Vintage Treasure Hunting At Malvern Flea

We had a lovely day out at Malvern Flea on Bank Holiday Monday. I've written about it before, but if you missed it I'll fill you in - it's a big flea market that happens about once a month at the Three Counties Showground near Malvern, in Worcestershire. The stalls can vary massively in price, and vary from proper antiques through collectables to pretty much junk. We tend to focus on the 'pretty much junk' end of the scale, as we love bargains above all else! Here are some of the weird and wonderful things we spotted. (Apologies, the picture quality isn't great, I snapped them all on my iPhone as I didn't want to be lugging around my DSLR all day!)

No, your eyes are not deceiving you, we really did see a real stuffed bear, several rocking horses and disembodied legs, a kettle that looks like an apple, a surprised stuffed fox, Paul Daniels' Mystery Box, the Knight Rider annual, giant letters, and lots of cute doll related stuff. What more could you want from a day out, eh?!

It's such a fun place to visit as you really never know what you might find. Here's what we took home with us...

I'm a sucker for a bit of Cornish blue, those lovely blue and white stripes just look so homely and comforting. This teacup and saucer set was just £3.

These pretty embroidered tablecloths were just £3 each, I love the vibrant colours. They may be playing a part in our wedding... but that's another story for another day.

These (very creased) vivid green floral curtains are massive (actually too big for our bay window, I'm going to have to hem them) and bold and bright and happy and lovely. I'll have to post another picture when they are up.

These glass bottles are for a top secret wedding project which I can't speak any more about at the moment! I'm collecting lots of varied bottles and vases in a range of colours, which is a lot of fun. I love these medicine bottles and the beer bottle from Newport.

Finally, probably our most exciting purchase of the day, four 1970's retro garden chairs for £30.

I think we did pretty well, but managed to be pretty restrained at the same time. I could have come home with about a million things very easily. Have you ever visited Malvern Flea? Or can you recommend a must visit flea market near you?

Feeling Thrifty: Recent Charity Shop Bargains

I don't get to take a look around the charity shops as often as I would like these days, but a couple of weekends ago we found ourselves at a loose end and decided to head to Shirley high street (our local shopping centre, just outside Birmingham) to have a good old browse. The charity shops in Shirley are usually pretty good, it's a nice area with seemingly quite a high number of retired people, and I find that these factors tend to lead to a good amount of nice vintage stuff in the charity shops! If you live in the Birmingham area I would certainly recommend checking out the charity shops in Shirley.

I picked up these fruity glasses in Cancer Research, who were having a clear out ahead of a shop refit, which meant I got these babies for a bargainous 10p each! As soon as I spotted them in the bargain bin I had to sweep in and make them mine!

A few doors down at Age Concern I found this adorable little Thermos cool bag. I love the shades of blue and the pretty floral print. We took it away with us to the Retro Festival and it actually did a very nice job of keeping things cool. It looks super cute in our little caravan too.

Another Cancer Research 10p bargain, this kitsch little Spanish souvenir is perfect for storing our keys in the hallway. And we've both been to Salou in our younger days so it brings back nice memories too.

I'm a sucker for a good handbag, and even though I have a perfectly good selection already, I couldn't resist this lovely chocolate brown delight. I love the 1970's satchel style shape, and it is the perfect size. It was £15, which is quite a bit for a charity shop bag, but I would have paid that without thinking in a vintage shop and the condition is great. It's making me excited for autumn outfit planning!

This cocktail tray from PDSA was quite a find, again at £4.99 it wasn't cheap, but as soon as we saw it we wanted it. At first I thought it was modern but in a fifties style, but looking at the mark on the back on the sticker confirmed that it is actually pretty old. Perhaps we need to throw a cocktail party now?

I have a bit of a thing for kitschy little animal ornaments and coloured glass, so I am always finding ways to feed my habit. This cake tray is so pretty in this vivid pink and the little cat and dog (who do look a bit grumpy, I'll admit!) were only £1.50 each and are just so cute. The little deer came from the Sheffield Vintage Fair a while back and makes me smile each time I walk past him on the hallway windowsill.

So that's it. I could easily fill my house five times over with charity shop bits and bobs so it is probably for the best that I don't get the chance to go too often! Do you have any favourite charity shop finds?

Vintage Shopping in Exeter and Around

Unexpectedly amazing - The Vintage Trading Co, Exeter

James and I took a couple of days off this week and went to visit his parents, who live in lovely Devon. It was nice to take a break from work, it's something that we are trying to get better at doing! Having said that, you can take the vintage magpies away from work, but you can't stop them vintage hunting...

On our way into Exeter for a spot of lunch and shopping, we drove past the Vintage Trading Co, an average looking warehouse type building on a trading estate on the outskirts of the city. Our curiosity got the better of us and we stopped for a look. I'll be honest, my expectations of the place were not high as it really didn't look anything special from outside, but once we got through the doors we found ourselves in a pretty little vintage paradise! Never judge a book by it's cover, eh?

The main room was spacious and light, and had sections that seemed to be run by independent traders, which meant that each area had it's own little flavour. Some sections focused on reworked furniture in a more shabby chic style, others were more classic antiques style stuff and some were an eclectic mix. Our favourite sections were the amazing mid century areas, which were arranged like real rooms and were so inviting.

There was also another large room full of furniture and other bits and bobs, this area was more of a mix but was equally interesting. All in all, the prices were pretty reasonable, we bought a leather bag for £8 and an atomic magazine rack for £12.

After this, we were in a wombling state of mind and spotted a nearby charity furniture shop, and an amazing second hand warehouse called Steptoe's Market, where we found this beauty of a sideboard, which cost just £20! As you can see, it was actually a dressing table, but the mirror easily came unscrewed and we had our perfect sideboard (and a spare mirror for vintage fairs!). We have been looking for something like this for ages, and all the ones we had seen on eBay or in charity shops were either really expensive or not quite right, but this one ticked all of the boxes. It's just the right size, and has that great 1960's feel we were looking for. It needs to be sanded back and re-stained, but it is in otherwise superb condition. We love it.

Our bargain sideboard as we found it, and fitting in perfectly at home.

The next day, James suggested we take a trip to Exmouth Tip. Perhaps unsurprisingly, this suggestion didn't excite me. But then, he explained that Exmouth Tip, or Exmouth Recycling Centre as it is officially known, actually has a shop where they sell items that have been dumped there but are actually in good condition and can be reused. It is fantastic! I am such a big believer in reusing things wherever possible, and it always makes me feel so sad when people throw stuff away that could be used by someone else, so it was so good to see the people at the tip giving this stuff a new lease of life, and earning a little money in the process. There was lots of furniture, hardware such as door handles and even a lovely roll top bath, as well as brik-a-brak, books, records, dvds and all sorts of weird and wonderful items. We bought some records, which were 40p each, and some vases, which were 50p each. I really hope that tips in other areas will follow their lead and start offering this service, it is such a good idea.

Having a good old rummage at Exmouth Recycling Centre

If you live in Devon or are planning to visit, I'd definitely recommend taking a break between cream teas and checking these places out! We're back in Birmingham and back to work now, but we're already looking forward to our next visit.