Today, AD joins interior designer Ross Cassidy in Paris’ largest flea market, Marché aux Puces de Paris Saint-Ouen, as he hunts for special pieces to fill his client’s home. Covering 20 acres and with over 1,700 vendors, navigating a flea market like this might seem a daunting task for many. From knowing when you’ve found a bargain to distinguishing real designer items from replicas, follow Ross as he shows you how to find treasure like a pro.
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00:00This is so sick.
00:01Those are so pretty.
00:02Oh, this is beautiful.
00:04Ooh, that's cute, the legs.
00:05But that's just like, for me.
00:07Focus on me.
00:09This is a good floor lamp.
00:10Ooh.
00:11Oh my gosh, that's stunning.
00:12That's so kick-ass.
00:13Price is $12,000.
00:17Really?
00:17I had to step away and sneeze,
00:19because that's her.
00:23Okay.
00:24Pull out your credit card.
00:25Pull out your credit card.
00:26Whip out your credit card.
00:27It's too much.
00:28It's too much.
00:28Yeah.
00:30We're in Paris,
00:31in one of the biggest antique markets in the world.
00:33It covers nearly 20 acres,
00:35features more than 1,700 vendors,
00:38and has been operating since 1885.
00:42As an interior designer,
00:43this is the place I come to find
00:45the best pieces for my projects.
00:47Vintage light fixtures, furniture, and art
00:50have all come from this market
00:51and ended up in my clients' homes.
00:53This isn't a typical flea market
00:54you'd find in the States.
00:56The quality is truly exceptional.
00:58It's like a museum
00:59where you can touch all the art.
01:01And if you've got the cash,
01:02you can bring it home with you, too.
01:03Today, I'm shopping with my client, Alana,
01:05and we're looking for a few things
01:07to finish styling her home.
01:08Ceramics and accessories,
01:10a floor lamp for her bedroom,
01:11and if we're lucky,
01:12the perfect chandelier for her living room,
01:14which we've been trying to find
01:15for about, no joke, four years.
01:19Should we look?
01:21No?
01:23No.
01:25Wow.
01:26Oh, wow.
01:30This is good stuff.
01:31I love this.
01:32This really speaks to my house.
01:34Totally.
01:34This is Accolay, right?
01:35Accolay, yes, thank you.
01:36Okay, here's why I'm visibly excited
01:38about the fact that we found this Accolay bauze.
01:40Accolay Pottery is highly collectible.
01:43It's a pottery studio that was started in the 40s
01:45in the village of Accolay in France.
01:47Over 30 years, they've made
01:48some of the most amazing handmade ceramics in the world.
01:51Pretty iconically, Christian Dior
01:53used Accolay ceramic buttons
01:54in his New Look collection in the late 40s,
01:57and that was when Accolay's popularity
01:59really skyrocketed.
02:00Some of it you find a lot on First Dibs
02:02and it's like, oh, that again.
02:03This one I've never seen before.
02:04I think it's so cute.
02:05Would you take 200?
02:06No, because after I complete.
02:09Let's see what else we find.
02:10Would you take 225?
02:12Okay, it's okay.
02:14Okay, done.
02:14That, we have to take.
02:15It's so cute. Yeah, let's take this for sure,
02:17and then let's look.
02:18Maybe there's a couple more bits.
02:18There's probably more.
02:19My trick?
02:20Yes.
02:21Literally start at the top
02:22and, because there's less stuff at the top
02:26and there's more stuff at the bottom,
02:27and if you don't look strategically,
02:30you're gonna get overwhelmed
02:31and you're never gonna see everything.
02:32Oh my gosh.
02:33Not for the Orha.
02:34Look how insane this is.
02:35Ooh, I love that.
02:36It looks like bronze, but it's ceramic.
02:39Yeah.
02:39How much?
02:401,200.
02:42Oh, done.
02:43Done.
02:44Okay.
02:44Pull out your credit card.
02:45Okay.
02:52That is a beautiful vase.
02:53This is like a fishing net.
02:54Yeah.
02:55What is this?
02:56Ceramic from the 80s.
02:57Look at these colors.
02:58Jesus, that's amazing.
03:01There are two sconces from La Bermudia,
03:03which is the hotel in Marrakesh.
03:07I really, really want them.
03:08I should just buy them and put them in storage.
03:10You know I have a lamp closet, right?
03:11Which is actually like five closets
03:14just filled with lamps.
03:16Really?
03:17Yeah, it's a problem.
03:18Can I show you something?
03:19Yeah.
03:21Ooh, it's not the face.
03:23No, not the face.
03:24These are great.
03:25But how good are these?
03:26They're amazing.
03:27How much are these?
03:28350.
03:29350.
03:30It's biot.
03:31It is?
