What’s up BRO?

As I mentioned in an earlier post about my hunt for some lockers, we ended up meeting some awesome new small business owners named Sean and Celesta Carter. Last time we were at Paper Street market, Celesta had invited us to come back to one of their Brocante Market Days, which is a weekend long event held once a month in the large warehouse where the lockers were stored not far from Paper Street Market. There, the “Brocanteurs” which is a french word for flea market, set up different booths filled with all types of fun looking and unique pieces they have collected along their travels. What was cool about this invite was that we were given early access during the sneak peek event which is held the Friday night prior to the market which runs from Saturday morning through Sunday evening.

After receiving the exclusive invite via email, my next task was to find a companion to join me. Now, I couldn’t just drag along ANYBODY. I had to really think about who would find the most excitement and thrill out of seeing a warehouse filled with unique, one of a kind furniture pieces. The lightbulb went off immediately and I knew I had to ask a good friend of mine who is in the process of building a beautiful new home on Davis Islands. She replied to me text with a definite yes and I was totally looking forward to the great night ahead. The invite mentioned apps, cocktails and live music, so I knew it wouldn’t disappoint.

Unfortunately, I didn’t really think ahead to the fact that the preview event had fallen on a night when St. Pete’s ever popular “First Friday” event was taking place, therefore, the traffic was miserable! After the traffic debacle and finally making it to the space, we walked in and to our surprise, we were greeted at the door with a bar full of small dishes and some DRINKS! We decided to not be alcoholics and do a lap around first before getting a drink. On our first lap, we saw a few things that caught our eye.

After the initial lap around the space, we headed over to grab some wine and food. We then did a second lap, this time seeing new things that caught our eyes. As we walked the five or six laps around the two HUGE rooms, we found more and more neat and interesting pieces. A lot of the items were things that had a long history, however, the “Brocanteur” or person who was showcasing them had updated them and made them a bit more current. A lot of the older pieces of wooden furniture had been refinished in more vibrant colors, which gave the pieces a totally new life.

Some of the pieces that we REALLY loved were the little girls’ armoire for my friends’ baby daughter and a teal, metal trunk formerly the home of a band’s equipment while on the road. In addition, I found a cool wooden frame that could be transformed into a chalkboard in the kitchen (on my wishlist of things to come).  One of the stranger items we came across was a “Ouija Board” that was turned into a table. If you look closely, you can  see my good friend “conjuring the spirits” at the event (HAHA).

If you are on the hunt for a vintage mirror, look no further than Brocante Market, because they had an ENTIRE WALL full of mirrors of all shapes, sizes, and colors. Also, there was an abundance of different styled boxes and containers for storage as well. The one thing we found that was pretty neat but couldn’t figure out what it was were these aqua colored class finials of some sort. We never were able to figure out what they were, but they were only a few dollars each and definite a conversation starter for the home.

As I left, I snapped a picture of a sign for gift certificates and not until I began writing this post did I realize the quirky little mistake of the sign. I just HAD to share it because it is symbolic of the unique and quirky variety of items on display and for sale at the Brocante Market.

All in all, if you are looking for something different to do on the weekend (remember it only comes around once a month) and have some time to peruse the warehouse, then you definitely have to stop in at the Brocante Market in St.Pete. The next event is less than two weeks away (December 7th and 8th), so make sure to clear your schedule. The Saturday and Sunday market days are open to the public, so make your shopping list now, figure out your plan of attack, grab a friend to take along for the ride, and head on over to Brocante Market! Can’t wait to see what you find!

-Nicholas

Brocante Market:

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