The Great Flea Market Challenge
Is there anything more pleasurable this side of sex, than routing around in someone else’s junk? Wait, that came out wrong. By junk, I mean cast offs, brick-a-brac, curios. Not the contents of their trousers.
Flea markets, car boots, charity shops. All knicknack porn for us nosy types of the world. And the source of endless entertainment. Here are a few recent finds from the bottomless pit of fun that is Kuusamo flea markets.
This delightful eye-pleaser is a hand-knitted, pink, button-up dog coat that some poor, misguided soul must have spent hours slaving over.
What appears to be a stuffed parrot. What every household needs.
This horrific article is a children coat with sheep’s head hat. Whilst this sort of thing can be quite cute on a newborn, making something like this, never mind buying it for, a seven to eight year old is clearly child abuse.
And for this next little curio I almost have no words. It is a fridge magnet in the shape of a sandal with a transparent plastic foot inside. A transparent plastic foot that, along with the sort of glitter one gets in a snow globe, holds two small carrots.
Seriously, what the fucking fuck?
Are these not the most hideous and bizarre flea market purchases ever? I believe so and am throwing down the flea market gauntlet. I challenge you to come up with more gaudy and altogether more pointless and ugly bargains from your local flea markets, charity shops and car boot sales.
I challenge you all in general, and these ladies from around the world in particular, to come up with worse.
Very Bored in Catalunya Spain
I’ll Think Of A Title Later - Australia
Readily A Parent – Canada
4 Kids, 20 Suitcases and a Beagle – Qatar
Mrs Teepot - France
Looking For Blue Sky - Ireland
Go forth and snap shots of other peoples hideous junk*.
*Not the sort found in trousers.
I'm Heather, an ex expat, now back in blighty and living in Lancashire. Which is just like Lapland only less snowy...and stuff.
Aaaaarrrrgggghhh…
A challenge.
Damn you woman, you know me too well.
*cackles loudly to self*
LCM x
Is it terrible to admit that when I saw that knitted dog coat i thought of you and then whipped out my camera.
That is indeed a dreadful admission. Shame on you! I will have to get the righteous police (aka the holders of the upper moral ground) on your case.
Tsk. The young of today.
Just let me know as soon as you find such a person, kay?
Not only is it difficult to imagine anyone wanting these, but when you stop to think that someone actually came up with the idea to manufacture them, thought it was good and ran with it. Scary!
Frightening isn’t it?
Oh lord! I’ll see what I can do! lol! Does give me an excuse to go bargain hunting!
shall look forward to seeing what you find
Go on admit it, these were on your stall weren’t they….
Shhhh. Took me ages to get those carrots in there.
Your sandal fridge magnet is hard to beat! If only I had a photo, I’d show you the medieval lab and dental equipment that is for sale in the Vernissage flea market in Yerevan, Armenia. It is a fabulous flea market. Now I live in Moldova, and the flea market here is mostly old clothes and shoes.
I love your challenge
and I’d love to see what other readers come up with. Will you do post with their pictures?
the dental equipment sounds quite frightening. i have images of someone not very trustworthy in a long black cape buying and doing evil deeds with it.
I will have to do a post later and when my challengees have found their finds, highlighting all their posts. i am sure there are some wierd and wonderful things coming.
I don’t really go to flea markets as I am drowning in junk already. We were recently flooded in the Hurricane and it was quite a relief to chuck out tons of stuff that was water damaged, a million books, kids clothes that will fit them when they’re eighteen etc. But I will try and rise to the occasion!
ha ha, i know the feeling well! And now i have a carrot filled sandal to add to my ever growing pile of junk.
I am honoured, can’t wait to see what you come up with
Glad to have been past over as a recipient of the challange. I don’t do flea markets me. I’m far more high brow. White elephant stalls for me.
Yeah, that’s what i’ve always thought about you, high brow. No wait, that wasn’t it…
You left Ireland off the list *pouts* . And to think I could have dug up leaping leprechauns and Madonna nightlights (no not THAT one), huh!
Hah, do it anyway!
I have added you now, irweland. Go forth and shop for tat!
Oops what have I done! I’ll blame the wine…again
Looking forward to your contribution
No-one is going to beat that carrot-containing shoe. No-one.
Feel free to give it a go…
Oh my wordy lordy…. game ON, molls.
BTW, did you buy the sheep coat? They’re all the rage down under…
Lol. Sadly no. I should have done and then forced my child to wear it on video for you all to see truely how hideous it was.
You know, funnily enough, you popped into my mind yesterday, and I was thinking “Heather isn’t blogging much these days”, and remembering how you started the monthly vlogit challenge, and how the prize for the first month was a slanket, and somehow I started writing a post about slankets. And now it all fits together perfectly, because I have finished the post, and I conclude that a slanket out-hideouses those hideous carrot shoes.
But a slanket does at least have use. The strange shoe/carrot combo, not so much.
ps I love my slanket.
Iota is absolutely correct. That carrot fridge magnet will top all comers. Hands down. BTW, would someone please explain WHY carrots, summer sandals and snow globe confetti converge??
There were some others with red peppers in instead of carrots. Which obviously clears the issue right up. Ahem.
Och, `no trousers`?!You`re a spoil-sport!ha ha ha (I`ve stopped using `lol`, I hate it!). I`ll try my best to adhere to the `challenge` but I think that plastic sandal scoops the prize for the most pointlesss!ha ha ha
I commend your shunning of ‘lol’. I think it is somethihg we should all aspire to. I can not wait to see what delights you can russle up for our veiwing pleasure.
Sodankylä’s kirpputori’s are abysmal. Overpriced, grubby, shoddy, horrid crud that I would have sent for ragging when I was a charity shop manager in the UK. Shame I didnt read this then… I could have sent you oodles of weird donation pictures.. including the cuddly toy all covered in vomit!
sounds delightful
Right Heather! I’m giving you a run for your money here! You can find my pile of junk here: http://www.mrsteepot.co.uk/frenchtee/2011/09/the-great-flea-market-challenge-france/
I thought the dog coat was a giant sock. Love the carrot shoe too! I am obsessed with foreign flea markets. Quite luckily I am leaving one country where they are about to end for the year, to move to another country where they are about to start… yippee! Here’s an old post of mine where I found some odd stuff, still want to know whether anyone bought the his and hers curling tongs! http://scandinaviansojourn.blogspot.com/2011/03/surreal-flea.html Emma