03:32Yeah.
03:32It doesn't say biot on it.
03:36So how do you know in that case?
03:38I don't, I don't know.
03:39Oh my God, that's heavy.
03:41If it was biot,
03:43you would see a little maker's mark at the bottom here.
03:45It's tiny and it's etched into the glass.
03:48I think it's like in the manner of biot,
03:50but I think it's a great vintage vase.
03:53Bubbles in glass have been around
03:54since the beginning of glassmaking,
03:56but they were always there as imperfections
03:57because the glass was normally too hot.
03:59And what biot did was figured out
04:01how to make the bubbles consistent and intentional.
04:04Something that was a mistake now becomes on purpose
04:07and it's so much more beautiful.
04:09I mean, I kind of like all three of them.
04:11Agreed, but let's not do all three.
04:12Yeah.
04:13Rock, paper, scissors.
04:15I don't know how to do that.
04:17Rock, paper, scissors.
04:20Oh.
04:21I hate you, oh my God.
04:23Just you pick.
04:23We're taking the brown.
04:24I'm done.
04:26300?
04:27I'll shoot you.
04:28You will?
04:29Okay.
04:29Okay, done.
04:30Pull out your credit card.
04:31We ended up using the vase on the coffee table.
04:33It looks kind of amazing
04:34because it adds a little visual punch
04:36and some extra height to the space, which I like.
04:39You never know what you find.
04:41How do you feel about a brass mermaid?
04:45Fantastic.
04:47Oh, look, here's a different version.
04:49See, but this isn't nice because it's like thin.
04:51No.
04:52It feels kind of-
04:53I think we can-
04:54Oh, but you know what's funny?
04:55Fine.
04:56It's real.
04:57Did I just get a fake one?
04:58Yeah.
05:00It was cheap.
05:01It would have been nice if we saw that, but sadly.
05:03That's okay.
05:04I love what we got.
05:10I love that mosaic.
05:11This looks like it might be an adenae,
05:13but I think it could also be an opal.
05:18I think we're in trouble now.
05:20I'm not even gonna touch it.
05:21What do you think of that plate that's on the stand?
05:24I love it.
05:25Really?
05:26Absolutely love it.
05:26Really?
05:27He's Guido Gamboni, and he's famous
05:29for these really crusty, thick glazes,
05:32but also it's a proper actual hand-painted painting
05:35by an artist on a beautiful piece of ceramic.
05:37That's beautiful.
05:38So he fused two art movements.
05:40It's not for everybody.
05:41I mean, I think a lot of people would see this
05:43and think it's kind of like 60s kitsch.
05:46I'm handling it like it's cheap.
05:47I should put it down because I break shit all the time.
05:51So now we are in what I think of as the more touristy part,
05:55where I generally don't bring clients.
05:58Okay.
05:59Because the quality is inferior.
06:01That's what I'm looking for.
06:02And the mix is a lot more eclectic.
06:05But there's still stuff to find.
06:07Really?
06:08You just really need to know what you're looking for.
06:10Stanchions and red carpet.
06:11Right.
06:12They're really trying to elevate the place.
06:13They really are.
06:14Oh, look, Hermes.
06:15Look at that.
06:16That's a discontinued Hermes pattern
06:18in this sort of dodgy corridor.
06:20You've got like La Ligue and Hermes.
06:22Yeah.
06:23And maybe like a little Christophe.
06:24Yeah.
06:25How large is this flea market?
06:28It's ginormous.
06:29Ginormous.
06:29And it just goes on and on and on and on and on.
06:31There's no end to it.
06:33You know what?
06:34Let's go in here.
06:34I really love this vendor.
06:35They have some beautiful stuff.
06:36I think you'll like it.
06:39Jeremy, what are the tiles on the wall?
06:41I want to eat them.
06:42Yes.
06:43Little cookie.
06:44They're like animal crackers.
06:45Yeah.
06:46Are they like astrological signs?
06:46Yes.
06:47Because, you know, in the French ceramic tradition,
06:49you have this kind of thing.
06:50He wanted to root himself in the history of ceramic.
06:54Should we do like a series of them,
06:56maybe like in the living room on the wall?
06:58Oh, I love that idea.
06:59Do different colors?
07:00Like a bunch of different colors?
07:01They're your colors for the house.
07:02Yeah.
07:03These tiles are something of a revelation for me
07:05because aside from the obvious use of them as tiles,
07:08they make an amazing kitchen backsplash,
07:09but they're also cute just stacked on a pile of books.
07:12I'm super excited to see them in the house.
07:14Okay, we found something.
07:16In Alana Space, we decided to put these tiles on the wall
07:18because they really create an exciting little moment
07:20in the corner of the room
07:21that adds a little visual surprise
07:23when you turn and look back
07:25towards the entrance of the house.
