France flea markets et up next, my debut vintage pop-up!

Oui oui Lisa Baumann Design has gone French. April in France, mon dieu, what a lovely time to travel to Lyon, the southwest Basque region and Paris. We shopped and ate and enjoyed quality time with family (Who even says that - “I was visiting family in France in the spring." I never thought I’d be saying that.)

Et bonjour flea markets! Getting into this flea market business in France feels epic and and family members who live there are the key (merci!) for knowledge and respectful haggling. We started big with our visit to Les Puces du Canal near Lyon. 

The early bird often gets the worm at Les Puces du Canal near Lyon, France,

It’s billed as the second-largest flea market in France and it is ON starting at 7 a.m. Much like getting into a chairlift line in the French Alps, the people are not shy. Many very nearly get into the vans while vendors move their inventory to tables and blankets and boxes on the ground. You gotta look alive. We were specifically on the hunt for client living and dining areas and knowing what I know now hitting the vans first maybe wasn’t the way to go. It was still early when we found some things - chandeliers and a gorgeous dish display/hutch and they were already sold. As I have learned, though, that means something even better is out there waiting for you.

We struck gold in one of the more permanent curated “stores” at the market with Danish mid-century dining chairs that will work beautifully! We also nabbed a few trinkets and smaller items including the once again popular 19th century-ish assiettes parlantes, or talking plates, with French text and humorous scenes on them. They were apparently created to spark conversation at the dining table and it makes sense since meals there are at least at times still celebrated non-rushed affairs.

We also visited a flea market in Bayonne which was much smaller but so worth it to see the offerings while eating/drinking/looking at the picturesque merchant buildings across the river. A French alarm clock made it back to the states among other things. I regret passing on four small landscape oil paintings but was proud of our negotiating skills. We also skipped large items because we're not (yet?) shipping container people. What a cool town to wander that's also known for chocolate!

Bayonne, France, has a lovely flea market in view of these character-filled building facades.

Although I didn’t buy nearly as much as I wanted to buy on this trip, we are researching just what it would take to make charming aged French items part of the business. Based on checking out a sale of this very nature in Seattle a few months ago, a market for it exists. More to come! 

In that vein, I'm doing a one-week vintage pop-up at Penny Lane Antique Mall in Bellingham, Washington. From June 1-7, I’ll be offering curated vintage treasures I’ve been sourcing for the past year. The items fall into a few focus areas including European vintage/antiques, Americana, and Scandinavian mid-century as well as some items that I couldn't believe I scored! Stay tuned. Peace and amour and imperfectly perfect beauty to all.