Stories Collected While Living in France

French la Vie

How to Reconize the Brocante Bug

Child's-hand-mirror

Text and photo by: Corey Amaro

How to recognize the brocante bug:

The person infected with the brocante bug usually is not in bed sleeping on a Saturday or Sunday morning.

Their homes have a certain old look about them.

A person who has the brocante bug usually stops whenever they see an old table leg, or a patch of toile de Jouy, or worse a peeling-paint-ruin-of-a-thing sticking out of a dumpster.

The brocante bug is said not to be contagious… but a person who has the brocante bug badly knows that is not a fact to count on. For example, when you have the brocante bug badly you know that if you take your friend to the brocante they most likely will develop symptoms instantly, grabbing germs (pieces) that you would have gladly suffered with, had they not be around.

A person with the brocante bug carries a big old purse… if you dare call it that.

Instead of lipstick, or perfume in their purse they have loose change, a tape measure, and a flashlight.

Do you have symptoms of the brocante bug, or know of symptoms to be aware of?

Comments

32 responses to “How to Reconize the Brocante Bug”

  1. Karon

    This person with the Brocante bug always clutches her reading glasses to hand so she can see all those fabulous little details and pieces. She has long given up on having them in her bag and having to fish around for them every couple of seconds, no she clutches them in hand ready for action all the time.
    Karon

    Reply
  2. Irina

    love this post, Corey. so true. in my purse I have a measuring tape in both inches and cm and a magnifying glass, ALWAYS.

    Reply
  3. Natalie Thiele

    A handy item for those with the brocante bug is a storage space so that large pieces never make it home until we have an explanation (justification) ready.
    I am an “I brake for yard sales” kind of girl. Years ago, while driving through the Ozarks, I had my husband stop at a roadside revival meeting, thinking it was a yard sale. (No bargains to be found there.)

    Reply
  4. Merisi

    Coming back at midnight from a 5 day trip – four countries, 1,600 miles driven by yours truly – and think about how sad it is that I can’t get up early the next morning and go brocanting with Corey!
    That is a serious infection, isn’t it? 😉
    .

    Reply
  5. Sharon, Morrison Mercantile

    Glasses on my head to pull down at a moments notice.
    I have to touch almost everything!!

    Reply
  6. brocantess

    Really? You need to ask? How about the coat I wear?….with all the pockets so that my hands are free to pick with 🙂

    Reply
  7. Cara

    Oh, I’ve definitely got it, and gladly dealing with the symptoms.

    Reply
  8. Everton Terrace

    I better call the doctor!

    Reply
  9. Denise

    Just wanted you to know I am featuring your shop on my blog today. I absolutely love your blog!

    Reply
  10. Penny

    The glint of old silver, the more tarnished the better to have and to hold and polish on a cold winter’s day, or the lovingly warn cover of a beautifully illustrated book. Out comes my clutch and into my cloth bag it goes to the groan of the bookshelf or squeak of an already full drawer. There are two special friends that can call me anytime, anywhere, and ask if I want to go with to . . . off I go, smile on my face, determination in my steps, leaving the housework the chores and all sanity behind.
    Bug? what bug?

    Reply
  11. Shelley@thiswhiteshed.blogspot.com

    While others furnish their homes with pictures of wood finishes, you have a healthy admiration and respect for history and beauty. Nothing buggy ’bout it!

    Reply
  12. Betsy

    Don’t forget the large trash/bin bags in the trunk for those items that might have bugs of their own to share! I have two lovely Persian carpets from the curbs in two different cities…

    Reply
  13. Cheryl ~ Casual Cottage Chic at Serendipity Antiques

    Worse than that, I find myself while watching a movie with a story line during a European period pointing out and noticing antiques in the background! Because I have a passion for vintage wicker, I’m always spotting it in movies of the Art Deco period. Watching a movie about Marie Antoinette I was in pure heaven with all the French antiques!

    Reply
  14. Stephanie M

    When you have inordinate amount of handiwipes on your person or in your car, 2 alarms are always next to the bed and the most current map boook or a GPS.

    Reply
  15. BailiwickDesigns

    I have the bug! Just yesterday, while my husband was driving, I saw a broken table on the side of a busy road and my head swiveled so fast I practically broke my neck trying to see it better. Before I had a chance to say a word, and without even looking to see what I had seen, Will said NO. He doesn’t have the bug.

    Reply
  16. MJ

    Ah I have it and I LOVE THAT MIRROR!

    Reply
  17. Rhonda P.

    When I’m on the hunt, I am on a mission and I don’t mean to be rude but don’t talk to me. I’m thinking, I’m hunting, I’m too busy to chat. That’s why I usually go alone, my friends want to hold things up and want my opinion, their lips are moving but I don’t hear one word. Isn’t that mean?

