Les Visages des Puces

Specialisation: suede and painted furniture
On the market for 15 years
Previous occupation: aviation engines fitter

Accounting is the worst. It’s never fun. We love being on the field doing our job, the rest is unnecessary pain.

What we are trying to buy is objects which are initially Dutch, but can at the same time agood fit with French furniture. The legs are close to Louis XV style, as well as the shape of the doors, so you can mix it with French furniture!

Specialisation: drawers and travelling-oriented furniture combinations from 1850s-1930s
On the market for 32 years
Previous occupation: classical education in ancient languages; jurist

The clients have changed a lot. All those people, who liked to show off a bit, who enjoyed original things, they have all disappeared. Because of the crisis, probably. And the taste has changed too. You see, the people have changed. 25 years ago my customers were 60 years old... they are not here anymore. I believe that 25 years ago people had a better education. There is no similar passion or joy of living anymore, there are no more people who were discovering objects with excitement. Nowadays, people are a bit blasé. In my opinion, it is because of nowadays fashion, because of the crisis in Europe.

Specialisation: brasilian furniture from 50s and 60s
On the market exactly 1 year
Previous occupation: law studies; music; consultant in luxury and fashion

Luxury goods markets are never in crisis. Hermes has 30% growth each year. The larger luxury brands never sold that much. Ferrari never sold that many cars. And I am in this segment. It is not that I am not suffering the crisis, but there are still people who have money. And, after all, it is a matter of being smart. It is when you are able to offer outstanding objects, that nobody else has. People who know design, they have seen a lot. And I show them something that they have never seen. I provoke their interest.

Specialisation: XX century
On the market for 15 years
Previous occupation: Louise: singer, musical instruments saleswoman; Franck: antique dealer

We are searching for objects together, it takes the most of our week. We work on the selection, mostly curiosities, uncommon items. The fashion today is to look for signed objects, but we are not purely focused on that.

Specialisation: industrial furniture, curiosities
On the market for 15 years
Previous occupation: salesman

The horse you see over there, has been used by the saddlers, who were selling the equipment for horseback riding. And, among other things, I think, it was used for carriage displays.

Specialisation: simple objects, atmosphere, ambiance
On the market for 14 years
Previous occupation: studies in communication; pharmaceutical sales representative

Americans love objects with patina. Japanese are into raw materials, industrial style objects. The same with clothing: they appreciate natural, unprocessed fabrics. I don’t have Russian clients. I think, they love show-off kinds of things. At the moment I am trying to find more classical objects — for French clients.

Specialisation: XX century design and decorative arts, uncanny artefacts and experimental music
On the market for 6 months
Previous occupation: MD in philosophy; internship at Christian Lacroix and Goyard; press relations, PR, events organisation for fashion and luxury brands

We are in a constant search of a rare gem, for the best deal. It is very exciting to be on the look-out, a bit like being on the hunt. It also is the worst, being on a constant look-out, being vigilant all the time. This is the essence of our work, it is exciting and stressful at the same time.

Specialisation: african art, photographs of Louis Stettner
On the market for 52 years
Previous occupation: none

It seems to me that nowadays very few people are interested. There is a lack of interest, and curiosity for non-classical, uncommon objects. That is really sad for the flea market. What should drive people to the flea market is the unexpected, and be surprised by an object.

Specialisation: art deco, painted furniture, imaginative objects
On the market for 21 years
Previous occupations: law studies; antique fairs in Paris

Mr. McDonald left for a mansion in Burgundy. He has been bought by a gentleman who is equipping a playroom for his children. He bought a large American bowling and was in search of another US object, so he noticed the figure.

I keep in touch with a lot of friends who work in law, and I do not think that this profession is for me. Sometimes their lives are really complicated. Their job takes much of their time. On the contrary, my job leaves me a lot of time for my kids. That is the most important thing for me, even though jurists often have higher incomes.

Specialisation: carnivals, old toys
On the market for 39 years
Previous occupation: military service in Africa; real estate broker

I have a carousel horse, which is made of 70 pieces of different wood. I have horses made by German, French and English people... There is a story. I sold horses to a 80 year old woman. They reminded her of the time when she was a little girl, and was riding wooden horses. And she said: “before I die, I want my horse”. You see, these are very emotional goods. Plastic objects may be good, but they are not the best. Plastic is not meant to last. We throw it away more often.

Specialisation: tapestry, oriental furniture of the 18th-20th centuries
On the market since 1986
Previous occupations: Amir: journalist in Rasht; (his wife) Asieh: housewife

We choose the best items in countries that once used to be Persia. We sell 80% of these items for export. We have no competitors in Europe, as we are the only ones to have so many antiques from Syria. What we sell is different from what people are accustomed to see. We (re)present an art that people do not know well.

Modern decor is a mixture of different cultures. French culture is a part of another big culture, which is also very rich. That's why in our shop we also offer French objects, which serve as complements to oriental objects.

