UK Edition: London Treasure Hunting With cowgirlcaties
Published on Apr
8, 2011 in How-To
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.
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