Carboot Tips for Sellers

Since I returned from Munich I've had a renewed urge to de-clutter. We seemed to manage so well on just the necessities whilst we were out there, both in terms of clothes and home-y things, so I decided to have a massive clear-out. I've been tackling a little bit day by day from my wardrobe to the kitchen cupboards to the bookshelf, with the eventual aim of holding a stall at my local flea market. I like to hold a stall every now and again as they are a quick, easy way to make a bit of money and they're good fun too! So, on Wednesday, I held a little stall in my local town of Arnold in Nottingham and began selling my things! Although it was a good sale, there were things that I could have done better so I thought I'd share my tips with you today.

1. Presentation is key

My best tip for making the most money at a carboot is to display items well. I'm always amazed at the dumped piles of clothes you see at markets like this, I'm so surprised they sell anything at all. Customers often hurry through the market and only glance at each stall to see if they want to look further. If your stall looks well presented - arranging things at different heights, putting your best items in the centre of the table - you will get more people looking at your stall and will get more sales.

2. Go with a friend

I made the mistake of going by myself this time - never again! When you get that initial 'rush', when customers left right and centre are screaming 'HOW MUCH IS THIS?!' at you, you need a buddy to help you out otherwise customers will leave if they wait too long for you.

3. Prepare, prepare, prepare

Take a packed lunch and a hot flask of tea. Not only will you will need it, it saves you spending your hard-earned cash at the over-priced burger van. Take warm clothes. Whether you hold your carboot in the early hours of the morning or, like mine, into the early evening, you will get cold standing around. Take a fold-up chair if you have one. And remember to take carrier bags and lots of change!

4. Be realistic about what will and won't sell

There is not point carting down your GCSE Maths study books from 1998 or your moth-eaten jumpers, these things won't sell! People come to browse carboots because they want a bargain, not because they want your old things.

5. Resist the urge to browse the other stalls

It sounds obvious but I've done this so many times before! There's no point de-cluttering only to bring back even more than you had before. Resist the urge!

I hope these tips help!

New Vs. Old: The Things I Brought Back from Munich

I'll be writing a proper post about my time in Munich soon, but today I want to show you a few things I bought back from my travels over there. Munich has a good mix of old and new in terms of shops and markets, reflecting the city and it's history, so was a bit of a dream location for me. There are plenty of regular car boots and flea markets where you can find vintage treasures (if you are English-speaking and Munich-based try out toytowngermany.com for lists and dates) as well as contemporary homeware and stationery stores for more recent products. Below are some of the bits and pieces I picked up on the high street.

I bought lots of washi tape for a few craft projects I have in mind, some good quality bakers twine, some pegs (also for a craft project), some coloured pens and some notebooks from a shop called Semicolon. The postcard is a picture of my new favourite drink - Augustiner's Edelstoff - mainly because that's all the beer gardens sold! The heart? Well, I couldn't leave Munich without one really!

Now for the older things.

The photos aren't great, sorry! I've included a few close up shots so you can see the details in some of the pieces. The embroidered hankies are so sweet, they show a typically dressed Bavarian couple - the man in lederhosen and the woman in dirndl. The tear-out floral sheets are from a book I was given for free, the Bavarian soldiers were a bargain at €1, though I did notice later that the red one is missing arms - ooops! Finally, the vintage hanger is my favourite find, I love the typography and the cream clippers, I think it's so chic. Another bargain at €1. The rest of the items are, from the top left: a set of hand-crotchet hangers, a hand-made tapestry, knitted pan-holders, a prettily illustrated children's music book, a vintage Munich postcard, some doilies, a few meters of lace trim, seven vintage gold-coloured buttons and a mint green vintage jumper. Phew.

I hope you've enjoyed having a peek at all my new things! Hope you all have a great weekend.

{Images: Laura Blanksby}

Flea Markets in Munich

If you follow me on Twitter, you'll know that I've moved to Munich for the summer. Even though it's only for a few months, while the OH works on an important project, I'm still excited to embrace German life and get to know the city.

Of course, the first thing I did when I found out I was temporarily moving out here was to google local car boots and flea markets. The first one I found was Auer Dult, a flea market held three times a year, selling everything from local food produce to antique educational wall charts. It was with great delight that I discovered the market was on during my stay so I wasted no time in getting there and headed down straight away.

The market had a good mix of everything vintage and new, though, disappointingly, there was a large amount of JML-style stalls too. We promptly avoided these and focused on the antique and vintage sellers nestled in the heart of the market. 

