Wednesday, November 12, 2014

Pop Ups a New Holiday Tradition

They’re temporary and they appear at the drop of a hat, ready for business before you even knew they were moving in, yet pop-up Christmas shops are an iconic fixture of the holiday season. The shops that appear in empty storefronts or on street corners are part of the national culture, with handcrafted ornaments and decorations to make your house look less like a Grinch and more like you lived on the North Pole.

But now, pop-up Christmas shops are that and much more. The “pop-up shop” model now applies to technology, gift and clothing stores that are setting up an extra storefront for the busiest shopping time of the year. Once exclusively online stores are taking their products to your neighborhood, attempting to make some extra money and try out the “brick and mortar” business model of setting up an actual storefront.

These pop-up Christmas shops are only around for a period of 2 months or so, and then they’re on their way out after a clearance sale encouraging you to stock up on your Christmas collection and gifts for next year. Both independent crafters and major chain stores participate in the trend, bringing quite a selection of holiday stores for your shopping pleasure.



Check out one great pop-up this year is The Monrovia French Market Presents Winter Wonderland Holiday Show is DECEMBER 6th from 9am – 2pm and is located @ St. Lukes of Monrovia 122 S. California Ave cross street Foothill, Monrovia, CA 91016
This wonderful shopping day out will feature plenty to browse and will be a great place to buy gifts for everyone on your list. Expect to find a huge variety of handmade and vintage items from paper-cuts to ironwork and vintage jewelery to soaps. Entry to the event is free and there is car parking nearby

Support your local Etsy sellers this Christmas in Monrovia on December 6th

This wonderful shopping day out will feature plenty to browse and will be a great place to buy gifts for everyone on your list. Expect to find a huge variety of handmade and vintage items from paper-cuts to ironwork and vintage jewelery to soaps. Entry to the event is free and there is car parking nearby.



The Monrovia French Market Presents Winter Wonderland Holiday Show is DECEMBER 6th from 9am – 2pm and is located @ St. Lukes of Monrovia 122 S. California Ave cross street Foothill, Monrovia, CA 91016

Wednesday, November 5, 2014

Shop The Monrovia French Market's Winter Wonderland Holiday Show!



We are proud to bring together a unique collection of local vendors that were hand selected for their individual passions and high-quality products. Bringing together the best-of-the-best from SoCal neighborhoods and outlying areas, The Monrovia French Market Winter Wonderland Show is largely comprised of entrepreneurs, family-owned businesses and accomplished purveyors.
Featuring nearly 50 individual specialty vendors, The Monrovia French Market Winter Wonderland Show offers items for easy holiday party planning for home and office settings, plus meaningful holiday gift ideas, all in one convenient location.
The Monrovia French Market Winter Wonderland Show came about with the movement in America to support local artisans and bring back the European-inspired marketplace. No other setting would be more perfect for this than the beautiful century old stone St. Lukes Church in Monrovia.  .
Miller & McCabe Shows, developed and manages The Monrovia French Market Winter Wonderland Show. Miller & McCabe operates nearly 20 open-air and indoor markets throughout the SoCal including The French Market@Westfield Shopping Centers.
As with all local markets, our goal is to bring a sense of community found in the markets of Europe, and provide a place to gather, socialize and purchase quality goods.
The Monrovia French Market Presents Winter Wonderland Holiday Show is DECEMBER 6th from 9am – 2pm and is located @ St. Lukes of Monrovia 122 S. California Ave cross street Foothill, Monrovia, CA 91016

We’re back in Monrovia this winter—St. Lukes of Monrovia 122 S. California Ave cross street Foothill on DECEMBER 6th—with 50+ vendors selling the cutest and coolest vintage, handmade, art, and foodstuffs for perfect presents and holiday-party additions.
We’ll be kicking off the season with our Winter Wonderland holiday market held on December 6th from 9am- 2pm.

