Country Market

I have been a bit shy about taking photos whilst at the car boot sale. The thing is, well, no one else does it so I look really out of place and it brings unwanted attention. BUT I have vowed to do it more often for the sake of JunkShopJen and for those that read this. It's no good me describing the rows and rows of "junk" and the type of people that wander down them... I think its much better to see it with your own eyes. So here you are:

Unfortunately there was a terrible fire earlier this year which saw most of the shop buildings burnt down. Luckily most of the animals and fish were saved and the support of the local community, proceeds from the boot, and probably an insurance payout will see Country Market up and running again in the Autumn.

This photo makes me laugh - I didn't notice the bloke walking past with his canvas ladybird shopper but he obviously noticed me!

A familiar sight: battered furniture and picture frames waiting for a new lease of life...

I bought a lovely old gilt style frame for 10p from this stall and I intend to spruce it up with a lick of paint and a new print. I'll make sure I post its transformation on here soon!

I promise to do this more often but with more interesting subjects.... perhaps I'll pluck the courage to photograph things as I buy them!

A Lewis Carroll pick me up

Today has just been one of those days when life seems desperate and out my control. We all have those days and I realised what I needed was a pick me up, and it came in the form of my latest bargain....

A vintage copy of Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass. Snaffled for 20p at the usual car boot sale: Country Market in Bordon.

I love the Queen of Hearts pattern that embraces all the covers of the book. It smells amazing too... all dusty and aged...

What I love most is the illustrations by John Tennial, redrawn in colour by Diana Stanley. They are whimsical and enchanting and have brought me out of my somber mood. I will be looking out for more beautifully bound, vintage classics, so that I can lose myself in another world when this one becomes too difficult to deal with.

Life gets in the way

First of all sorry it has taken me nearly three weeks to update this - I am currently finishing my dissertation and life has simply got in the way of blogging - poor show I know but until the 12th May I am bound to my laptop editing articles and designing pages!


Saying that I am still booting and have enjoyed the glorious weather and huge turn outs of recent weeks. Here are some of the things I have picked up lately:

The baskets are for present ideas (I won't give anything away just yet as don't want to spoil the surprises!)


I bought grease DVD for a pound after seeing it in the west end and deciding that the film is better than the musical (even though I saw the first half of the musical twice due to technical errors...)


Fake hair for styling project  (£1.50) A new post is coming soon of my paper mache animal heads covered in hair!


Butterfly dish for jewellery trinkets (50p!)

I vow to keep this up to date more soon - I can't wait to finish uni so I can sew and go booting more without feeling guilty!


Thanks to my 6 followers - (and hello to my new one!)


xxx

These are a few of my favourite things...

Just a quickie as there was no proper car booting this week (we're in Devon and although popped out to the car boot sale in Braunton Tesco Car Park it was pretty much a non event except for Cherry getting caught up in one elderly man's attempts to flog some old crap for stupid money)


So I have decided to share with you a couple of last years car booting Gems:

My favourite ever belt ever! Any of my friend's will tell you I wear this ALL the time. I think its a kiddies belt but it fits round my waist so is perfect with some of the vintage dresses I've picked up over time. It is two little mice on the clasp:

It cost me 20p. Just shows you the best things in life are (nearly) free!


Ok so moving on this is my second best buy last summer just before the sequin trend hit big. I got it in Rugby at the Alwyn Road car boot sale. It was in a pile of clothes on the floor, I grabbed it and quickly tossed away my 50p. I couldn't get over the shock and was buzzing all day - it made its debut on my 22nd Birthday September at my 80's roller disco. (it also cheered me up when I saw replica's of this original vintage piece in Oasis and River Island's Autumn collections too, Good times) :

Happy Easter, enjoy the chocolate!

Better late than never

Oh dear, I've done it again - ignored my blog. Sorry to my 5 followers! 


Ok so last weekend we went down to Ford again to the car boot/vintage fair on hard standing. I didn't spend anything but look at what I got:

Here you can see 3 belts, a vintage stamp purse, Great Expectations by Charles Dickens (I've never read this) and a jar full of lovely buttons.


I also got:

Sorry for the vague-ness of this picture, its actually a vintage girdle (right) similar to the green corset I picked up a few weeks ago and a pair of jazzy cotton trousers which are crying out for some fashionable soul to rock em with a pair of heels and loose cotton t shirt... (this won't be me just for the record as they do not flatter my figure whatsoever!)


All of the above was free. Yep you heard me right! Do you remember the house clearance guy who got rid of everything at the end of the morning by giving it away? He was there again and did exactly the same thing around 11am, so I picked up as much as I could carry, it was bliss!


I didn't spot anything else of interest and am wondering if I am just feeling spoilt by all the free stuff recently but I'm not going to ponder it too much, its still early season and I will find little gems soon enough.


Sunday we did go to Bordon, country market boot sale, but again I didn't see anything worth having. All I need is the lovely old ladies clearing out their beautiful vintage clothes. Is that so much to ask?

