Me in front of a REAL French Chateau!
My daughter came over yesterday for Mother's Day (thank you Dear, you're the best daughter a Mom could have!) and I was so excited to show her some of my Borcante Market tresors! She loved several of the items and, if I wasn't trying to make a business out of this, I would have given her half of what I was able to carry home! (Sorry Dear.)
I'm so excited about what I purchased and can't wait for my shipment from France to arrive in a few months. I found a lot of what I was hoping to find but not everything. I don't want to bore you with the details but let's just say the dollar isn't what it used to be (just figure if you buy something for 1.00 Euro, it is actually costing a little less than $1.50 USD.) To purchase some of the wooden case pieces that I'd hoped to ship home, I would have had to have been buying for the Queen Mum or someone. There are few bargains to be found in Provence these days. I'm even wondering if a lot of the French antiques aren't right here in Texas already!
I brought home with me some wonderful monogrammed linens, grain sacks, antique brass photo frames and hand-colored lithographs! I'm washing, cleaning and pricing the items this week and can't wait to be able to add them to the "store." I found several vintage French laundry baskets (huge and beautiful), bottle drying racks, bottle carriers, champagne buckets, vintage bottles, and other great French decorating items that will arrive in the shipment.
Even though I didn't find the casegoods that I was hoping to find, MH and I did happen upon a wonderful blacksmith in the small village of Les Vigneres. We were driving to the Brocante markets in l'Isle sur la Sorgue and, from the highway, saw his shop yard filled with wonderful tables, chairs and other great metal pieces. At first we purchased 6 handforged outdoor cafe chairs and then, as we were walking toward the door to leave, I couldn't resist a French blue "half table" and two small cafe chairs. They'll be in my shipment as well! Even though the blacksmith couldn't speak any English and we could speak minimal French, we were able to communicate for over an hour through hand gestures and pantomine and have a pleasant transaction for both of us. I'm sure to anyone passing by and seeing our animated conversation, the scene would have been amusing. With the use of pen and paper, we also communicated through the universal language of numbers! This man was a pleasure to work with and his passion for and pride of his work was evident in the pieces he created. I could have bought everything in his shop.
I'll post a few pictures of some of my finds over the next week. Now I need to get to washing those beautiful linens!
Have a wonderful Monday and don't forget to enjoy the small pleasures all around you.
Au revoir, Mitty
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