- 53 minutes ago
Today, AD is following interior designer Ross Cassidy through Portobello Road Market and Alfies Antique Market in London as he shares expert tips on how to spot hidden gems and vintage treasures like a seasoned pro. Discover how to shop for antiques, vintage decor, and unique home finds you can fit in your suitcase and learn expert styling tips using silver, bronze, art, and lighting to elevate any space.
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LifestyleTranscript
00:00Rolls-Royce Hood Ornament. I guess everything is for sale at Portobello.
00:04I mean, I'm sorry for the person whose car this was stolen from, but Winged Victor,
00:08she's very beautiful, but I'm not gonna buy her.
00:11I'm in London and I'm here looking for treasure.
00:14This city has the best vintage objects that are full of life and character that you can't find
00:19anywhere else. I have one day to shop here and I'm gonna show you how I navigate some of London's
00:23biggest markets and how to style your space with vintage objects that you can take home in your
00:27suitcase. First stop, Portobello Market. We're in Portobello Road in Notting Hill. Yes, that Notting
00:34Hill. It's London. It is the most visited market in the world. And as you can see, it's crazy.
00:41So there are two kind of components to Portobello Road. There are the vendors that set themselves up
00:46in these cute little stalls on the street. And then in the buildings on the ground level,
00:50there are arcades that have vendors that are here throughout the week. Some are open all week,
00:55some are not. Vendors on the street are only here on Saturdays. This is Admiral Vernon. It's my
01:01personal favorite place to shop on Portobello Road. Let's go take a look at what they have.
01:07It's so amazing. Damn. That lighter is insane.
01:13One of the things I love about Portobello is you can find full sets of cutlery. Generally,
01:18you find like two forks or a knife and they're blunt. Here you'll get a full set. And what I
01:22really
01:23like is you can look for fish sets. That's a fish knife. And the great thing about fish knives,
01:27they don't need to be sharp because fish is soft. So you don't have to worry about resharpening things.
01:33All this needs to do is get polished up. The handles on this are so exquisite. That's a really
01:37good buy and something you'll actually be able to use. And it comes in a box
01:42in your carry-on. There's good stuff back here. I can sense it. If you're coming to Portobello,
01:49you are buying silver. This is an amazing place to come and buy wedding presents. This is not my
01:53idea. I stole it from somebody, but I think it's genius. Instead of going and signing up to that
01:57annoying registry where everything is new, come here, buy like a bunch of stuff and give your
02:03friends vintage silver for their weddings. Amazing idea. If you're at a market and you see a little
02:12teacup or a mug that you like, but there's only one, you're like, what do I do with one mug?
02:16What I like
02:16to do is create like a line of pegs in a kitchen and hang mismatched mugs on every peg. And
02:22then
02:22when you're making coffee or tea in the morning, you can choose which cup you're going to use that
02:27day. The mismatchness of it all and the different colors can be very, very pretty. Check this out.
02:31Look how cute this is. It's like, it's so fun because everything's a little different. I like that
02:35one. So that's going to be my espresso for today. Amazing stuff. Oh, jewelry. Art Nouveau glass.
02:44Underrated. Yes. Unexpected. Yes. But is it amazing? It's one of my favorite things. I think
02:49it's so beautiful. It's not trendy at all. In fact, I think it's almost like frowned upon. But
02:55for me, I think it's one of the most beautiful things you can find in the Portobello market.
02:58It's also probably the best stuff you'll find here. But if it reads a little flat,
03:03look what happens when you get light into it. Incredible. The craftsmanship is extraordinary.
03:09And the color is so amazing. If you could put that somewhere where there was light behind it,
03:14it's sort of mind-blowing. The top, top, top of the line stuff is stuff by Emile Gallet,
03:20who's one of the sort of pioneers of the movement. It's made by layering glass, first a shell and then
03:26something over the top. And there are multiple colors. It's not for everybody and you don't really
03:31see it used that much. But it just takes one designer to get into something and then it becomes
03:37a trend. And just think about it as like an alternative to Lalique, which is cleaner, simpler,
03:42one color. This is the more maximalist version and my favorite.