How to haggle

How to bargain - even if you’re petrified of doing it!

Ok so some people seem to be naturals at bargaining and then there are the normal folk like you and me. The thing about haggling prices down, no matter what the situation, is confidence. You have to ooze it from every pore without looking cocky - ok no wonder people find it tough! 

I only started haggling and bargaining when I met Tim and he started taking me to car boot sales. At first I let him bargain down things for me, but I slowly started to do it myself and once I’d had a go it was so much easier and I did feel a lot more confident.

Here is my guide to haggling - its not exhaustive by any means but hopefully it will help give you the confidence to give it a go - you never know you might not stop, and you'll start getting all your shopping at 60% of the price!

Do:

Smile - this is one of the most important things to remember. The more you smile the happier you will feel, the more confident you will look (even if you don’t feel it) and the more likely the seller will warm to you, which is very important.

Assess the value of the item. This is really important too (ok I’ll stop saying that cos most things are important on this list!) For example, at a car boot a DVD will usually sell for £1-3, a pair of topshop jeans could fetch anything from £2-7. When you know what the second hand price is you can judge how much you should be paying - scout around for a bit to get a feel for prices or just have a look on ebay beforehand (though prices may be inflated on ebay)

Now the first thing I do is pick the item up and inspect it. Sometimes the seller will notice and offer their price. If not, catch their eye and ask “how much do you want for this?” without any emotion. If you think you’ve found a vintage Chanel 2.55 then hide that excitement!!!

Even if you think the price is fair, halve it. (unless the price is just too good not to accept, in which case, accept it!) Its a good rule to start with, the more experienced you get then you might even cut the price down even lower but you don’t want to offend the seller or they might not even sell to you at all. 

At this point the seller may do one of two things. They may refuse blankly and say that it is their lowest offer or they will offer another slightly lower price. If they refuse, up your offer a smidgen and see their response. If they flat out refuse again, it is time to make up your mind - take it or leave it. The best response is “you drive a hard bargain, I’ll take it” or “you drive a hard bargain, I’ll leave it” Simple as that. You’re not offending anyone if you don’t take the item, so don’t feel obliged.

If the seller begins to haggle then offer slightly higher price. If they continue to drop the price after a few goes you’ll probably find yourself or the seller agreeing at a price quite quickly. Never go over your maximum amount in your head (what you think its worth).

If you’ve offered your final price, the most you are willing to pay, and the seller refuses to budge, walk away. It may not work, but sometimes you will get called back and they’ll accept your last offer. Its also worth remembering to come back towards the end as if the items still there, they may just give it to you at your price.

There’s another tactic if you want to try it out: tell them you’ve only got a certain amount left. This only tends to work towards the end of the car boot when people just want to shift it and avoid taking stuff home. It is at this time when you can really go in with a low offer (lower than 50%) especially if you see them cutting prices for other customers.

Don’t:

NEVER say how much you want to pay for the item until its nearing the end of the bargaining process. Even if they ask you outright, just keep asking them what price they want for the item. This keeps you feeling confident and in control of the situation.

Do not get angry. It really isn’t worth it and you can always walk away if somebody winds you up.

I hope that helps, if I think of any more tips I’ll drop them in another post. Looking at the weather its not hopeful for car booting tomorrow (sunday) so I may just show you a few of my past bargains. Happy haggling!

Sunday Car Boot Sale is back on the field

After a winter of walking around the car park of our year-round car boot sale in Bordon, Surrey/West Sussex it was a special moment when I stepped onto the cold hard grass of the field - perhaps it was the wind but I definitely got chills!


Everyone seemed to be clearing out their lofts and it was great to see so many normal folk reaping the rewards of recycling. I didn't do very well finding vintage clothes and accessories - there were far too many stalls of childrens attire and the adult stuff wasn't very inspiring (where are all the lovely old women whose wardrobes I want to raid? Must be the cold... not quite warm enough for a morning standing in a field with a cuppa and a box of loose change)


I spent a grand total of 10p. I think this is the lowest amount ever spent at a boot sale - except for zero! I spent my ten pennies on a letter stencil for my sketchbook, take a look, its very pretty and a nice font too:

Next weekend I think we're just going to have a hunt around Bordon again - if the weather is good - I'll fill you in on all my finds and let you know if I meet any interesting characters! Till next week x

The car boot season is upon us!

I am so excited that the weather is turning and spring is in the air because I can officially declare the car boot season is upon us! 


This weekend we travelled to Ford, on the South Coast of England, to the Saturday market on the airfield. This market is much like a normal car boot sale but is generally 90% traders. Usually I frown at traders clogging up car boot space selling knock off ugg boots and reams of bin liners but at Ford you find many vintage traders and house clearance specialists flogging things at very reasonable prices. I successfully found a vintage corset for my upcoming vintage lingerie styling shoot. It cost me £3 from a dashing young man who seemed to be in the house clearance business:

This is the back view of the corset. Its a light green and has a reinforced metal support for the front. It needs a clean - lord knows how I'll go about that but when I find out the best way I'll let you know - but if photographed well it should look lovely for my shoot.