07:26We found a bunch of great accessories
07:28and ceramics for Alana Space.
07:29Next up, we're focusing on floor lamps.
07:32Floor lamp in there?
07:33No.
07:34No.
07:35No.
07:35I need you to validate me.
07:37Wait, floor lamps.
07:39This is a cool one.
07:40That's pretty.
07:41The floor lamp I'm looking for
07:42needs to be pretty from top to bottom
07:44because it's visible from all sides.
07:46It's something that you're going to see
07:48from a number of places in the room
07:49and I just want to make sure that it's beautiful all over.
07:54What do you think?
07:55Oh my God, I love that.
07:56I think it's incredible.
07:57It's Aldo Nason.
07:59He made lights for Mosega, it's Italian.
08:01This one also looks like it's in amazing shape.
08:03I'm sure it's not cheap,
08:04but it's something you'll have forever.
08:06If it's the kind of thing you love,
08:08it's worth probably spending money on.
08:11Oh, I love that painting.
08:13She's beautiful.
08:14She is beautiful.
08:15Or is she creepy?
08:16I think we've looped everything.
08:17I think we should go inside.
08:18Okay, let's go inside.
08:22Things get more serious here.
08:24Okay.
08:25More important, more expensive.
08:26The qualities step up from where we just were.
08:31This is a good floor lamp.
08:32Ooh.
08:33Oh my gosh, that's stunning.
08:34That's so kick-ass.
08:35It's possible.
08:36Unlacquered brass, so it's tarnished, which I love.
08:38This would be so cool in your bedroom.
08:41Yeah.
08:42Over a sofa.
08:43Yeah.
08:44Imagine sitting here and you're reading a book
08:46and that's above you.
08:47So pretty.
08:48Like a warm, cozy little moment.
08:49Yeah.
08:50Can you tell us a bit about this floor lamp?
08:52It's from Mathieu, 1952, a model Balencièges.
08:57Price?
08:58Price is 12,000.
09:00That's a little steep.
09:01It would be the most expensive thing in the room.
09:02Yes.
09:03I mean, but it's an investment, right?
09:05I think it's a piece of art.
09:07Yeah.
09:08It's a piece of art.
09:08Yes.
09:09I mean, 12 grand?
09:10I think that's a lot.
09:12You're saying that's a lot for a piece of furniture?
09:14Then there's a problem.
09:15Then there's a problem.
09:18This is sort of like a variation on the floor lamp.
09:20Oh, wow.
09:21If you wanted something tall and glassy.
09:23Yeah.
09:24I don't think I do.
09:25That was definitive.
09:26Oh, hello.
09:27We just landed in Jacques Aznay land.
09:29Oh, hello.
09:30Don't need a daybed.
09:31Oh, I wish I did, though.
09:32The floor lamp.
09:34That has your name all over it.
09:36I mean, if you didn't know what it was,
09:38you wouldn't know that it was vintage.
09:39It's pristine.
09:41Can you imagine?
09:42It's like a 70-year-old lamp.
09:42No.
09:43It stood the test of time.
09:44The leather is amazing.
09:45You know, this is all done by hand.
09:47To hand stitch this whole thing is insane.
09:50A lot of his furniture was made for Hermes
09:52in the 50s and 60s.
09:54It's part of that whole history.
09:55So you feel like-
09:56So you're basically like buying an Hermes lamp.
09:58Right.
09:59But it's vintage as well.
09:59I mean, this stuff is only gonna get more and more valuable
10:02and it's so beautiful.
10:05How much is the Jacques Aznay lamp in the corner?
10:098,500 euros.
10:11Why does that almost sound like affordable?
10:13Because we saw a $12,000.
10:158,500?
10:16How much is the daybed?
10:1828,000.
10:20I think we have to move on, Alana.
10:22Yeah.
10:25There is one little store that I always stop by
10:28because it's run by the chicest
10:30and most incredible little French lady.
10:31She specializes in mid-century French lighting.
10:35Amongst her whole collection,
10:36there was one floor lamp that really stood out for us.
10:40Oh, yes.
10:41This is so good.
10:42I don't know what the price is.
10:43I'm gonna cry if this is $12,000.
10:45I love it.
10:46I don't think it's $12,000.
10:47It's like iron with one little brass detail.
10:49It's beautiful.
10:49And this is woven, this is paper.
10:51I like that it's tall though.
10:53It's for the bedroom.
10:54It's perfect.
10:54It gets you the, like, it's big.
10:56It's like, excusez-moi, madame, combien?
11:00Let me pause here for a second.
11:01The lady that runs the shop did not want to be on camera.
11:04She's adorable, but she's strangely intimidating,
11:07and she loves to haggle,
11:08yet she doesn't speak any English,
11:09and I don't speak any French.
