Alameda Flea Market

The Alameda Flea Market was back yesterday, and I think we all felt like the shopper pictured here: on high from all the fabulous treasures we discovered!

These vintage fruit crates would be great at a rustic fall wedding -- for holding programs, a photo booth backdrop, to serve cold drinks, or just stacked for ambiance!

We noticed some gorgeous vintage jewelry this time, and even spotted some people shopping for wedding rings -- so sweet!

Fancy bling was everywhere...

These vintage collectible cars rev'ed us up!

And we're nuts about this squirrel rocking his fluffy ears. (The Flea is always a great source of vintage illustration inspiration!)

Adorable hummingbirds with 40s flair.

Some lovely boho quilts made with recycled Indian fabrics

Bye, Flea!  We'll see you next month!

Studio Snapshot: Paris je t'aime!

Its no secret how much we love the Alameda Flea Market, but when we saw the photos of Les Puces from Lia's recent trip to Paris - we were très jaloux indeed! An endless maze of vintage clothes, books, housewares and enough retro packaging and ephemera to make your head spin!

There were even a few pieces that looked like they could have held court at Versailles. Move over Marie Antoinette, we may need to borrow your fainting couch.  Swoon!

Vintage Ornaments

It's been too long since we've made it out to the Alameda Flea Market, so when we were reminded the other day of how much we adore vintage blown-glass ornaments, we had to find someplace to get an eyeful.  Our Woodblock Ornaments holiday card design put us in the mood, and we turned up all these lovelies to help us flea-shop vicariously.

Such beautiful music! We just couldn't hold back our holiday enthusiasm any longer.

Our personal favorite. What colors! Fancy a cup?

And a requisite Father Christmas.

AAACK! But maybe not this one! Teee heee!

All these come via a lovely vintage treasure blog called Oodles and Oodles.

The Alameda Flea is back on!

The flea is back on, according to the official website!  Hurray!!

We're seriously tempted to brave the Bay Bridge closure and hoof it out there for fear that this may be the last. Tip for what it's worth:  last time the bridge was closed, we found that the San Mateo bridge got us there quickly in the morning. Returning, the Richmond bridge was a nightmare so we doubled  back and took the San Mateo bridge back to the city -- much better!  Hope to see you there!

Alameda Flea Market, noooooooo!

10/31/09 - IMPORTANT UPDATE: THE FLEA IS BACK ON!! (though how to get there quickly with the Bay Bridge still closed is a conundrum...)

We just learned via Paris Boutique Hotel that the Alameda Flea Market, which was to have happened as usual this Sunday, is canceled indefinitely due to some legal dispute among the organizers!

We were already fretting about how we were going to get there given today's indefinite Bay Bridge closure (due to a collapsed crossbeam - lord help us!), and now we're just, well...excuse us while we dab our eyes and honk our noses on one of the many precious vintage hankies we've purchased from the Flea over the years!

We'll keep fingers and toes crossed that this is not a permanent state of affairs, and that the Flea will rise again! In the meantime, spread the word to anyone you know who was planning to go...

Photo via Paris Boutique Hotel

August Flea & Tinsel Trading

This weekend's flea was a little overcast, but we still managed to spot some great stuff. Our favorite flea newcomer hands-down was Tinsel Trading -- we've always coveted their shop in New York, so it was so great to have them come to us!!

These beautiful fabric flower parts are perfect for making corsages and hair clips...

...and these leaves and lily-of-the-valley would be so sweet for bouttonnieres!  Can't wait to start crafting!

You can also shop Tinsel Trading online. Those pretty pink leaves are available right here.

July Flea Market

The July flea was a little cold and overcast, but we still found a few gems, like this 1950's cake topper.

Cigar bands - love the typefaces and colors...

Queen Elizabeth II commemorative tea tin.

Prancing horse vintage greeting card.

Adorable vintage children's book plates.

Vintage matchbooks from classic San Francisco hotels. The one on the left reminds us of our Visit San Francisco wedding invitation suite and save the date cards by Lab Partners.

And finally, some funny (and slightly bossy) hobby stationery! Hilarious!  See you next month!

Things we didn't buy

...but wish we had! Tea towels.

Ceramic poodle.

Map of Provence.

Vintage apothecary.

Cigar bands.

Old letters.

Felted flowers.

Porcelain balls.

Ah, if only we had unlimited space, and budget!

Until then, we will very happily look. See you next month!

Love the flea

Ah, the flea. There is no place we'd rather be. And what a wonderful flea it was. A box of pretty Christmas ornaments.

Vintage box of chalk.

Erasers.

Lovely baby things.

Flea market finds!

Sunday was the Alameda Flea Market and, as always, we were there in full treasure-hunting mode! This time we spotted some fabulous paper goods and crafting supplies..

Love this vintage wall paper -- we can't wait to use it to line some envelopes! We also found these little paper cups, lined with pleated crepe paper -- such a cute idea for containing favors!

And these buttons and fabric would be so fabulous for crafting projects!

Paper elephants! We can imagine using them as favors or place cards for a baby shower (slip the guest's name in the elephant's trunk!)

A pretty paper fan...so lovely! Ah, the flea is so satisfying!

Vintage Pipes

The Alameda Flea Market was back last weekend and we were so busy shopping for our new studio shop (photos to come!) that we forgot to take too many photos. One of our favorite finds this time around were all these fantastic vintage pipes - these along with some stick-on mustaches and vintage glasses would make such fun party favors!

The Flea: Sombrero-wearing Frogs and More!

Where on earth can you find a sombrero-wearing frog, and his accordion-playing campadre? Why, at the Alameda Flea Market, of course! But, seriously, we love the flea for its numerous collectibles that can be used, among other things, to decorate a room, wrap a gift, or add flair to parties. These cherry and strawberry millinery notions, for example, can be tied to a gift with ribbon, or twined around napkins at a dinner party. We've used kids' alphabet blocks to spell guests' initials at place settings at a baby shower. Mix-and-match salt and pepper shakers are perfect for a large sit-down dinner or vintage-inspired wedding. There is just so much inspiration at the flea - your imagination (and your husband/boyfriend/fiance's/roommate's tolerance for vintage ephemera) is the only limit!

Elegant Flea Market Finds

A few more delectable finds from our flea market excursion - lovely vintage hosiery packaging, accessories, and a fabulous deco bamboo umbrella stand which now has a new home at Sabrina's house!

Vintage Clothing at the Flea

The flea market is vintage fashion maven's paradise (guilty!). Despite having closets bursting with the stuff, Eunice and I once again found ourselves succumbing to the irresistible temptation to try on all things sparkly, mod/polyester, be-feathered, and fur-trimmed. Our mother was a 60's fashion diva (as well as a home ec queen and Avon lady), so the experience is a lot like playing dress-up in her closet!

Our favorite new find is King Vintage, where we found the gorgeous blue fur-trimmed coat above. Next stop: the Vintage Fashion Expo taking place on March 15-16 at the Nob Hill Masonic Center. We'll be there with hats on!

(and hats off to Anna Hurley for catching us in the act!)

The Flea Returns!

After two straight months of being rained out, this month's Alameda Flea Market was hands-down one of the best in recent memory. A gorgeous sunny day, tons of vendors, and a huge array of fabulous finds. We have to confess we went a little haywire (we now are the proud owners of many more polyester frocks than one can possibly find an excuse to wear, several fur-trimmed coats, a hand-sewn piece of wall art, and much more). The flea market is sensory overload, so this week our blog will be 100% dedicated to feeding you bite-sized portions of our most delectable finds! Stay tuned for more pics...

Photographs courtesy of the talented Ms. Anna Hurley, our wonderful new designer!