Flea Market finds....

I missed my usual Monday post yesterday.. I'm sure you'll understand because I was at the U2 concert!!!  :) This weekend has been a U2 bonanza. First, it was The Edge sitting two tables from us on Saturday & then it was U2 360 concert on Monday..  :) I'll definitely see them again when they are back in Sydney. Best concert ever! & no.. I did not get an autograph from The Edge.. :(

Anyways, I have digressed too much.. My hoarding journey continues.. at the flea market my photographer, aka my hubby was more interested in the wares & styling of the store then the actual flea market  & did not take too many photos of the flea market (try only one!) The theme now in The Society Inc is The Biography of a BowerBird, I'll post photos of the shop in another post.

I had my eye on this shoe form (quite different from the ones I usually see in antique shops) & when the owner mentioned it was $25... SOLD! In Sydney, this is usually retailed at about 40-60, depending on where you go.

 I also got this statuette(?) from the same lady in the flea market in July. The quirkiness continues... :)

By The Quirky One

Have you met Miss Jones?

I am slowly discovering the independent designers in Sydney. After the flea market at The Society Inc. I found out about Have you met Miss Jones warehouse sales & decided to head there to have a look.

If you have an all white interior & looking for white accessories, Miss Jones is definitely your best bet. It is however highly breakable & very fragile, so maybe not so suitable if you have kids knocking things around. People were heading out with boxes - most things were half-priced & there were $5 & $10 bin too. Don't you just love warehouse sale around Christmas? :)

 

By The Quirky One

Loving the raw wood look.. Mark Tuckey

Am in love with Mark Tuckey's furnitures. Loving the raw wood look at the moment - chalk board coffee table, wood block stool & that awesome dining table with that wood branch look..

These are going into my wish list.. which is getting longer. :)

 

By The Quirky Gastro

Flea Market at The Society Inc!

I would very much like to keep this to myself but.... well good things are meant for sharing. The Society Inc. is holding yet another flea market this Saturday!  It was scheduled initially for the 4th but was postponed to this Saturday because of unfavourable weather conditions then. There will be pre-loved goods, textile, porcelain, lamp shades. tableware, stylist-wares, small furniture pieces & other flotsam & jetsam... basically treasures to be found!!

If you like Sibella Court's style of decorating & treasure troving, be sure not to miss it. Sibella is a well known stylist that has been featured in numerous magazines in Australia as well as overseas. She also curated Anthropologie's 'The Lighthouse' installation & has styled some of their catalog shoots. (I've been missing Anthro since I got back.. sigh.. that's another story)

I will be there bright and early..  but as they bring goods out throughout the morning, it may be OK to go a bit later. It will be a struggle for me to get up early on a Saturday  morning but this may be an exception. I am psyching myself up already!

The Society Inc. is located at the corner of Alexander & Stewart Street in Paddington.  

Here's some photos from Sibella's shop/apartment upstairs (as seen in InsideOut) for you to get a sense of her style. Enjoy!

By The Quirky One

The Living Room

I love pop up stores.. :)

The Living Room - put together by Puddin'Head, Attia & The Lowercase was a pop-up store that was opened last week for one week only in Paddington (would have posted this here if I have found out earlier!). Even though it was only opened for a week, everything was styled beautifully, in fact.. so beautiful that I felt like taking everything home with me.. :)

 

I wasn't so discipline this time around. I love Puddin'Head's latest quirky Victorian(?) images so much that I went back to the store to take a second look. However, because I was so indecisive (the conundrum of  loving the image but less so the colour) that Richard McAdam (from Puddin'Head) took pity and offered me an option of customizing the colour for me (!). Problem solved! How can one say no to that.. :) I'll be stretching that one on a stretcher frame - the image is too pretty to JUST be a tea towel for me.. :)

Enough of my usual rant. Do check out Attia's ware if you like minimalistic Japanese style table wares & definitely check out The Lowercase if you have a kid or is a child at heart. Love the fox duvet sets, the lamp & the oh-so-wonderful Pinocchio rug. The Lowercase is featured in this month's InsideOut too (see below)!

