FLEA MARKET STRATEGY

Intrepid traveler that I am, I spent last weekend in beautiful downtown Lakefield and environs visiting my pal Wendy Zelsman, with whom I have adventured for decades, including yearly trips to California driving down the coastal highway from San Fran to L.A. in various permutations of convertibles -- including a memorable “shit brown” rust-bucket -- all the while massacring hit songs at the top of our lungs. 

During one trip, we test drove every brand of tequila in assorted dive bars from Sausalito to Merced, arguably the armpit of California. Can’t remember what brand we judged the best.  

Wendy is a nurse and as such, had the perfect remedy for tequila hangovers, which invariably involved more tequila. No tequila was harmed during this last trip however; mainly because Wendy had either run out or misplaced it.

While banking at the CIBC prior to catching the bus to Peterborough, I noticed this little fellow mimicking the bank’s penguin mascot, which ranks right off the chart on the cuteness Richter scale.

My fave shop in Peterborough is CIRCUS “curious & unique home furnishings and antiques” at 382 George St. This skull is painted by artist Jimson Bowler, who also made the amazing one-of-a-kind necklaces which accessorize it. Bowler needs to have a one-man pop-up show in Toronto, he is that innovative.  You aren’t going to see these pieces at Holt Renfrew.

The Virgin Mary beaded curtain in The Benevolent Stranger boutique at 212 Hunter St. in Peterborough which demarcates the entry to the women’s sex shop behind it. I bonded with the curtain because I have one of Our Lady of Guadalupe which ushers in something less esoteric in my house. It’s in the kitchen doorway.

Natalie Williams, the cool owner of The Benevolent Stranger, which looks like a hippie dippy head shop from the outside but actually stocks funky clothing and accessories and here’s the best part  – it doesn’t smell of patchouli.

The Saturday Farmer’s Market in Peterborough is a must. There is everything from produce to fuzzy cat kitsch to Russian borscht, which is just as yummy as my mom’s but I would never tell her so for fear of reprisal.

Nicole Laureen Lewis, designer behind Gon Dancing, at her booth where she sells handcrafted apparel she’s made from 100 per cent recycled materials. Her arm and leg warmers are killer.

These are the grey patent leather brogues that got away from me at Talize thrift store in Peterborough. They are men’s but I am not prejudiced. They were too big to even stuff with thick socks. But I am over it. It’s not like I will go bare foot.

A coat at Talize that looks like Chanel but is actually Joe Fresh, marked at $49 but with the original $149 price tag. It was rather out of place with the other coats on the rack which were priced in the $20 neighbourhood.

This “Crap Taxidermy” book makes for a perfect stocking stuffer for the person on your list who has everything. It is outrageous. Just pour yourself a stiffly-spiked eggnog and enjoy.

 

The obligatory horns and reindeer head circa 1943 from the Lakefield Fairground Sunday Flea Market. The toboggan did a photo bomb.

How could I not take a photo of the doll lamp at the flea market? What tutu-obsessed little girl wouldn’t want one?

I bought this Scottish hat from vendor Chris Palmer, who chided me for wearing the feather incorrectly in the front. Palmer is endearingly irascible, reminiscent of the Marty Millionaire brothers, owners of the former MM furniture shop in Toronto who routinely threw me out of their shop.

A pair of hilariously repurposed toasters in the snack shop at the flea market. As clever as they are, they are actually outdone by the jaunty jester cap worn by the vendor.