Second Hand Finds
If you've been following my content for a while, heck, even for the past months only, you probably know that I love flea market and thrift store hunting. The excitement of the possibility to find a hidden gem for a bargain is something that I love a lot. This dates back from our survival period in Holland where we'd do this to make a buck and well, just survive.
Years without any thrift shopping
Until we had a car in Budapest and were finally able to visit the famous flea market which was a pretty long drive for us. Sadly Covid hit the world and you know, it took a while for the market to re-open but when it did, we didn't get the full experience anymore. So in the end, we only saw it once in it's full glory and scored a really nice pair of silver cuff links but after that, no more flea markets for us until the end of last year.
Hard to find
With the lack of proper communication or lack of knowledge of the names of the markets, it's really hard to find something here in Spain if you don't know someone who knows the info or knows someone who knows where to find the info. They are seriously lacking of proper online information updating here and it's making it difficult for someone who doesn't master the language fluently yet to find the right info.
Better late than never!
When I asked a friend who lived here for more than 20 years, I instantly had answers and we found out that there is a monthly flea market just around the corner from her home (my gosh, all these missed opportunities for us!) and that there is a weekly one at 1,5 hours drive from here plus a bit further a car trunk sale on the same day most weeks of the year. That was the moment our flea market days started again and I have to say, they already brought tons of joy and we brought home quite a few bargains so far.
I didn't know this community
Until a day ago, I never bumped on this community but thanks to checking @grindan's content and then landing on @summertooth's post, I found it and I'm happy that I did because some of my already shared gems belong in the silver gold stackers community but there are other things that are just fun little (often imperfect) treasures that we bring home for the sake of treating ourselves a little gift. This community will be my go-to from now on for these second hand buys because where better to share them than here?
A family who loves boxes
It may be clear by now that we all love boxes, I think I could always appreciate a pretty box already but my love for pretty boxes grew when my boyfriend started to share his appreciation and we landed on remarkably little artworks on flea markets or in thrift stores, often from Japanese or Chinese origin. Thrift stores and flea market hunts are the ideal place to find these boxes for a bargain. My latest silver plated box from Jose Luis, apparently a famous brand here in Spain, is a great example of a gem for 3 euros! This is a design I really love and appreciate.
Imperfect can be nice too!
But we don't only seek those hidden beauties, sometimes we find something that's clearly damaged, not perfect at all but still nice to take home for a variety of reasons. Let's have a look at this Limoges mother of pearl filigree box which I saw, and my daughter liked it so we bought it as the kind man only asked a few euros for it.
Earning flea market pocket money
We always let our daughter play hair dresser and then pay her a euro so she can collect some euros to take with her to the flea markets in case she wants to buy something. We figured this was a better way to teach her the value of money rather than always (only) pulling money out of our pockets. In the end, we still paid for it but she likes the transaction moment where she can count her coins as well.
I either tell her I'd buy it for that money whenever she asks the price, or I try to lower it and then she can decide if she still wants it. We haven't had a moment where I'd say no that's too much yet while she wants to buy something. But I'm sure there will be such a moment one day and we'll see how that goes, lol.
Why I was drawn to it
Because of the Limoges part on top and mother of pearl, I can see it's possibly fake or at least restored and then damaged again but I know she can use this for some storage and it's fine to not always have perfect things. This also contributes to spending less on plastic garbage of shit quality which seems to be the norm nowadays. Anyway, the box at first sight looks nice:
Here you can see it's not closing properly but usually that would be possible to fix.
The mother of pearl and famous image of Limoges on top. I didn't know if this was the original one or a rip off fake one, I didn't care either because the purpose wasn't buying it to make a buck but for the joy of my daughter being able to find a gem of her own.
Back in the days we used to be impressed whenever we found something from this region but I'm not that impressed anymore nowadays lol but I understand how she gets excited from such a box due to the mother of pearl mostly.
This made me think that it's fake or restored at least because I don't think it's supposed to look like this when it's original.
Still a pretty little treasure chest for an 8 year old, if you ask me.
The inside looks dirty and still needs some TLC at the time of taking this picture.
