for pickpockets and
panhandlers just as you would in any large city.

Packing: I
was able to have a great packer (my dad) help me but if you are going on a
buying trip bring the ‘extra’ suitcase with bubble wrap and tape or find a cheap
second hand suitcase or three at a boot sale. Wrap all items carefully and pack
things in smaller tins and boxes. Scavenge for packing materials as soon as you
set foot in London, because getting the treasures safely home is part of the
adventure.

Bargaining/haggling
haggle a little …it’s a fine art don’t be too demanding or offer something outragesly
low but sometimes you can get a few quid knocked off or even ask the wonderful
catchphrase “What’s the best you can do?’ and either they can give you a discount
or not. I would say that the Majority of places gave a discount, especially
when I bought a number of items from a stall. But know that you must either
walk away or pay full price. Rarely did I walk away empty handed, thus the four
bulging suitcases at the end.

TRENDS:
Whatever your treasure is you can find it in London…. First edition Dickens,
Mother of pearl buttons, clay pipes, union jacks, antique keys, ceramics, funky
clothes,  beautiful tins or the perfect
royal wedding memorabilia for Willie and Kate. Even if you aren’t finding
exactly what you are looking for chat up the market stall owners as and ask who
might just have what you are looking for the marketers can be a wonderful and
tight knit community and they may be able to direct you to someone who’s got
what you are looking for and who can help you fill your suitcases to the brim
and maybe, just maybe, you can find enough treasures to have the customs agents

shake their heads with disbelief. Tee hee…………… smooches caitie!!!!!

Colors: hot
colors: white and blue with some pink thrown in for good measure, oversized
prints, spring greens and a plethora of Britannia colors just in time for the
royal wedding.