Cookstown Antiques / Flea market

[mich64]

Well, we have returned from our mini vacation to the Toronto area and as promised I will comment on the Cookstown Flea market. ;D

First of all, I have to apologize for not having any pictures. I did....however my husband accidentally deleted them when he was uploading them to my laptop. He has the new Samsung phone and was busy trying to determine how to upload when he realized he deleted the folder!!

And I was so proud of these photos! Not being very artistically inclined, these photos were by far, the best I had ever taken. A return visit is planned anyway so perhaps I will upload the next time.

The flea market began along the driveway of a quaint country road home. There were some tents set up for vendors outside and I believe they are semi-regulars. My sister Tracey bought an exact duplicate teacup and saucer that she has to gift to my other sister Cheryl. They live close and have tea together often. However, the vendor was not there so a neighboring vendor took payment for them. They watch each others stalls when someone cannot be there.

Inside the barn is where all the treasures are. I was completely overwhelmed.... I had no idea the magnitude of precious items hiding away in this old barn off the side of the road.

There were separated areas for eras, jewelery, silver, china, children items, vintage clothes, shoes, purses. In each era area were also the period pieces of furniture, mirrors, and quilts.

I also noted there were no sales people around, every section had a color tag with the amount of the item and when you brought it to the cash, they knew who's item it was for payment. Vendors give a portion of sales to the barn for the use of the space but do not have to be there, they are all out scouting other markets for more deals.

My words are nothing compared to the visuals and I hope soon that I can visit and bring the atmosphere to you through the lens of the camera.

[bixaorellana]

Ohhhh, Mich! It's probably just as well you don't have pictures at the moment. Those of us who love tag sales, estate sales, antique hunting, etc., need to be dipped gently into the maelstrom of Desirable Objects. And hey ~~ not having photos means you have an excuse to go back!

What a nice piece of luck with the cup & saucer set. Did you find anything you wanted? I can't wait for the next installment. Your word pictures were almost like being there!

[Jazz]

Mich, I’ve visited the Cookstown Market a few times and it’s great! Then, I didn’t have a camera and so you are well ahead of me. It sounds like you had a wonderful day. (I’ve deleted many a photo with my lack of tech awareness.. ) This just gives you the perfect reason to return and have a great time.


….’ also noted there were no sales people around, every section had a color tag with the amount of the item and when you brought it to the cash, they knew who's item it was for payment. Vendors give a portion of sales to the barn for the use of the space but do not have to be there, they are all out scouting other markets for more deals.’
Very interesting system. For your next visit, bonne chance!

[mich64]

Yes, the honour system seems to work well in their line of business. However, there are camera around just to be safe.

[Deleted]

I am so happy to be immune to antiques and any sort of bric-à-brac in general, because I'd be in big trouble otherwise.

[betsie]

Sounds great, Mich. There are few really good flea markets these days.

I cured myself of antiques last year, when my partner and I decided to live together. I sold or gave away all the furniture, most of which I'd had all my adult life (ouch!). Replaced them with design furniture. I did keep a lot of the china though, most of which is in boxes in the attic now.

[mich641]

It is not the buying, it is not the collecting, for me it is the adventure and the conversations. When I look at pieces from the past, I may feel something, have a memory, create a story, share a story. For example, there was a taupe suede dress bag that I was drawn back to many times that morning. I may write a short story about it sometime because it provoked me.

I own a few pieces, a dresser from my maternal great grandmother and some tea cups from my paternal grandmother that hold sentimental meaning to me.

When I have bought my own furniture, I buy it with the intent to leave it to one of my nieces or nephews. We also have 3 pieces that we designed and had made to size for the corner, wall and couch we needed it to.

You seem relieved Betsie, it was time to let go and you knew it.

I really wish we had not deleted the photo of that purse!

I look forward to returning to the area of Cookstown, Alliston and then I would like to visit St. Jacob's to view the Mennonite furniture and their community.

[mich64]

sorry, I had to post as guest mich641 because I realised that I had not logged in....... I do not like to erase my words...

[betsie]

Sept 23, 2010 1:34:32 GMT @mich641 said:

It is not the buying, it is not the collecting, for me it is the adventure and the conversations. When I look at pieces from the past, I may feel something, have a memory, create a story, share a story. For example, there was a taupe suede dress bag that I was drawn back to many times that morning. I may write a short story about it sometime because it provoked me.

I own a few pieces, a dresser from my maternal great grandmother and some tea cups from my paternal grandmother that hold sentimental meaning to me.

Yes, and I also love the fact that these things have been respected and well cared for, for several generations, before the emrgence of our consumer, throw-away society.

When I have bought my own furniture, I buy it with the intent to leave it to one of my nieces or nephews. We also have 3 pieces that we designed and had made to size for the corner, wall and couch we needed it to.

You seem relieved Betsie, it was time to let go and you knew it.

I'm relieved now, Mich, it was a time of great change in my life and letting go of the antiques was a part of the process. But it was really hard. Some of it went to dealers, which kind of choked me. But the finest stuff went to a marvellous "foster mother."

She fell in love with the pictures I'd posted of the drawing room suite and said she couldn't quite afford it at the moment but hoped it would still be on sale in a month or two, when she'd saved up enough money. She'd brought up 6 children and had never been able to have a beautiful home; now they'd all grown up and this was her chance to have the home she'd always dreamed of. I reduced the price for her and she borrowed the rest of the money from her son and came the next day to collect it. She was ecstatic and I parted from my furniture with a good feeling.

[mich64]

Betsie, giving to this special foster mother makes my heart feel so good. They do this for no reason other than the children and it is wonderful that you listened to her and remembered that she wanted a certain piece and made it so she could have it.

