Treasures from the brocante - Thank you MJP!

You guys I can't believe it's been two years since I've last posted on this blog. Thank you so, so much if you manage to find somehow this post and give me some feedback. 

So the story is simple, really. 

It's Spring time here in Arlonia (for the readers of this blog who just come to join me, Arlonia is some bits of Luxembourg, some bits of Belgium, some bits of France and some bits of Germany and the Netherlands, I could as well call it the Grande Region or the Greater Region or Benelux and France and Germany, but Arlonia, to me, sounds nicer) and the brocante (brocante is similar to thrift market, car boot sale, garage sale, second hand market, flea market, but it is the word in French) season is open. Usually in Arlonia the brocante season starts in March and finishes in October, so during the warmer months each city or town picks a Sunday to do a brocante. Don't ask me the rules of a brocante cause I don't know, who could sell, what could be sold, but what I know is that almost every Sunday there is a brocante somewhere in Arlonia. 

I stumbled on this particular brocante by pure chance, cause I was acting as a guide for some guests, we were visiting Luxembourg and in Knuedler there was this brocante. I think the guests are important as well for this particular story, because the ladies are experts in wooden furniture and craft objects and in textiles from a prestigious museum in Romania, the ASTRA Museum in Sibiu.

And as we were walking, debating what to buy and, most importantly, what to do with what we bought, my eyes fell on a cardboard box with old textiles. I always love to look through old textiles, most of them hand made.

I first saw the year, exactly 30 years older than me, and then I've examined the object. It was 5 euro, but only if you do hand embroidery or hand stitching you can quantify the amount of work that went into producing this tiny object. It is embroidered, it has lace, the cloth is prepared with hems and stitched in the shape of a pouch or maybe a pillowcase.

To me it looks like a school project.

So 4 years after the war, MJP (I like to thing it was Marie Jeanne) had to do a school project showing what she (or he) learned in the craft classes. It is well executed with attention to details, I hope MJP got a big grade on the project.

Now why did I say my guests are important?

Because the textile expert is not expert in regular Romanian textiles, but in Transylvanian Saxons textiles. And the Transylvanian Saxons used to write their name or just their initials on their clothes and on their houses and on their objects. True, this is a school project, the pouch doesn't seem to ever been used and the initials are there to show who made the school project and maybe differentiate with the others in the class, but what a nice coincidence. Moreover the Transylvanian Saxons first came from a region very close to Arlonia, way earlier than the war and 1949. BUT is still a nice coincidence.

NOW I do hope to pop back here again sooner than two years, I've forgotten how much I love to write on this blog and believe you me, in the span of two years I have plenty of topics and ideas to write about, so keep close.

As always, Raluca

Belgium - Let's tour the brocants! - Brocante de Charme at Deulin Castle

When we first arrived to this area we were novices in what a brocante is, we of course had our fair share of car boot sales and we went to flea markets, but in this area the Brocantes are so much more.

First of all, what is a brocante. While researching for this article I've stumbled upon this website which explains, in English, the whole terminology related to flea markets and the differences between a flea market and a car boot sale.

To sum it up, a Brocante is something similar to a flea market. The term comes from Dutch and more common in French you will hear Marche de Puces, because of course everything has to be dubbed. Arlon has a very famous brocante on the first Sunday of every Summer month and I think the same goes to Luxembourg as well.

Another term you will encounter is Braderie. Not to be confused with Brocante, the Braderie is a sale. Luxembourg has braderies twice in a year if not more and what it means, is the shops are opened on Sunday, and every shop owner opens a stand outside with things on sale.

The last term is Vide-Grenier and to my Romanian and English ears it sounded like emptying the barn and I would not be too far off, as it means emptying the attic. It is similar to a garage sale or car boot sale, you will find them on the side of the road, in small villages. 

It is not on the website I've linked, but here I found Troc stores. We had the term in Romanian and it roughly translated to bargaining, but what truly means it a transaction without money, a barter in modern words. Of course if you go in a troc store you will pay for what you buy with money, but I just wanted to tell you how similar our words are. From all the alternative commerce I have mentioned here, I loved the most to go to trocs. The one in Messancy, Arlon is huge and I guaranty you will never leave empty handed. From furniture to little trinkets, to plates and cookery, you will find everything at the Troc in Messancy. There is of course the Troc in Luxembourg, but as you can imagine they have Luxembourgish prices. 

Ok so after all this introduction, I wanted to tell you about the Brocante De Charme au Chateau Deulin. Doesn't sound nice? During the Summer every Sunday you can visit a brocante, I think there is even a schedule of brocantes in the area you can check out, but this one is closer to my heart as it is the first brocante we went to with Ilinca and it is in the courtyard of a castle and you are allowed to enter with your dog, so what more would we ask for? 

I've found it last year over Facebook, another strong plus point, as it is always good that they have an online presence and they can be easily found by younger audiences such as us. I honestly go there just to watch and if I find something to buy, even better. 

This sort of brocante brings a different crowd to what I am accustomed every day, well dressed people, with money to spend and an eye for what is indeed worth buying. There were a few ladies there that I could only wish I would be when I will older. 

From the start, I haven't bought anything. I am in a phase of de-cluttering and rearranging my cluttered house and I always ask "do I really need this" before buying anything. Well, if anyone would go by this philosophy, no one would visit the brocantes, but this is me, now.

So here are a few pictures of things I've liked. Just so you know the brocante in Deulin Castle is opened even today, on Monday, but if you stumble upon this article sometime in the year, just know what you might find in this charming brocante.

There were a few of this bags, well priced, I want one, but just not that one.

I've liked this pot with the flowers and I would actually have space for another one, but did not buy it. I have this picture if I would ever want to replicate that. 

These beads are for Rwanda, there is a big market in the area for African art, but the seller did not know of what they were made of. I've liked them nonetheless and bought four to turn into earrings as they are lightweight. 

Then I've liked this mirror. It was 75 euros, maybe one could haggle it down to another price, I've liked its style, but at the end left it there

Then this armoire, isn't it lovely? I would have to re-build my whole house around it as it fit's none of our styles, but left it there.

Loved this jug. I think it was part of a set with a large bowl and it was used for washing the face in the morning, the older version of an en-suite loo. I have a thing with jugs at the moment, well to be honest I had it for years, but regardless, it stayed there.

Isn't this just lovely?

At some point in this life I will buy a trunk like this one, painted blue. This however remained at the brocante.

 

I would have liked to visit the castle a bit, of course there are some rooms opened, as the chapel and some workshops behind the castle, but the entrance hall is the only "room" that is opened to the public. It gives me such Wedgwood vibes, enough to keep me curious to visit the whole castle, if possible, one day.

This is just one of the courtyards of the brocante, the one where I could find the most fashion related treasures, such as lace and vintage bags and vintage linens. 

So that is folks, the Brocante du Charme au Chateau Deulin. I hope you liked this post as much as I've liked writing it and if you want to chat you will find me on Instagram @mademoiselle.ralu