- Good morning, it is a
merry Saturday in August, and I am headed up north
today, to York specifically. Well actually to Wetherby specifically. I will be having a little
bit of an upstate adventure as my New York trash brain
*persists* on trying to call it. A good friend of mine actually runs antique fairs
periodically here in England and I've done a couple of
antique vlog adventures here on this channel before, but I have not, I don't believe been to an antique fair that
is not located in a large city. So I thought this would be interesting to take you along with me because the prices will theoretically be a little bit more affordable. So, hold on I have to put you on a tripod, because this is heavy. Which also hypothetically means I will be able to
potentially buy more things, which may be more interesting for you because I mean, I guess people like to see the treasures that have been obtained. I have made a list, actually I always have a list. This is a running list of
general household items, as well as sewing tools, decoration bits, things that I would
love to be able to find secondhand or antique. It's so easy to get distracted, but having a list of actual
practical items that you need and that you will actually
use is very useful. It is obviously not a guarantee that you will find everything
that you're looking for at an antique fair. The experience itself tends
to be a bit hit or miss depending on what the
vendors are able to source and to find at the moment as
well as how big the fair is, how many different vendors there are. Just having a little bit
of a general guideline of things that I could use. So personally, for me
that is sewing tools, not standard things
like needles and thread, because I have so much of that, plenty of that. I have a couple of items
that I actually need. I am working on a video which requires some practical
tools that have to exist you know in the latter
part of the 19th century. I also have a particular
weakness for candlesticks. Yeah we're not going to talk about that because I have way too many. I'm like physically banned from buying candlesticks this trip. Hold me to that. (grand adventure music) (grand adventure music continues) (bells tolling) So I don't know about you, but I have what I like to call
a little bit of a superpower. And I don't think it's terribly uncommon, especially amongst those of
you who have found your way to this particular part of the internet. Every thing, every
item, every candlestick, whether it's new or whether it's old, everything just has an energy to it. It has a life almost. I therefore like to treat
the things that I have, that I possess, that I
purchase, and that I come to own with a sort of respect. I like them to have a purpose, I like them to have a place, I like them to have a use. I don't want things to sit around just superfluously taking up space, looking like clutter, because when it looks like clutter, it sort of accrues a sort of disrespect. It is not a thing that
you want in your space and therefore it makes me
sad just to see it there knowing that it is not
serving its best purpose in this world. So therefore I'd like to be careful that the things that I bring into my life are as useful and as at home
as they can possibly be. That is one of the reasons why I think I'm so particularly drawn to old secondhand items that have been used, have been loved, and that need new homes. It makes me sort of stressed
to think of the amount of stuff that is manufactured today
and that is produced today and all of the things that just
will not have loving homes, that will not be put to their best use or that will be used for a bit and then forgotten about or discarded. So I do endeavor within my daily life to try and obtain things
as much as possible second hand or antique, which is why I particularly
love antique fairs. I like to take responsibility
for the things that I own thinking of myself as
not a consumer of goods, apart from you know like food and soap and stuff that actually does
get physically consumed. But things like candlesticks, clothes. You don't really consume this stuff until it starts to physically break down. Therefore rather than being a consumer, one is a caretaker of these items. I am the person placed in charge
of taking care of this item for this portion of its life, until it is my turn to pass
it on to its next caretaker who will give it the love, and the use and the attention that it deserves until it is time to be passed
on to its next caretaker or until it is disintegrated beyond use. This is obviously a bit
of an idealistic approach to consumerism, I suppose, because that doesn't always work out. It is something that I
certainly strive for, but I do feel like having this sort of consciousness of a
responsibility for the objects that we bring into our lives, like imagine if you had to be responsible for every single item, just in the same way that
it comes into your life, you are the one who is responsible for ensuring that it is passed on
to a useful secondary purpose. That is an enormously
stressful thing to think about. And it is something that
I think about quite a lot. It has stopped me from wanting to bring excess things into my life that I know I cannot
responsibly dispose of when I know my own personal
use and/or favor of them will fall away. So again, this is another thing that I particularly love
about shopping secondhand and shopping at antique places is that I know that these
objects already exist in the world. They are already objects that have been deemed things of value, things that are worth
passing on to other people. First of all, it gives me a sense of security in knowing that I will
be able to pass this on if I take good care of it, if I use it wisely and treat it well. There is also that particular
thrill of hunting for an item that you know is not mass manufactured, that you cannot just go onto Amazon and purchase another one if you happen to lose it or break it. This thing took you, potentially if it's been
on your to buy items lists for quite a while, it will be something that you
have hunted for for a while or something that in finding it has built a sort of
special story in your head. But knowing that this is a
potentially one of a kind, irreplaceable item just makes
it all that more special and therefore not something
that I'm likely to treat as something of lesser value, something that is
disposable or replaceable. This item has carved out its
little place of importance and I don't know if that warrants an element of respect almost. (gentle music) It is haul time. We will start with the perhaps
less interesting things or the most least interesting thing, but I bought a few glass bottles. This I actually needed for a video. It was an item on my list, particularly to get a corked bottle, which I guess is a thing
you shall find out anon. This was an excellent