Specialisation: lighters
On the market for 32 years
Previous occupations: engineer studies in Auvergne; serviceman in the air forces; work as an engineer in Paris; Ecole des Beaux Arts in Paris; painter; photographer

In Auvergne, all my grandmothers used to have attics full of junk, so I’ve always liked old things. At a certain point people started to get rid of things from their basements and attics. At that time I had a little student job (flyers distribution). One day in the 17th arrondissement I found a curtain holder made of gilded bronze which was very beautiful. I dragged it all day in my flyers bag, and three weeks later I proposed it in the Swiss village. One person offered me 800 francs. My daily pay for the whole day of flyers distribution was just 50 euro... And then, there were many things which you could find in the 15th arrondissement. There were construction works being carried out there, and behind the fences you could find everything you could imagine.

Specialisation: 1940s-1970s
On the market for 12 years
Previous occupations: Vincent: economist by education, real estate investment manager in a bank; Remy: publishing

Talking about the market, you should not focus on stars only. But it is true that the market has a glamorous side. I keep some beautiful memories: we were celebrating a holiday, it was in autumn, and I had a large fruit platter, with grapes, pears and apples on it. Uma Thurman came into the shop and sat down on a chair. We talked a bit, and while leaving she asked me if the fruits were real and if she could take a pear... I remember, at the time when I just started the business, there was Claude Nougaro (a French poet and singer) talking on the phone in front of my stand turning his back to me. It was a small stand and I was eager to tell him: “Sir, please move aside,” but suddenly I recognised his voice! I also remember meeting and having a nice talk with Michel Serrault (a French actor) a few months before his death.

Specialisation: any furniture for professional usage
On the market for 20 years
Previous occupation: studies in agriculture; military service; the first in Paris to commercialise polyester foam; production of furniture made of foam; interior design

I’ve started selling this kind of objects in a shop that I had in Paris in the 1st arrondissement, Bouloi street. I’ve started by selling workshop lightings. The first customers were amazed, they were asking me what I was selling. Some of them even said “But do you really earn your living from this?”. I was one of the first to sell . Soon these objects became fashionable, thanks to journalists who made articles about me in newspapers. Also, as the shop was close to la Comédie Française, I had some actors as clients. I’ve been selling objects to people from cinema and television. They were my first clients, as they were open to novelties.

Specialisation: XIX century paintings and furniture
On the market for 4 years
Previous occupation: literature studies; teacher

I love history. It is through history that I got involved with old things. But it is not only that, it is also individuals life history. My parents always had old furniture.

There are always objects that will disappear, for instance silverware. Silver is beautiful but you need to maintain it. Before all families had silver, or at least plated silver, forks, spoons etc.... this is now over.

Specialisation: industrial style objects
On the market for 8 years
Previous occupation: teacher, sculptor

My mother together with Gilles Oudin started the fashion for industrial style. They took objects that were ignored and made them popular. All the industrial lighting: lampe Gras, Jielde lamps etc. They made popular metallic workshop chairs, which people had not even noticed before.

Industrial objects have traces of time on them, traces of being used. You can see effects of time on their surface.

Specialisation: everything
On the market for 17 years
Previous occupation: ready-to-wear stores owner

France is a huge attic full of antiquities. You don’t have to go abroad. In general, many objects that you can find abroad left France several years ago. Vernaison, the oldest market, is all about ancient stuff. Although, today there are some stands with modern objects, in general it’s still a big flea market. You can find some beautiful pieces there. And you can bargain-hunt!

And then there are markets like Serpette and Paul Bert, which are a little more upscale.

Specialisation: sea, scientific objects and curiosities
On the market for 22 years
Previous occupation: construction engineer in North Africa

In Algeria I was building bridges, schools, roads... But when you've been working for 18 years in construction in Arab countries and you finally get back home, you go to an employment agency, and they tell you that your profile is not clear-cut.. In France people are much more specialised, there are topographers, there is a head of works... In Algeria jobs are really multifunctional.

One day my colleague who has been doing the same thing as me and whom I met in Algeria had an idea of doing opening a stand at the flea market> together, and I agreed,

Specialisation: primitive art
On the market for 3 years
Previous occupations: Studies in law and art history; assistant in an art gallery in Paris

I’ve been working in a gallery for seven years and I needed another kind of energy. The rhythm here is different, there is more movement, there are more people. We have more freedom here. We only sell on weekends, and we can buy during the whole week. Galleries is something more rigid. I no longer want to be locked in a gallery.

Specialisation: the second half of the XXth century, France
On the market for 20 years
Previous occupations: cowboy (160 cows and 50 horses) in Medoc

I’ve always wanted to do this job. I started this business when I was 18 years old. My specialisation is two great artists: Yonel Lebovici and Peter Keene. I'm going to publish a book on Lebovici with Normant publishing house, to be followed by an exhibition in Basel. Lebovici’s specialisation was movement and light. Peter Keene specialises in color, movement and sound.