Our nieces and nephews are here so often throughout the summer, I listen to them all the time on why they like to come, what they like to eat, where they like to go and a few times some of them have expressed their fondness for certain things in the house, I do not tell them but I write these things down. When we move and downsize some of these items will be sent special delivery!

At the flea markets I hear these stories and that is part of the pull for me. At the Cookstown visit, an elderly British lady was setting up in one of the occasional tents and she had a beautiful bureau for sale. She told us all about her son and how he used it through his life but that now he had no room for it. There were papers inside a drawer from the original builder, was quite interesting.

[Jazz]

My home is furnished with antiques and pieces from my travels. As I look around, absolutely everything in my home has its’ special story. In the last few years, I have slowly begun the big ‘declutter’ and would like about a third/half of it to go away. I take note of who loves what, my nephews or friends, and give it to them now. Selling to dealers is a questionable option, usually you never recover what you paid, but it depends on the highly erratic antiques market. I would rather just give it to someone who loves it. I have a back basement with ‘stuff’ and it needs to go. If I don’t enjoy it, what’s the point? What is old and tired to me, is fresh and loved by others.

We all have our own individual ‘clutter level’. This is the point when you realize that nothing new can come in until you get rid of other stuff. I don’t know what I would do if I decided to move with someone (highly unlikely), as Betsie did. I can say that I have thought of selling my car, my house and its contents, and simply traveling for the rest of my life, with the odd day of work. Very appealing. The odd thing about life is that when you are younger you want a home and gather ‘stuff’. You then spend about 20 years with the ‘stuff’. Then, it becomes unimportant compared to experience and you get rid of the ‘stuff’.

Mich, I’d love to hear your story of the taupe suede dress bag and why it is so important to you. I encourage you to visit St. Jacobs…I don’t know how far from the Toronto area that you live, but St. Jacob’s, other surrounding small villages and the markets in Kitchener/Waterloo are remarkably beautiful in the fall. The whole area is Mennonite country… unique, austere and fascinating. Don’t be surprised to see many horse and carriages on the remote country roads, still very much a part of the Mennonite culture. I love St. Jacob’s. Another lovely village worth a day trip is Elora. www.elora.info/

If you need to choose between the two, I would go to St. Jacob's because of the Mennonite culture and the surrounding countryside.

[bixaorellana]

Jazz, Mich, Betsie ~~ I am very moved by your individual meditations on letting your treasures take on new life and meaning as treasures for others.

I've never thought about this much before, but all of your eloquence made me re-live the pleasure I've had in receiving such treasures and being able to pass on some of my own.

[mich64]

Jazz, I agree with you and I will continue to take notes from my nieces, nephews and godchildren.

Bix, I think it is the influence of my grandmother gifting me with something from her home each summer when we visited, it made me happy and I just like to make the children in my life happy. It was never something grand, sometimes an old perfume bottle or tube of lipstick and quite often a tea cup and saucer.

Jazz, my father's family is in London and I have often heard of Elora as another special spot to visit for antiques and quaint shops and I believe a restaurant in an old flour mill? We are in North Bay which is about 4 hours north of Toronto.

That purse...... cannot get it out of my mind, so yes, since I do not possess it physically, I will possess it literally. When I get some spare time in the coming weeks, I will put my imagination to work and bring it to life.

[Deleted]

Mich, since you lost your photos, perhaps you can compare with the stuff I saw in Paris today (starting at reply #22).

[Jazz]

Bixa, some of the things in my home were gifts from family and have a historical context. Other items have a vicarious story of the lives of other family histories. The travel items definitely contain what is now 'my' history and are in hot demand by my nephews and friends. They are only ‘things’, but it is clear who reacts to certain items. The age of the viewer is surprisingly meaningless. If I sense someone loves something, then it goes to this person.

Mich, you live in North Bay…this is where I was born and lived for the first 5 years of my life. Obviously, coming to the Toronto area is not a day trip, a weekend at the least. Elora is lovely with its shops and the beautiful Elora Gorge. You can wander around the village with its small shops, or, if you are more athletic, hike the trails of the gorge and the park...stunning in its beauty.

The restaurant that you are thinking of is the Elora Mill, an inn and restaurant.
www.eloramill.com/home.php
This is my favorite place to eat when I go there. (for me, a day trip) It’s not superb food, but good, and I love to sit in the glassed-in ‘pod’ that overlooks the falls.

If you come for a weekend it would be great to go to Elora and St. Jacob’s. Both are beautiful in the next month or so, but are also lovely in the winter…a totally different feeling. In the fall, there are good tours of artists’ studios as well.

[mich64]

Thank you Kerouac for the current photos of the flea markets in Paris, oh I wish I could share the photos I lost.....I will have to go back sooner than I had planned just to heal from the loss! I would have bought one or two of the cigar boxes that were in your photos....

To compare the photos, this flea market reminded me more of what we would call Garage Sales here. This is where homeowners will collect the stuff they do not want and advertise in the garage sale section of the newspaper with a date and time. It is quite a hobby for some...every Saturday or Sunday morning people will get up early and get into their cars and pick a neighbourhood. These sales usually have clothes, children's toys, small appliances (they thought they would use eg. breadmakers, mixers, blenders etc.). Occasionally, you may find something that is a collector item where then the buyer posts in on Ebay hoping to get more than they paid for it.

Jazz, I cannot believe that you actually were born in North Bay! This is truly a small planet. I have lived her for about 38 years. I was born in Marville, France.

The Elora Mill is the exact place I had seen while researching on the net for a trip for a friend. When we visit my aunts in London in the spring, I am going to stop in St. Jacob's.