The hunt for info
When we return home from a flea market, the research for more information starts. Even if something is in bad condition or damaged, I still want to find out more about the origin and original price for the fun of possibly paying a good price. I found almost a similar boxes and later one close to identical from 60 to 125 euros. Of course in much better condition. And then I also realised the fact that this one was missing the base which I didn't notice until then.
Good for storage
Even if it was a fake or not, or damaged, it's now used to keep the elastics from the cats to play with. I like how our daughter is so grateful and happy with small things, I know I mentioned it more often but this makes me really proud. She's like me when I grew up, I didn't have the materialistic mindset either, and I'm happy that she's the same. Both her father and I came from poor families growing up, we know how it is to have close to nothing from childhood and later we lost everything ourselves besides a few suitcases with clothes.
Family tradition
She knows value is not in items, they are replaceable and it's a good thing that she also doesn't demand new store bought items only, I like to contribute to giving items a second, third or heck, even fourth chance. If they are still worthy and if they make us happy, there's no need to buy it for full price. I love that we have this family weekend trip every few weeks to the flea markets where all of us look forward to. Hoping to find the next gem for ourselves or maybe even better: to sell for profit. It became a family tradition real fast and I hope it will continue for many years to come.
Do you like flea market / thrift store hunting? I'm going to come back to share a new item very soon.. :)
All pictures are my own...
Posted Using InLeo Alpha
Plastic has been like a plague to humanity. So as long as it's not made of plastic, I personally wouldn't think of it as "fake".
It's very nice that your daughter is also growing up without the materialistic mindset that is sadly rampant nowadays, you should be proud about it for sure! 😎
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That's actually a great way to look at it, that it doesn't matter if the brand part is real or fake because in the end it's not that horrific plastic which we're indeed overloaded with. Thanks for the nice point of view!
Yes, I'm very proud of the fact that she can be happy with something as simple as new socks or a second/third or maybe even 10th hand item that's damaged from the flea market. The real brand thing is only important when it's bought intended to make a profit or be able to sell it later.. this one was purely for her pleasure.. and used every day!
Thanks for leaving this great comment, it's highly appreciated!
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You must be killin' it out here!
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This post made me smile from ear to ear! I love that your daughter connected with this box based on its truly unique details- looking past a slightly wonky hinge or potentially dubious origins is the core of childhood beauty imo! They just see the magic 💚 and easy to do with this find!
This is an item I’d be proud to have hold my treasures too, the mother of pearl is captivating 💕 I also think it’s just the biggest win to share the love of thinking over our purchases carefully and mindfully bringing them home…
And the happiness boxes can bring… undeniable in my heart too 🙌🏼 nothing better than a good study box!!
Thanks for the awesome read, I’m so glad you can get back to thrift life again 😍
Ah thank you so much, that makes me really happy to read.. I love it when I make someone smile with my content.. Thanks for letting me know <3
I'm usually drawn to things with mother of pearl, I remember in Holland we had a find from a thrift store, a necklace which we were about to auction off but never been able to due to leaving the country in stress by the situation. I wish I'd have been clear of mind and been able to take these things with me that didn't add any weight to the luggage... but such is life..
Recently I turned down a sale on the flea market with a silver ring and mother of pearl, we went back to buy it last Sunday as it didn't leave my mind.. sadly there was no market that week and neither this week due to Easter.. Next week we will be going to the local one so the earliest is in two weeks that I may (or may not) be able to buy it after all.
It's great when you see a child looks past the new marketed items, especially knowing the quality of many (way too expensive for what they are worth) items nowadays. I rather take her to the flea markets and buy older but quality things for her than keep loading up these plastic garbage worth nothing. If I do it this way, she may even be able to hold things for another generation ;)
Boxes, oh boy, they can be so amazing indeed!
Thanks for being the connection to this community making me find it, I'm so thrilled and you will see me appear here more often.. Now I'm back to reading your own treasure post because it's been open in my browser for a day now, lol.
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Nice find.
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Thanks, she's happy, so it's her little treasure :)
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Thanks for creating this cool community right up my sleeve!
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That's great, a closer flea market! That's a nice find, very cool storage basket. The mother of pearl is pretty. Nice item! Happy Easter!
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