A couple of weeks ago, I found this old school map
at a Sunday morning car boot sale.
I’ve been looking for an old school map for longer
than I’ve been writing this blog. And still…
I wasn’t sure. I looked at it, put it back down,
and walked on. Three minutes later, I had a mild
panic that someone else would buy ‘my map’
and rushed back to buy it.
I paid £7 for it. I’ve seen similar (and worse)
condition maps going for £180.
Looking at it now, I can’t believe I almost
didn’t buy it – but it sums up my first tip
of car boot sale or charity shop thrifting…
1. You’ve got to be in it to win it.
This might sound silly but if you’re not in the mood
to rummage, give people some chat, barter, or yes
even get elbowed by some woman trying to knock
£2 off a £2.50 shirt… (ah the glamour)
then wait until you are. Or have a serious
amount of caffeine and cake before you go.
Tip 2 I think is summed up
by the little Meakin set above…
2. Know what you’re looking for
(but be flexible about it)
I can this the ‘new car theory’.
If you decide you want a certain make of car,
suddenly you’ll start seeing that car everywhere.
Same is true (sort of!) of vintage things…
once you have what you want in mind,
then you’ll start seeing it.
Until I found my first Meakin set last summer,
I would have sworn that I’d never seen any before…
which seems unlikely now I think about it!
(As a complete aside, I now have a tea set that matches
my fav typewriter… how cool is that? Also the tiny
milk jug from this set… might be my favourite ever!)
My third tip can definitely worked for these cameras…
3. Go super early or go at the end
Car boot sales start early. Very early.
And usually on Sundays.
I’ve written before on here that I’m not
a morning person. But the allure of
thrifty finds does drag me out of bed.
(Sometimes.)
However, the vintage cameras above
(my Super Colour Swinger Polaroid Land Camera
and a very old Kodak Brownie camera)
where bought in the last 30 mins of the sale.
Basically we slept in, but thought we’d
pop in anyway on the way elsewhere.
The guy who sold us these had been up
since 6am. He sold them us for super cheap
just because it was two less things to take home.
I can’t remember why I picked up this book
of song sheets. I can’t play any musical instruments.
But I really rather love it… I’m half tempted to do
some crafty projects with it, half tempted just to
keep it as it is. But anyway, it’s my 4th tip…
4. Expect the unexpected.
One of my favourite things about thrifting
is that you can’t know what you’ll find.
Just keep your eyes open. Look for colours,
shapes and styles of things you like…
I once did the wardrobe for a 1940s short film.
There were about 100 extras and at one point
my entire living room was filled with rails
of hired, borrowed and found vintage coats,
hats, dresses, shoes, bags and delicate gloves.
Yup, I don’t mention it often but
I have a vintage clothing obsession too.
I got this blouse and skirt recently…
they need adjusted so if anyone has
seen any great skirt tutorials, I need one.
Which brings me to tip 5…
5. Don’t be afraid to customise.
If you’ve found something you like
but it’s not quite right, can you change it?
Especially if you’re getting something for
a bargain, it’s usually worth having a go.
I was really rather excited when I found
the above book… good friends of ours
got engaged next to a volcano so
it made a prefect little present for them.
On the same day, we nearly bought some Christmas
china, which I’m slightly regretting not buying. So…
6. Think off-season.
It’s summery outside now. So it might
be a great time to find a vintage winter coat.
Or get a present for a friend’s birthday…
And don’t try and find a vintage picnic hamper
when it’s sunny, people want to charge you so
much for it! (Lesson I learned last summer!)
*******
Want more tips? I did a wee feature on
how to get the best from car boots here.
*******
Does anyone have any other tips they would add?
Or if you know of any easy skirt diys, do let me know!
Hope you all have a lovely weekend my dears.
(And thank you SO much for all your Japan tips!
You guys are honestly the best-est!)
@Convo_Pieces great post! Every time I use my mums pyrex casserole dish i think of you 🙂
aww thanks 🙂 you know I don’t own any pyrex? keep thinking I need to fix that!!
oh that map is awesome. I’ve been looking for one forever for our bedroom wall- we’re in the attic so it slopes and is unsuitable for normal pictures. You’d think with the number of schools that must have had them they’d be everywhere! x
I wish I knew some good car boots near me… I’ve only ever found one camera at one before though and I definitely look!
Rhianne recently posted..Spring = colour!
Rhianne, I think you’re due an Edinburgh trip then! I always think of you when I spot cameras… though chances are we’d spot none if you here! 😉
@Convo_Pieces love it. just paid £35 for a vintage mirror, that costs £349 in anthropologie. hell yeah for thriftiness.