I work the old fashion way: I do not have a website, people just know that with my help they can find good pieces. And then, if they show their willingness, I do business with them.

Specialisation: balance between demand and personal taste On the market for 1,5 years Previous occupation: studies in law, sales and marketing; advertising company; store manager

I’ve been exposing panoramic photos in France for 15 years. These are only original prints. It’s a side activity I’ve always been doing.

Panoramic photography of the beginning-middle of 20th century is a great rarity here in the market. Eugène Goldbeck, Ray Clemence, Fred Schutz, have left an important legacy, hundreds of thousands of pictures. among which photographs of groups of people, landscapes, and people working.

When I bring these photographs to a professional photography show, it’s not necessary to add a frame. People don’t want frames there. In the world of photography, a photo is to be touched, to be looked at, to be felt. A frame brings you further from it. But here, if I expose my photographs without frames, no-one will be interested in them. You see? Two very different worlds.

Specialisation: old crafts, tools from 18th century to 1920s
On the market for 22 years
Previous occupations: studies in school of Louvre; assistant in antique shops

In my family women were artists, they worked with their hands, and that's why I'm interested in craft. Basically these were old tools and crafts that interested me. There are old professions which don’t exist anymore. Sabot maker and blacksmith have almost disappeared in France. Shoemaker, shoe repairer, these professions are lost. On the contrary, still exist carpenters working in an old manner. Gilding, engraving, binding, - in this professions masters work in the same way they did before.

The majority of my clients buy tools to use them again Ancient tools were better made, steel quality was excellent. Also you feel the patina, it's pleasant, it's the life which leaves a trace on a instrument.

Specialisation: art deco
On the market for a long time
Previous occupation: secretary

When I started antiquities were fashionable, they were in great demand, but it’s also by interest, by passion for antiquities that I started the job. My grandfather was already a collector.

Specialisation: eclectic and funny items
On the market for 15 years
Previous occupations: photography; horse riding; travel

The Statue of Liberty served as a theater decor. I like to buy pieces like this, which nobody needs. Nobody needs to have the Statue of Liberty at home, but maybe there is one person who will do like me: he would like to have one at his place. That's why I bought it.

I sold this statue to a friend who lives in Switzerland. He put it in his living room on the staircase, because he liked the symbol. On the contrary, his wife is not very happy about it. He likes the Statue, but she doesn’t. She did not know that he would bring the Statue home, as he was alone when he bought it.

Specialisation: cabinet de curiosité
On the market for 40 years
Previous occupation: engineer

If it is clever, it can be sold, if it is stupid, it stays. An object which was manufactured in millions of copies, every concierge in every house has one of these, there is no interest in it. Only an object that arouses curiosity and catches the eye is what I call a “clever object”.

Specialisation: mix of everything
On the market for 5 years
Previous occupation: studies in interior decoration, painting and sculpture in Seoul and Paris; freelance photographer

Everything is ephemeral. We won't be here forever, we will turn into ashes. It’s not only about buying objects. When we go travelling to look for objects, we can think about many things. What is life truly about? You can ask yourself lots of questions. People want to buy everything, to possess objects. But does it really have a point? We all end up being nothing.

Specialisation: kitchen-ware
On the market for 35 years
Previous occupations: military service in Polynesia; photography

For a long time I’ve been keeping for myself objects that I was buying. For example I kept a large plate inscribed “Horsemeat Butcher, Specialist in Donkey and Mule”. It's rare, you’ll never find this anywhere.

Specialisation: Art Deco of the XXth century
On the market for 17 years
Previous occupations: has always been working in antiques

This job is interesting because of its non-definition and non-organization. There are people who mostly take into consideration an object’s pedigree, origins and designer. As for us, we are more attentive to forms, colors and materials. Sometimes we have famous names, but actually it’s not at all our aim. We are not librarians nor researchers. We have a sensitivity for creating warmth in a house or an apartment.

Specialisation: furniture and decorative items made ​​from airplane parts
On the market for 6 years
Previous occupations: education in commerce; work in communications in the sphere of graphics

My father-in-law started working on Paul Bert market at the early beginning of its creation, in 1949, and my husband has worked here for 38 years. We got the idea of this stand when we bought two landing gears of an aircraft and used them to make a desk for our son. Today my husband reshapes, customizes objects in a way to create a piece of furniture adaptable to city apartments.

Specialisation: everything kitchen-related
On the market for 11 years
Previous occupation: contemporary dance master; professional hairdresser diploma; housewife

My father had a stand in Byron market, as I do now. My uncle and my mother worked together. They were selling 19th century furniture, and my uncle was particularly specialised in harps. I joined them at auction houses from the age of 14, I think.

Before, the small alley was so overcrowded. We had to climb a dais in order to be able to see clients from above.