find, it was two pounds. These bottles tend to be very inexpensive. Well they can be very expensive, but you can also find them quite cheaply. This will serve its purpose as well as just serve
some good visual interest when it is finished
serving its video purpose. This is an old chemists bottle. It definitely needs a good wipe down, but that is a thing that I will do. I may put stuff in here, I may not put stuff in here, but I do now at this
point have a mantle piece that requires decorating
like a Victorian apothecary. I found this fun little chatelaine which I positively adore. This has been on my item list of things to find for many a years. This I do so adore and
I will probably fill it with a bunch of stupid and
completely anachronistic items, such as SD cards, things that I need to
reach for quite frequently in my sewing whilst filming life, which I think is a fabulous nod to history meets the modern world. Just that little bit of
magic of bringing the past into the future, proving that the methods
and the techniques, and the strategies and
the materials of the past are still extremely
relevant and useful to us in the present. Oh, this was an extremely
exciting find when I saw this. It actually had a hat
sitting on top of it, so I didn't recognize it initially, but when I did see it, I thought, "this is a thing
that I very much need." I mean, just in my normal everyday life, I need one of these, but finding an antique one is even better. This is a hem marker. This is a thing that sits on the floor. As you can see, the inches measure up, so you measure up, you know, however high
you want your hem to be. You can adjust the little slidey thing. And then a little piece
of chalk sits in here. This chalk is obviously very
old, so it will not work. I am going to do a little
bit of experimenting to find out if I can and
should replace the chalk with something that will actually
work so that I can use it. That is the intent, but I do not want to compromise the original functionality and
legacy of this antique piece. That is sort of always a balancing act when buying and using antique items is to what extent can you use them without damaging them for further people and of course how much of your use is actually playing into the legacy and the story of the piece. Items shouldn't become not useful when they reach a certain age, unless they are degrading
and falling apart and therefore the history of
them is at risk of being lost to future generations. But if they are still useful, I do think we should still use them. There's no point in having
items floating around this world that are just there. So I am going to endeavor to
see if I can prise this apart. I will save the chalk, I will keep the chalk near to this, just so that, that history is still there, it's in one piece, it can be reassembled
in its historical method and passed on whenever
this is ready to leave me. And of course the next
caretaker of this item can have that history, just as I have had, I think that's kind of magical. So this hem marker will probably be getting a
little bit of use as well as a little bit of
investigation and study. I have two more items that I've purchased. One of which I am
unrealistically excited about, and one which is objectively
extremely exciting, but which is not the thing
that I'm most excited about. So we're gonna start
with that latter thing. This is the thing that
is objectively exciting. This, friends, is a Victorian microscope. And the most exciting
thing is it actually works. You can actually look
through it and see stuff. It's missing its plate on the bottom. Sometimes it is useful to look at fabrics and fibers of clothes. (quiet gasp of wonder) There is a piece of hair
wedged into the screw in the back here and I'm
wondering who this belonged to. I do have a little magnifying thing that assists with looking
at fibers up close. I also have a digital microscope, which I use plugged into a computer. As you can see, it's not electric, obviously because it is 19th century. So in order to get that light that has to shine
through the bottom of it, they've actually put a mirror right here that reflects the light in
and then up into the lens that you can actually see
what you're looking at. This is so cool. So simultaneously this will
make fantastic practical use, occasionally, you know for the occasion that I actually do need to use microscope, but additionally, it will
make fantastic decoration. And that is kind of a thing
that I am most attracted to in antiques and in home
decor is filling my space, decorating my space with things
that all have practical uses things that aren't just superfluous, but to have everything in your life be an item that has a story to it. It's got its own history, as well as the story of how you found it, how long you were looking for it, how you stumbled upon it. It's not a thing that
you can just go on Amazon and purchase another one if you lose it, it has that intrinsic value to it. So this is definitely going to be an excellent addition to my life. The final item, is the thing I'm
unrealistically, ridiculously excited about. I actually, I saw it early
on in my antique find and I kind of walked by it, but I kind of knew I wanted to buy it. I did end up going back for it. I promise this is more
than just a copper kettle, however beautiful this two-toned
brass and copper kettle actually is, this friends is a copper kettle that sits on a little stand and it comes with its own little burner so that it keeps the kettle hot. Look at it, it's so cute. This is from approximately 1900, which is precisely my era of choice. So I just thought this would be an excellent little piece of decor to sit right next to my fireplace. Just for the LOLs I may
experiment with this to see if I can get it to work, but the fireplace doesn't work anyway so why not play into the charade that there's actually something warm going on on that side of the room. (orchestral music) Antiquing is just so thrilling. Just the prospect of looking for one of a kind little treasures. Here is a literal piece of
history that you can have. (orchestral music) That, I suppose, concludes my slight fan girling over
old things of the day. But then again, I suppose that is what this
entire channel is built upon. But anyway, I hope you enjoyed this
little antiquing escapade and I shall see you anon
in some future video. What could be more welcoming than coming home from a long
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Sigh, this video reminded me of how much I missed flea markets and antique markets and markets in general. Just perusing is fun enough and the obligatory treat afterwards from one of the stalls, either to celebrate a good find or to make up for going home emptyhanded. 2022 maybe?
Edit: And I want another microscope I do not need.
yay! Cesario!