Fab car booting tips–>“@Convo_Pieces: {On the blog}… Want to see my fav ever thrifty find? http://t.co/Nf86Vzy7”
What lovely finds 🙂 and I agree the cake and caffeine is very important!
April Louise recently posted..My Embroidery X
I’m most definitely the latter in your first ‘top tip’ – I can’t bear all that argie bargie so need a good boost to find my courage……plus wake me up! It’s always waaaaay too early for a Sunday morning.
Love the map by the way.
Happy weekend to you,
Nina x
you have some great finds. i saw someone use music to paper one part of a wall and looked very cool. or you could use it under a glass table. or just as wrapping paper….
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I’m in Glasgow, which car boot sales do you recommend? I love to know as there are some great ones in London, where I’m from, but I can’t find anything up here. Help!
Hey Pitstop Princess, there’s a huge one at Blochairn though it starts v v v early (think it’s 6am!). I would also head to the Barras as it’s pretty much car boot stylee. (Never been but have heard the one the Milngavie Car Boot Sale can be quite good too). Good luck x
Sooo jealous, the car boot sales haven’t started in my area yet and I cannot wait! Not that I have room for anymore stuff but hey, who can resisit a bargain?! And being a car boot veteran myself these are some top tips! You have got yourself some real beauties too…have a good weekend!x
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Fab tips and a fab find on the map! It is true about suddenly seeing lots of what you have been after and thinking about 🙂 I owe my whole mismatched plate set (12) to this very theory!
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Great post Zoe- love the map but love the Meakin more! Great tips, Happy weekend, Jo xx
Jo @ binds you to me recently posted..The one about Ikea Family Live Magazine….
The fucking fantastic print is AMAZING!! Where is it from?? Absolutely love it!
xx
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Hey Tina, it’s from the brilliant Brainstorm http://wearebrainstorm.com/shop.html Got it last year and it’s still my fav print ever! 🙂
Was meant to answer this ages ago!! But Easter hols happened hahahaha thanks for the link! I love it!!! 😀 Will be sure to check their shop 🙂 Thanks xx
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Aw man, that map is awesome! What a great find…
I never know where to look or what the best places to go to are in Edinburgh. Any suggestions?
Hey Lexi. The one I go to the most is the one in the Omni Centre car park… it’s a little grim to be honest but you can get some good stuff. There’s one at the Corn Exchange (Sat and Sun) which feels nicer as it’s outdoors rather than in a strip-lit car park. Also… every now and then, the Swedish bars in Leith (Boda’s I think) do a no-car car boot sale which could be worth checking out. Good luck x
Those tips are absolutely spot on; i would only add the importance of thoroughly searching what appear at first glace to be boxes of crud. No one can be bothered to do it so your much more likely to find something cool down the bottom than out in the open where hundreds of people already looked over. That map is a fantastic find and such an absolute steal, i found a parisian one recently on linen to my great, great joy x
Wow… I should bookmark this post as a carboot-thrifty bible! Great advice here and I do love your magical finds. The map is just wonderful. Kx
Kylie recently posted..Tree Towels
super post!! i really want to go to a car boot sale now : )
love your finds. that map is pretty magical – even better to have landed in such good hands!
I love the map, I too have been eyeing maps up (I also love the old science posters) but the prices are normally jaw dropping- you got a bargain!Rx
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If you love everything about thrifting and even reading about it (like me), you should really check this post: http://t.co/ojNXKxlv
I love thrifting and I love reading about it. So..I love this post..it’s all so true! For example, I never expected to bump into that plastic swan planter, but I did..and I love it! Can you imagine there once was a life without treasure hunting?
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Thank you for all the lovely tips!
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These are brilliant tips. Unfortunately I’m rubbish at car-boots – I love them but am crap when it comes to getting up early. Also my weekends always seem to be taken up with kid stuff, but I’m going to try harder this year, definitely!
Lakota [Faith Hope and Charity Shopping] recently posted..Frock on a Friday!
Great map and great tips. Now I need to see if I can get M out of bed in the morning on a weekend to come with me!
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7 quid for the map!!!! You basically robbed them! Well done. I’ve been pouring over some on ebay for AGES and you’re totally right – average of £180 for one. Well jeal.
He he, you’re probably right Mel… if it helps, I’m sure they ‘robbed’ it from a school so I don’t feel that bad! 😉
My sister in law and I were trying to remember what the UK calls what we (US) call yard or garage sales. How fun to find it here! My friend for her birthday wanted to go thrifting and we were just talking about how crazy it is when you see people trying to talk down already ridiculously cheep things. Good to know people are the same everywhere.
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[…] the car boot type (and I wish I could make myself forsake that Sunday morning lie-in!) then Zoe has some great tips here. Head over and have a look and do tell me your favourite part of her home, I’m way too in awe […]