Collecting Old Wooden Boxes

 

Each of them has a story before they landed somewhere and finally at the fleamarket. I think they are fun to collect. And without any particular reason, I just collected each of them. 

I use them to store little things, needles, curtain hooks, etc. They are very handy and decorative and they create a big impact if grouped together on top of a dresser or side table. 

 

Some of them were carved and I think the one on top came from North Africa. I would guess this one is from Morocco or Algeria or can also be Tunesia because of the way it´s carved. I have a wooden box with similar carvings that hide my box of tissue paper.

 

This box here is intricately carved and came from my husbands family... it was said that this was made by an  uncle who´s bread & butter was to make all the  mother of pearl buttons I featured on this blog. This box needs some restorations, the wood used is very soft and delicate...

  

This is a box I found at the flea amrket...the surface is with inlays partly out of mother of pearl shells and partly wood... they are common works seen in the Middle East.

 

 

This one here has a laqcuered-finish surface and was given to me by a friend... It is made in Vietnam.

 

 

Again, a box with inlays

The top of this one has a thin sheet of metal that was inserted into the wood to form the design ..

 

 

I presumed that the box above had been used to store cigars because it smelled of tabak when I got it from the fleamarket. The external  wood surface is nicely treated with a marble like design. 

A pretty wooden box that I got almost for free because the fleamarket dealer was about to go home. It probably had been a school project of a boy whose birthyear was 1967...

 

 

 All of these boxes really cost almost nothing, but it´s fun to collect. Thank you for reading my blog today and wish you all an enjoyable weekend!

 

Til next,

Mercy



The Sunny Side Of The Viennese Flea Market

As usual,  the Viennese Flea Market on Saturdays is jampacked with visitors, tourists & dealers as well. It´s not much of an antique flea market, I´d rather say that it´s a practical market where most dealers from Eastern Europe sell their second hand goodies . It´s not really comparable to other great flea markets in Europe  such as in France, England or  Holland where you could really find qualitative antiques.

When we visit the market, we would usually go later when the dealers are about to pack their goods and that´s 2 hours before closing time at 3 PM. Going to the Flea Market means bargaining for something you really wish to acquire, maybe things you are looking for to add to your growing collection of whatever. 

Visiting the flea market is also like sports, you covet something and consider that thing like a trophy, ahhhhhhh......, how it feels good to have bargained for a thing that costs only a fraction !!!...it  doesn´t hurt your pocket, but it makes you happy and fulfilled.

The  market is  located in the  area called "Naschmarkt" that was once a farmer´s
market until it was reinvented as a mecca for food lovers. It´s a parking lot on the
weekdays and on Saturdays it´s completely in the hands of  the dealers... It is also surrounded by beautiful buildings with tasteful architecture which were mostly built late 18th Century. One example is the building above. 

The two cobalt blue glasses are part of the bohemian glasses we collect. We got them both about 3 weeks ago at a price of 18 Euros each instead of  about 40 each. The 2 plates below are probably part of a set of plates that hold nuts or cookies which I got a 1 Euro each.

The two plates are now displayed in my cupboard adding to my collection of blue & white wares... By the way, the blue & white ceramic coffee sets are "hand downs" from hubby´s family.

Hope you found today´s posting interesting  and I hope to see you here again...

Til next,

Mercy

Displaying Decorative Plates

Collecting blue and white ceramics is fun, and it´s really awesome to collect them.  My plates are simple and do not really cost so much, it is these two colors that really attract me to collect them. Since I only have small space to display them, either I put them in cupboards grouped together or hang them on walls or display them standing on top of a cupboard or plate rack..

   Above,  I grouped the plates together with other blue & white wares in the cupboard

Using the above holders, I also display them on top of cupboards or drawers. What makes the display interesting is the different mixtures of the shapes and designs of the plates, and again, the pulling factor is its blue & white colors.

I also use this plate holder intended for plates that do not have holes for wall hanging. They come in various sizes and you can  get  them in household stores or Home Decor shops or maybe in your nearest hardware shop.

It was my desire to get a plate rack to display the tiny plates that hubby & I collected, but I wasn´t able to find one that I like.... so I built the one above using simple wooden strips , put them together, nailed, painted, sanded, and painted again then stenciled. This plate rack was my gift to my hubby on his birthday.

So dear friends, do not hide your decorative  plates, with those simple ideas you should show-off your wonderful collection , enjoy it and let your heart smile!

Til next,

Mercy