It was a cloudy Saturday morning here in the City with thunderstorms in the forecast, so I thought I'd head down to the flea market at the 25th Street Garage just to see what I could find. Old black and white photographs are always so inspiring to me, especially seeing the way people decorated their homes or entertained guests. Whether it was a chair with a really knock-out fabric or the eccentric way someone chose to set a table, a box of old photographs shouldn't be overlooked. In my experience, inspiration is everywhere.
Speaking of boxes, I love the ones that look like they're just full of "junk." Most people pass them by, but I like to get in, move things around a bit. You never know what you might uncover. Check out this box of antique corkscrews.
Wine itself has such a rich history, and the utensils that went along with it are no different. I just love all the different materials, like horn, bakelite and wood. Most of them work just as well today as the day they were made. This one I thought was really great. I love the roughness of the old horn handle with the silverplate mechanism. What a perfect gift for my friend Deborah Buck!
These gilded frames I thought were beautiful too. Most go for $100-500. I just love the intricate detailing of the gesso. My good friend Steve McKenzie from Larson-Juhl is always out and about looking for inspiration when designing frames, so I immediately thought of him.
I like to keep a lookout for unique serving utensils whenever I'm at the flea market, and this box had some really nice pieces. The wide one on top is actually an asparagus server from the Victorian era. There are also two fish sets; one pierced, the other with bakelite handles.
Finally, this mix of blue and white china caught my eye. It's so classically pretty and very collectible. Here we have a mix of French porcelain and English transferware. Not only would these plates make beautiful table settings but sophisticated and unexpected wall-hangings as well.
Eddie,
Great Scallop Frame is gorgeous, where are we flea marketing next? I'll pay you double for the frame.
Posted by: Steve the Frame Guy | August 03, 2008 at 09:00 PM