Best Day I’ve Had in a Long Time!

Lately life has not had many fun moments and I have felt bogged down in serious stuff. So when my friend Lisa asked me if I wanted to join her for a day at the Alameda Flea Market I was thrilled. In all the years I’ve lived in California, just an hour away from this market, I have never been and it didn’t disappoint. It was a gorgeous day, Lisa and her sister-in-law Zoe were delightful companions and I found some wonderful items.

This kind of thing is not to everyone’s taste, but gosh they can command some serious money!

Relaxing after lunch on a picnic bench doing a little people watching!

I’ll admit it was overwhelming. Hundreds of vendors with so many fabulous items. It was hard to know where to focus. Still I did buy a few things and everything I bought I love. That’s how I rolled. Yesterday was more about joy and having fun and choosing pieces that made my heart sing.

Antique and vintage photos

From three different vendors I bought two scrapbooks full of photos and one small boxful. There’s no money in them for the prices I paid, but I adore old photos. I’ll keep my favorites and sell the rest and likely break even or make a small profit.

Antique (possibly19th century) double-sided cloisonne 5.5″ cross

I’m fond of both old crosses and old cloisonne and this one has both! The cloisonne on this is so finely done with just a small bit of pitting and loss. I haven’t determined if this is from China or France as both countries produced similar crosses during this period. It has a teeny tiny loop at the top for hanging or wearing. It is just fabulous.

Antique Gorham Co. silver soldered “basket” with movable handle

I tell myself I’m not going to buy anymore silverplate, then I see something like this–an old Gorham piece with fabulous details like feet/claws, a greek key pattern and Egyptian faces which would have been produced during the Egyptian Revival period (1880-1930). So far I haven’t found any others for sale online. It does need cleaning and polishing and I’m not sure what I’ll find under all that tarnish, but my preliminary research indicates I should be able to sell this for $125-$200. (Paid $35 for this 11.5″ basket.)

Antique Iroquois beaded pincushion

Here’s the story–I grew up in Western NY just a few miles from an Iroquois reservation and I had seen beadwork pieces like this in the local museums. (These were made in the late 1800s/early 1900s for the tourist trade.) So when I saw this one yesterday at the fair I couldn’t say no. It made my heart skip a beat. It’s not perfect, but what is after 100 years?!

So it was a lovely, lovely day in every way. Thank you Lisa for making it possible.

As always happy hunting,

Karen