Treasure Hunting in Portugals Capital City - Feira da Ladra the 'Thieves Market'.

So I haven't posted for a while but I'm just back from an amazing treasure hunting trip to Portugal and thought I would share my experience.  Portugal is a beautiful place full of wonderful people and the lifestyle is something I would love to have more of in the U.K.  The local fresh food markets, the celebrated traditional craft fairs and the flea markets are just amazing.

One such flea market, hiding in the sloped streets of Lisboa, or Lisbon as us English speakers call it, is Feira da Ladra, or the 'Thieves Market"located in the Alfama District (Campo de Santa Clara).  If you head for the area between the Panteao Nacional and the Church of Sao Vicente on a Tuesday or Saturday, you will find it.  I was determined to visit this market as it sounded huge, so we set out early at 7 a.m to arrive for some bargains.

When we got there at 8 a.m, many of the stores (most simple blankets thrown onto the ground) were still setting up so we headed to a small cafe near the train station for some breakfast.  On heading back we were greeted by a true marvel, hundreds of traders and thousands of items for sale.

Most of the items seemed to start at around 5 Euros, from a rugby ball to a small painting!  There is an eclectic mix but I was struck by the quantity of quality brass ware and furniture.  If only I could have fit it into my suitcase! The sellers were friendly overall, not everyone spoke English but that is no barrier to getting a few treasures.  The traders that did speak English, which was most engaged in friendly conversation about Europe and asked what we thought about Brexit, it was nice to see how real people in Europe thought.

We easily spent 2 hours walking and rummaging through the boxes for hidden gems, you could spend all day here if you are a determined buyer.  Unfortunately I had a grumpy boyfriend with me who does not have flea markets and treasure hunting in his, "List of top 10 things to do".  He did carry my bags though so I can't complain too much, and I did buy him the rugby ball so he cant complain too much either!  I would thoroughly encourage you to take the tram over to the market if you are in Lisbon as it is full of atmosphere, in a beautiful part of the city and you might even find some treasure of your own.

Here are a few of the items I selected to bring back with me, and believe me when I say if i had a bigger suitcase there would have been much more!

Vintage Wicker Place Mats - http://etsy.me/2uD68Du

Vintage Coin Purse - http://etsy.me/2h4qKRF

Vintage Candle Box - http://etsy.me/2uyaT2u

To purchase any of my hand selected treasures from the Thieves Market head over to my Etsy store where I have hundreds of wonderful vintage items in stock from all over the world. http://etsy.me/2uYRPLO or look me up on Facebook http://bit.ly/2v0GA54

My Love of Objects: From Lady Chatterleys Lover to Tony Robinson

My story began as a small child.  There was a path along side the local park, affectionately named "The Pig Trough" - I was searching in the undergrowth for treasure, hitting back plants with a stick like wading through an overgrown jungle. I found it.  One VHS copy of "Lady Chatterleys Lover" ... I proceeded to take this back to my house where I stopped and I knocked, like a door to door sales man, asking my father if he wanted to buy a naughty film.

My intrigue grew as I did, I wanted to find more, to discover, to learn.  My love of history connected with my love of forgotten artifacts when I went to university and qualified as an Archaeologist, here I learned not only the physical skills but the intrinsic value of objects, their meaning, their stories - the theories and links between people and things.  Archaeological theory calls this "personhood", the life of an object.  This personhood of items is what really draws me to objects.  Before anyone asks, yes I have been on Time Team and yes, Tony Robinson is lovely!

So the present day, I opened my Etsy Shop "The Vintage Archaeologist",  to continue my treasure hunting, to pass on objects to others and extend the personhood of those treasures.  Their story continues through time, through their links to people, the people that made them, the people that dis guarded them and the people that will own and love them again.  Im keping these treasures out of a future archaeological spoil heap, for as long as I can, by passing their history on to you.

I've just had a very lovely shiny new banner designed by a very talented Graphic Artist, Terry Cooper.  Highly recommended! I think it reflects this story perfectly (aside from the 18 rated video tape haha!). If you need any work doing I'd 100% send you his way.

So that's how I got to be an Etsy Store owner! I have over 300 items of treasure in my store right now and this is growing week by week.  These unique and amazing objects would just love to have their story continued by you so check it out and see if you can be part of an objects life The Vintage Archaeologist

Next Blog Post I'll update you on my latstest expedition, treasure hunting in the ancient ruins of Caerphilly!

Term Time! - Cloisonne.

Term Time!!

No, we aren't back at school. its time for a new word.

I found this piece and wondered if there was a name for detailed enamel work on metal.  Turns out there is, and its ...

Cloisonne

Thin wire work, often in silver or gold is used to create a pattern outline, often on a copper base piece. It creates an outline for different sections or colours.  They are then filled with enamel powder made into a paste and fired.  It was first used on jewellery and small clothes fittings in Ancient Egypt, during the Roman Empire and in Anglo Saxon crafts,  It got picked up by Chinese craftsmen in the 14th century who used it for much larger pieces.  It is still a hugely popular method of decoration in China today.

If you are interested in the piece shown above it is available in my store Chinese Dragon Cloisonne Vase

Hope you found this snippet of information useful!  

Ciao,

Ignis.

Its Finally done! The Bloggin Begins!

So I've finally gotten around to making the blog.  You may be wondering what this blog is for?  Well, I LOVE old items.  Carboots, skips, auctions, charity shops... even the ground we walk on is full of treasure that we can still learn from, use and cherish.


You may now be thinking, "Under the ground?! What is this crazy woman talking about?" Well my degree was in Archaeology and I worked in it for a while (including a couple of stints on the infamous 'Time Team').  So it turns out, I have found quite a lot of 'treasure' in muddy holes in fields!  These days I mainly concentrate on slightly warmer and cleaner means of finding my treasure!  I have an Etsy shop that I have been running for the past year which I thoroughly enjoy, its becoming more a full time thing now which I'm thrilled about.  Id really love for you to check my store out as I have got some amazing Christmas stock in, loads of items would make lovely and unique gifts.  Why buy a generic high street store item when you can rehome some treasure eh?!  MY STORE


Found anything you like? I hope so.  Sharing these items, pairing them with new loving owners and ultimately saving a lot from landfill is a huge part of the joy of doing this.  I see so many beautiful and functional items that are discarded or undervalued because they aren't appreciated, they aren't in fashion, they don't match the new carpet, etc.  It really annoys me.  In an overpopulated world and consumer society we should be taking more care with re-purposing, recycling and re-loving our old items instead of simply getting rid of them.


Hopefully over the next few blogs I will be sharing with you interesting bits of information I find out.  This passion is really something where you are learning new things all of the time.  Plus I will share any extra cool items I come across, tips for cleaning things, my general moaning about stuff: Like my store, it will be a weird, eclectic yet interesting mix of 'stuff' that I hope someone out there will appreciate and love.  There is always that one special item for everyone.


Ciao for now,  I have treasure to list in the store.


Ignis.