11:11So.
11:14Okay, that I know.
11:25Didn't get any of that.
11:27That I got.
11:28It's from the same sort of time period
11:29as when Cocteau was painting and writing.
11:31Beautiful.
11:32And making movies.
11:33I think the best price is 1,500 euros.
11:41Best, best, best price.
11:431,400 euros.
11:45I think that's a bit.
11:451,400.
11:461,400?
11:47Yeah.
11:48Oh, I'm sold.
11:49Yes, let's just do it.
11:50Let's do it.
11:51Let's do it.
11:51Let's do it.
11:52Let's do it.
11:53Let's do it.
11:54Let's do it.
11:55Let's do it.
11:56Let's do it.
12:00I think we've done pretty well.
12:02I think we've done really well.
12:03I feel good with our finds.
12:04I think we got a couple scores.
12:07I think we need to keep looking
12:08for your living room chandelier.
12:10It's like the missing piece.
12:16Maybe not like that one, but.
12:17Like, that would be good size-wise.
12:20When we're looking for a chandelier
12:21for Alana's living room,
12:22we're looking for a couple things.
12:24It can't be too big,
12:25so that it overwhelms the space.
12:27It can't be too small,
12:28otherwise it's gonna look ridiculous.
12:30And I don't want anything that's new,
12:32because I feel like the room needs something older
12:36to add a little bit of age and history to the space.
12:39Dramatic and glamorous.
12:41Tall.
12:42Yeah.
12:43Because the ceiling is pitched.
12:44It would be kind of cool
12:45if you could get a bit of color in there.
12:46You know, I like what's going on there with,
12:48it's way too small, obviously.
12:50But I like the sort of like,
12:51waterfall-y sort of vibes.
12:52I like that it's Murano.
12:54The gold standard in hand-blown glass.
12:56And the light filters so beautifully
12:58through the bubbles in the glass.
12:59If we could get that,
13:00three times the size.
13:01Yeah, would be awesome.
13:04There is one last shop left
13:06that I want to check for chandeliers.
13:07They have an incredible collection,
13:09and I'm always blown away when I get there.
13:12I love this store.
13:13They're like, one of the best dealers of Murano glass
13:16in the flea market.
13:17And their stuff is next-level good.
13:19Like, that's so pretty.
13:21Oh my god, Murano.
13:24And I just proved my point.
13:25Oh my god.
13:26Look at this, Alana.
13:27It's so beautiful.
13:28Oh my gosh.
13:30It's your color.
13:30Is it drawing your body towards it?
13:31Do you want to give it a hug?
13:33Can I do that?
13:34You can give it a hug, yeah.
13:35Can I take it home with me?
13:36It's for sale.
13:37I'm in love.
13:38It's like a giant pink waterfall.
13:40It's funny how you can spend four years
13:41looking for a light,
13:42and then you can turn a corner on a staircase,
13:45and you just know immediately
13:46that you found the right thing.
13:48Each of the 49 pieces of Murano glass
13:51are hand-blown and hand-shaped.
13:54It's so hard to find something
13:55that makes a statement without shouting.
13:58The subtlety of the color is beautiful enough
14:00to draw your attention to it
14:02without it overwhelming the space.
14:04It's absolutely perfectly proportioned
14:07to the height of the ceilings,
14:09the size of the room,
14:10the height of those doors.
14:11It's like, it's everything that you need in life.
14:14I don't know how that happened.
14:15I guess it's when you wait three years.
14:18So once the movers have delivered the chandelier
14:20and its crates to the house,
14:22it needs to be uncrated.
14:2325 feet of scaffolding need to be installed.
14:26The light needs to be hung from the ceiling,
14:28and then the 49 pieces of glass
14:30need to be hung from the armature,
14:32one extremely delicate and fragile piece at a time.
14:37In the space, this chandelier is actually better
14:39than I thought it would be.
14:41This light fixture is almost like
14:42a little piece of jewelry.
14:43The crowning little gem in the room,
14:46it's a subtle statement.
14:47It's definitely not over the top,
14:49but it was the thing that was missing from the room
14:51that really ties everything together.
14:54One of the reasons I love doing this
14:56is that you don't just get the things that you bought,
14:59but you get the memories and the experiences
15:01of buying it together and finding it.
15:03I genuinely believe this market is for everybody.
15:06There's no price for admission.
15:08You don't have to buy anything.
15:10You can just go and sink in the magic,
15:13or you could find a vase for $50,
15:16or a $12,000 floor lamp.
15:18I get heart palpitations.
15:20I felt nothing from seeing that.
15:22You just crushed my dreams.
15:24I'm so sorry.
15:25I'll buy you lunch.