    Reply
  18. Carol

    Hair in a ponytail, glasses on head, sunscreen, bottled water, granola bars in handy cart with wheels. I ALWAYS bring extra large trash bags. I try to go without a large purse so I can have both hands free to explore & sometimes grab things. It helps to bring a friend to help as a “spotter” for the hard to find items. A handsome man with muscles to carry the heavy stuff is always wonderful too!!

    Reply
  19. Lia deKoster

    Tea and you
    It is a quiet sunday morning here
    I’m sitting at the table
    reading the week through
    the eyes of this company…
    What a lovely way
    to spend a quiet moment…
    I consider the weeks read.
    I work too much
    here in New Zealand.
    I purchase quality…
    Usually what others have discarded…
    Brocante – treasure – I feel you all
    know what I mean – kindred souls.
    I just purchased an old carving knife and fork – I love it.
    My clothes are a mix of Trelise Cooper and Opportunity shop finds…
    we live, love and linger (sometimes) on 25 acres of rough land. I was shopping in Whangarei yesterday and looked down, I thought I was beautifully dressed
    and
    there
    on
    my
    maroon paitent leather shoes
    Kaiwaka clay.
    lia fashion meets clay.
    It is who and where we are.
    In my still moments I long
    to live
    in a land
    that you
    paint.
    I have most of this here.
    I have the ability to slow and decide where we eat dinner..I reflect on the thought that this will deepen
    our families sense of being.
    I reside to do so.
    So thank you one and all
    I have read you
    listened
    reflected…
    But I linger on the thought
    that I would love to
    smell
    and
    taste
    France
    for myself… with my honey.
    ..and not for six months as I previously thought but longer…to
    lull-about-in-the-texture-of-others.
    Ciao
    Lia

    Reply
  20. Vicki

    The worst thing about the Brocante Bug is there is NO cure.

    Reply
  21. Patrice

    The bug may not be contagious but I believe it is hereditary. I seem to have passed it on to my teenage sons who cannot pass up a garage or yard sale much to my husband’s regret.He’s passed on to them sports, I’ve passed on saving money and the planet. Ha!

    Reply
  22. carol

    Well, there is a sticker seen on bumpers all over the states which I know you will NEVER see in France (fuddy duds)! I BRAKE FOR GARAGE SALES!(or estate sales or auctions etc)

    Reply
  23. martina

    I may have had a bad week and just want to sleep in. However, if Mom or a friend call and say “There is a garage sale nearby-I can pick you up in 30 minutes”. I do like a tornado and am showered, dressed and ready in time. I also like swapping items with friends when we put on yard sales. Today I got an antique embroidered pillow sham-she got four Hull coffee mugs.

    Reply
  24. Joy Jones

    Hi Corey…Ooooh you made me laugh out loud tonight! When Mr. Cupid and I were dating, we would have to drive through alleys to get to his garage and I would always be looking for treasures peeking out of the dumpsters and one day a great old vintage dresser was sitting in the alley. I made him stop and load it in the car and the whole time he was shaking his head saying he was going to call my mother and tell her that my life had come to this…diving for furniture in dumpsters! And guess what…he now has the Brocante bug too. Sometimes you can teach an old dog a new trick : ) xo ~ Joy

    Reply
  25. Jackie

    speaking of the bug, what’s the story with that mirror?
    jackie
    bliss farm antiques

    Reply
  26. Diane Dainis

    Oh my, that’s my problem. I’ve had the symptoms all along, just didn’t realize what it was. Well, it’s a bug a will gladly carry.
    On my way out the door right after I post this. I’ve got it bad. 🙂

    Reply
  27. Erica

    Well, I was up at 6:01am this morning getting dressed in the dark and chilly Normandy air. And off we went to three different ‘foire a tout’ (literally the fair of everything). Apparently this is the Brocante equivalent in Normandy. It is hard to to this on a regular basis in Paris as the brocantes are either too expensive or a lot of junk. Today in Normandy I found some great little things at really reasonable prices. If I could, I would be at it EVERY weekend. I’ve got the bug, now I need the time! Erica

    Reply
  28. Bramble

    I don’t have the “Bug” I have the full blown disease! I started early doing flea markets with my Mom hunting for treasures and the enjoyment we found has never left.Our ability to fit unusual items in a small car was legendary! Always carry a list of frame sizes too for the pictures you couldn’t resist that now need frames and of course only old ones will do! Happy hunting!

    Reply
  29. Gracie

    I don’t have the same bug, but that mirror is worth anything you must do to have it!

    Reply
  30. Pigtown-Design

    Hahaha! My head swings around when I see an old truck filled with junk, or a heap of things on the side of the road for bulk trash day! I love poking around dusty junk shops, old antique barn sales, grotty thrift shops. The worse the neighbourhood, the more treasures you can find.

    Reply
  31. cynthia wolff

    Haaa-choooo!

    Reply
  32. Debbie Cochener

    Definitely know I have had this bug for years! I just can’t wait to split the household between the states and France so I can dive into brocantes a bit more agressively!

    Reply

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