Flea Market Mexico Lagunilla

Flea Market in Mexico City

Intro

The custom of “chacharear”, ie in spanish, to buy, sell and trade used items, dates back to before the Mexican colonial period, since in the seventeenth century the first market of “Baratillo” (or cheap stuff) already existed in the Zócalo (Historical center) of Mexico City.
Now, as a result of the worsening economic crisis and the growing unemployment rate in Mexico, “Tianguis” (flea market booth in mexican spanish) quickly started to spread on Mexico City’s asphalt as ivy, with more ramifications that invade new streets.
Tianguis (“Mercado de Pulgas” in spanish or flea market), is a word of Náhuatl origin (the language spoken by the Aztecs), and as already mentioned above, is also called “baratillo”, and “tenderete” in other spanish speaking countries.
The famous Lagunilla of Mexico City is the most traditional flea market in the city. This flea market takes place every Sundays and is attended by a variety of individuals, from antique dealers, to city dwellers and tourists in search for antiques (“antigüedades” in spanish).
view from la Lagunilla flea market mexico city
Historically, everyone in Mexico City has at least once in his lifetime heard the phrase: “I bought it in la Lagunilla flea market”. There is even an anecdote according to which Guillermo González Camarena, the famous Mexican engineer who invented the color television, strolled the second hand booths of Tepito flea market and La Lagunilla flea market, looking for parts that allowed him to build his first video camera in 1934.
In la Lagunilla flea market, there is practically a little bit of everything, for everyone: While strolling down the stalls, a Philco radio from the early twentieth century emits the hard chords of a “danzón de Acerina”, while Carlos Ibarra, a local bookseller, tells us that he is selling some part of his private library with the goal of creating a “postcard museum”.
He explains us the importance of deltiología or the study of postcards, as this science allows our generation to see how a city, its buildings and streets used to look like in the past, which is essential in Mexico: “if there is something we have dedicated ourselves to, is to destroy our architectural heritage”.
Jorge Zavala, a famous architect and restorer of historic monuments in Mexico, is an assiduous visitor to La Lagunilla flea market, where he hunts for books, masks, bottles, ceramics and other arts and crafts from nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Jorge Zavala owns an impressive collection of Mexican masks, he started to put together 25 years ago, when La Lagunilla flea market used to showcase more books and antique furniture than now. Today, you can find all kinds of antiques, both originals and replicas.

Tuesday, September 9, 2014


flea market merchants sitting outside their shop in st ouen flea market

Paris Flea Market: Saint-Ouen – Porte de Clignancourt

Intro
This is not the first time that we write about Paris’ flea markets: we have extensively covered this topic in general articles like “20 best flea markets in France”, “Flea Markets in Europe You MUST Visit in 2015″ or in individual reviews like “Vanves Flea Market”. However, in order to keep the reading time of our articles below the 5 minutes limit, we never gave the Puces de Saint-Ouen – Porte de Clignancourt their fair value of “air time” within shared articles. This is why we decided today to right this wrong, and extensively cover the place which is considered the largest concentration of antique shops and second-hand dealers in the world. Everything you ever wanted to know about the Puces de Saint-Ouen, you will find it here.
Our review of the Puces de Saint-Ouen will cover 9 different markets (Marché Vernaison, Marché Dauphine, Marché Malik, Marché Malassis, Marché Biron, Marché Paul Bert, Marché Jules Valles, Marché Serpette and Marché Cambo), as well the best shops to find movie props, vintage clothing & furniture, old toys and Art Deco. We even included a pdf map of the Puces de St Ouen for you to download/print and take with you.
Enjoy the journey!

Where: 138/140 Rue des Rosiers, 93400 Saint Ouen, France

When: Saturday, Sunday and Monday from 10 am to 5 pm  (Friday is for professionals only)

Get there by Bus: 85, 95, 50, 137, 56, 60, 166, 255

Get there by Metro: Line 4 Porte de Clignancourt / Line 13, Garibaldi

Sunday, July 27, 2014

Treasure-Hunting Tips: Navigating Flea Markets, Yard Sales and Thrift Stores

"I make no secret of my love for all things vintage and antique," says Good Morning America cohost Lara Spencer, and thankfully, she's willing to share her secrets of vintage-shopping success with the rest of us.
1. Survey the 'scape
Look for cool, quirky pieces to create great tablescapes. A mix of big and small, silly and serious–you want these vignettes to reflect the people, places and things you love.
2. More is more
Scattering collections around a space will make the pieces look like random clutter. Instead, group collections or like objects to create a focal point.

3. Name dropper
Look for vintage pieces made by the following manufacturers and designers: Baker, Drexel, Henredon, James Mont, William Haines, Kittinger, Verner Panton, Parzinger and Karl Springer. Their reputations for quality go without saying.
4. Weather or not
Don't forget to check the weather report since most flea markets are outside. Keep an umbrella and some sunblock in your car to brave the elements.
5. The essentials
Bring a tape measure, something to schlep your finds home in and cash. (Nothing kills a negotiation like the phrase, "Will you take a check?")
6. Haulin' it
Ask for free delivery if a dealer is unwilling to come down on a price. Many dealers are happy to make the drive if it means getting a big object–or a big-ticket item–off their hands.
7. No Worries
Don't take the whole decorating thing too seriously. Figure out what makes you happy and go for it. Your home is your refuge. So make it uniquely you. Your found treasures will add personality to your home and ensure total one-of-a-kindness.