There were lots of lovely designer-makers at the fair selling their wares. This bright stall was one of my favourites with the cute fishy bowls, plates and cups. However, due to lack of space, I had to leave empty-handed.

There was lots of vintage furniture up for grabs, including this super cute wicker chair. I was quite smitten with that wicker basket too. I've wanted one since watching Moonrise Kingdom (if you've seen it you'll know what I mean!).

There were lots of crafty stalls around too which was great for me, though less great for the OH as he waited while I rummaged through box after box of ribbon and material.

To top all this flea market-y goodness off, there was a mini fairground complete with ferris wheel and carousal. And I even made a new friend.

I'd definitely recommend a browse around this market if you are planning a trip here. There was a great vibe to the place with the fairground rides, traditional Bavarian food stalls and lots of vintage goods. It's only on three times a year though so make sure you check the dates!

{Images: Laura Blanksby}

The Discovery of a Local Flea

Last week I was SUPER excited to discover that my home town holds a flea market every Wednesday night, so this week I made it my mission to head down and snap up some bargains! I'd heard that the locals are on-the-ball so I headed down early to join the 200-strong queue that were waiting for opening time. I can see why there was such a huge queue as there were some real bargains to be had. Everything was so cheap that some stalls were cleared within half an hour!

Here's a couple of snaps of what I picked up:

I found a lovely cream crotchet throw with gorgeous scalloped edges, a red velvet cushion cover, a beautiful old brass photo frame, some doilies, buttons and these two amazing sugar shakers. No photo would do these glass shakers justice as they are so so lovely. They have striped bases topped with a diamond-cut pattern and are in such good condition.

I also found a copy of The Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady (a print of which is in the photo frame above and below). I plan on using tear sheets from this book to frame.

Here's a couple more pages from the book that I will frame:

Here's hoping that I can snap up something just as good next week.

{Images: Laura Blanksby for High Street Home}

I've Been Thrifting Again!

I've been thrifting again and this time I've uncovered some GEMS. Here is my loot from my last couple of trips.

I found this mid-century sewing box in my home town centre and decided to walk away, convincing myself that I didn't have the room for it. But an hour after I got home I was on the phone to my mum begging her to pick it up for me as I just couldn't live without it! Luckily it was still there and I could bring it home with me that next day. Phew. The floral pillow was a lovely little find I thought as you don't see many circular-shaped ones any more so I snapped it up straight away. The only problem is that it had a decidedly large rectangular pillow stuffed inside it, so I'm now on the lookout for circular cushion pads. Recommendations are greatly welcome!

Below is a selection of other bits and pieces I came across on my travels.

The fabric scraps were a bargain at 75p each and are great for me as I'm just learning to sew after getting a lovely Singer sewing machine for Christmas. My plan is to start simple and turn these fabric remnants into envelope-flap cushion covers. I will approach zips and buttons with caution and in due course! I fell in love with the leather saddle bag as it's just so teeny tiny! I don't know if it will be entirely practical as I can't fit anything inside it, but at least it looks pretty! My other buys were the sweet crochet hangers, vintage pale pink cotton and these dessert glasses (which came as a set of 6).

{Images: Laura Blanksby for High Street Home}

Thrifting!

Those of you that follow my twitter ramblings will know that I often do a bit of thrifting, and last weeks session happened to be a very fruitful one. Having put on my flats I headed for my local town (towns are always so much better than city centres for this kind of thing don't you think?) and set out to buy, well, whatever really! For those that are interested, here is my loot from that trip.

What do you think? I'm super-pleased with my purchases, especially as the whole lot came to less than seven pounds, hurrah! The crochet cushion cover has to be a favourite as it's a nice big size. I'm going to mix it with other textured cushions and put the on my bed to create a nice cosy space for the approaching winter. Also the little pink box with the dried flower lid is just a beautiful trinket, I can't believe I was so lucky to pick it up for just one pound. The lovely old lady in the shop said it was a very old piece too as she received something similar for her 21st birthday all those years ago! I'm going to use it as a mini jewellery box. The rest of my lot includes a very prettily illustrated Gulliver's Travels book, a Penguin Fruit Growing book, a vintage floral cushion cushion cover and a very dirty piglet which I just couldn't leave behind! He needs a good wash, a new nose and re-stuffing! But when he is finished I hope to give him away to my new nephew.

See you soon and happy thrifting! x

{Image: Laura Blanksby}