I also picked up a couple of pretty scarfs from the same bloke (£1 for the pair):

I wandered around tempted by lots of lovely (but unfortunately pricey) jewellery when I stumbled across another house clearance stall. There were dozens of plastic crates laid out full of bric a brac so I had a root around and picked up some vintage tights for £1. On my way out of the market I passed this same stall packing up, shifting everything left for free! So, I decided to indulge on the rest of the tights and stockings, a crazy patterned blouse and some recipe books and sewing books. So for a grand total of £5 I got all of the above, and all of the below:

All my free recipe books plus a Vogue Cocktails book my boyfriend kindly picked up for me - classic margarita recipes here I come!

Here come the tights:

I'd recommend Ford Saturday market for anyone looking for vintage bric a brac, books and furniture with the occasional smattering of clothes and accessories but I wouldn't rely on it to kit out your new summer wardrobe.

Car Boot Lesson Number 3 - You snooze you lose

This morning we went to the usual car boot haunt. It was really busy which was a good sign and there were plenty more independent sellers this week but there wasn't a lot to be had and the one thing that caught my eye got snapped up.... this was very annoying

It was a cream, silk, Harvey Nics shirt come bodysuit. It would have been perfect for my vintage lingerie photo shoot coming up. I hovered as another woman was eyeing it up, she took ages umming and ahhing and I thought she would walk away but alas, she asked how much and grabbed it for a scandalous 50p.

Gutted

Lesson of the day: YOU SNOOZE YOU LOSE

On the bright side I have sold a Vintage Jaeger Little Black Dress for £13. I think I picked it up in a southampton charity shop for £1 a few months back. 

Lets hope next weekend is a bit more successful! 

Bad Week For Booting

Pfftp - what a shocker weekend for bargain hunting.


Visited Midhurst Indoor carboot sale on Saturday which is held a couple of weekends every month. It is generally overpriced and has a lot of jewellery traders but sometimes throws up a few finds. Tim collects vintage lighters and has found some real Gems here so we gave it a go. Unfortunately there was nothing to be had - everything really was overpriced.... 


We wandered into Midhurst town to pick up a few essentials and to mooch around the charity shops but quickly got bored of waiting patiently for pensioners to shuffle around the racks. I also had a bit of a run in with a tripping granny which really got on my nerves. She tripped over a gentleman's foot and flew towards me, grabbed my upper arm and shoved me into the glass cabinet I was standing next to. Obviously I was mortified for her and tried to help her up. She shoved me off and let a fellow old biddy help her up instead.


I'm not heartless, of course she didn't mean to grip my biceps and pull me down with her, but it would have been polite to accept my offer of help and apologise for using me as a crash mat. My arms are bruised and I will be avoiding Midhurst on a Saturday morning from now on. 


x

Car Boot Success!

We dragged ourselves out of bed on Sunday because the sun was shining and we needed a bargain fix. The usual car boot has been held in the car park for about 2 months now so I haven't found anything decent for a long time.


Lady luck was shining on me though! Got a pair of french leather gladiator sandals for £2.50:

Now I couldn't decide if they were hideous or actually pretty cool. This often happens at the boot and I have learnt that if I don't buy it I usually regret it. Also, if I later decide they truly are hideous I can flog them on ebay.

The lady who sold them to me was selling a lot of clothes but they didn't appear to be her cast offs. This means the haggling can go one of two ways: either she is selling it for someone, has no idea what its worth and sells it to your for peanuts. Or they're selling it for someone who has told them specifically that they want such and such amount. It was the latter for this lady. She said: "they're my daughters and she wants a fiver for them because they leather and they came from France"

I sniffed a bit and complained how they needed cleaning up as they were pretty knackered then went in at a £2 offer. She didn't like it and said she'd only take a fiver. I said £2.50 and you don't have to take them home. She told me I drive a hard bargain, I smiled sweetly and handed over the cash....! She did mumble something under her breath but you get that A LOT at car boot sales so I ignore it these days.

My second bargain was a lovely cotton dress with rose print for £1:

I love this! It cleaned up really well and is very comfortable. Little bit too big but I might just run a big pleat down the front or back on the sewing machine to make it fit a bit better but can't complain for £1. This was a much easier buy, the woman had loads of old tatty clothes heaped on a mat, I had a good old rummage pulled out the fabric that felt the best quality and ta dah! Lovely little dress. You can always tell if its worth having by coping a feel... if it feels nasty, you won't want to wear it.


That was it for this week, slim pickings in comparison to a summers sunday booting but seeing as its been pretty poor all winter, I'm very happy. Give it a month and we'll be back in the field avoiding the dog crap and wandering toddlers. 


Bliss!