 

 

By The Quirky One

Highlights in Finders Keepers Market

If you love arts & craft, then you wouldn't have missed the Finders Keepers market in  Carriageworks Sydney last weekend. Started in 2008 to promote independent artists & designers, the market has done so well that it is now held biannually in Sydney & Brisbane; & this year for the first time, Finders Keepers was launched in Melbourne.

I would have liked to arrive at the market bright & early to avoid traffic & get a good parking spot,  however, I simply could not get myself up before 10.30am on a Saturday.

We strolled in at about 2pm - HUGE mistake, I was amazed by the size of the crowd as soon as I arrived.

The venue & setting was perfect. With live music, art installation, & unique stalls selling different wares, one can really appreciate this platform of bringing independent artists to THE MARKET - the general public. There was even a separate section just for the budding fashion designers.

Loving....

Paper installation from the Paper Convention Collective,  a collective dedicated to the documentation of Paper Expressionism through paper-installations, exhibitions and paper-art, paper-crafting, and workshops. With the rampant of social media & the move from paper (IPad!) these days, I think it is nice to entice people to rethink expressionism through paper. There was paper craft workshops & you can get your very own mask & headband from the stall with a gold coin. They even invited a paper artist Hello Sandwich from Japan for a workshop. LOVE the concept. Very cool indeed. There were plenty of people walking around with cool headbands from the Paper Convention Collective.

As usual, I was obsessed & drawn to animals. Made950, that also has a shop in Newtown has a series of fake animals on display which was too cute. Made950 also carries Ryan Berkeley's animal print which I totally heart.. :) Check out the owl, baby jackelope (below) & Alice in Wonderland tea set (see here). 

Made590

The Story Book Rabbit - a rabbit paraphernalia which borders on kitsch if not careful. Very sweet & very cute.

There were so many other interesting stalls and there's simply not enough room to cover here. Actually the crowd was a bit too much for me at the end as I really dislike crowded places (mental note: need to be there early next time!).

Other cool homeware which I found to be interesting were vibrant tea towels & cushions from Materialistics & beautiful porcelains from Angus & Celeste. Also really love the linen cushion covers from Mr & Mrs White, which is suitable for any décor in my opinion. :)

Photo take from Mr & Mrs White Etsy store

Photo take from Mr & Mrs White Etsy store

By The Quirky One

Global Gourmet: Viva España (Part 1)

Spain remains our favourite European destination - culture, art ....and of course, the food and wine.

The people are passionate about their food; probably the only other thing they are more or equally passionate about is their football. We have ate our way around Spain and everytime we leave Spain  we feel like we simply have to go back again. So.. this series of post is basically a log of our food journey  in Spain along with simple tips we employed in ultimate food enjoyment. 

Now, to kick this off... I MUST start with Jamon - the Spanish mastery in curing "ham". In its finest form aka Jamon Iberico de Bellota, jamon is sweet-salty and melts in the mouth (my mouth salivates uncontrollably when I think of  Jamon from the black pig!).

more Jamon photos after this jump....

 Tips:
1. Visit the local market & if able try some of the local food produce.

 

 

2. You can never have too much Jamon Iberico Bellota and Chorizo Iberico.

3. Knowledge about the local football team helps break the ice when dining in tapas bar.. :).

 4. Explore the different regional cuisines and specialties.....

5. Avoid tourist trap & research local favourites before arrival if possible

Our Regional Food Experience... 

Valencia:

Seafood tapas - I think we tried everything on offer

The real Valencian paella - bloody delicious

Granada:

This Moorish pastry sweets shop is a gem!

Hands down the best we've had - crunchy & absolutely unforgettable

Barcelona:

Churros!

Boutique chocholatier by Ferran Adria's brother - now an international brand

Bubo - awarded world's best chocolate cake - sorry, so good we forgot to take a photo till almost finished

Madrid:

By Gastronomic G.