03:48There's lots of good art in Portobello.
03:54So the English take their walking sticks very seriously. You would think this is just an ordinary
04:00walking stick, but with a simple twist, you have a telescope. That actually works. It's so exquisite.
04:08Seems pretty ordinary. So it's a doorman stick. Top lights up. So the doorman from the hotel would walk
04:14out into the street and wave the stick. Top lights up to hail a cab. Very useful in New York
04:20City. So this
04:21one looks pretty nondescript, but look at that. Peeping Tom stick. You use that to drill a hole
04:30into your neighbor's wall so you can check them out. The owner of this one, it looks like he's had
04:35a monogram or is that the maker's mark? E.J. Robinson. So E.J. Robinson was either a perv or
04:42the maker. I
04:43hope you didn't know E.J. Robinson in 1911 because he was like drilling holes in your wall. To be
04:47clear,
04:48I'm not telling you to buy this. I'm just showing you that it exists. Wow, look at that.
04:52You see these in movies, but yeah. Be careful. They are actually real. You can run someone
04:57through with that. Be careful because somebody walks past. It's all right, I'm insured.
05:05There's good stuff to be found everywhere. Are these cute? These are for salt on the table. Comes with this
05:10little spoon. Pick up your salt. Salt your meal. Get some hypertension. Do it in style.
05:23Overwhelming. Take a breath.
05:26Very loud and very busy, but I want to talk about the MVP of styling, which is bronze.
05:32Different styles from different countries. Japanese bronze is amazing. Same thing with Chinese.
05:36The Nordic countries do pretty good bronze as well. If you can find good Danish bronze,
05:40very clean, very crisp, super cold and edited. Also, you could turn an urn like that into a lamp
05:46pretty easily and it's a great look. Just another incredible bronze. Weighs like 150 pounds. It's
05:55absolutely beautiful. I believe it would have been used as an incense burner. It's solid and weighs a ton.
06:00Great little fruit bowl or incredible as a planter indoors or outdoors because bronze is indestructible.
06:11It's very pretty. I hate crowds. It's so annoying. This is why you have to get here early is because
06:19it's like this all day on Saturday and Saturday is the only vintage day. Get here early, like start at
06:24nine. So by noon, you can be done. My watch is in L.A. time. By the way, so is
06:31my brain. I'm a little jet lagged.
06:32Let's keep moving.
06:38Okay, this is overwhelming. There are too many people. It's raining. It's cold, but I got another trick of my
06:43sleeve.
06:44There's a market nearby that we have to go and check out. It's called Elfie's and it's indoors.
06:50This is Elfie's market. It's London's largest indoor vintage market. It's packed with incredible
06:56antiques, art and jewelry. And for me, it's an absolute must. Let's go see what we can find.
07:07Little lamps. These guys are my obsession. Why? Because you can use them absolutely everywhere.
07:12And I do. I think you've got to have as many light sources in a room as possible.
07:16So these guys are kind of essential. They're small enough to go anywhere. They're particularly good
07:21on a bookshelf. But how do you light a lamp on a bookshelf? It's pretty easy. You can buy rechargeable
07:28light bulbs that work on a remote. They're fantastic. So you can put these guys anywhere. And I particularly
07:33like them on bookshelves and on kitchen countertops or anywhere that there's a small space that you need
07:37to light.
07:43Okay, don't be intimidated by silver. I know it's intimidating because like if you didn't grow up
07:48with it, you think you can't afford it. It needs to be polished. It's a lot. I don't know what
07:52to do
07:53with the stuff. Just start collecting it. And even if you don't know what to do with it, you'll start
07:57inventing ideas. Like little ice buckets are one of my absolute favorite things. I think they're so
08:02versatile. There's so many good ones here. It's insane. But that's a gorgeous little thing. You can
08:07use silver in unexpected ways. Like really get creative. This is an old biscuit box, which is
08:12super civilized in and of itself. But I would use it on my coffee table to store remote controls. It's
08:17long enough that it'll actually fit them. And I don't like looking at remote controls. So this is the
08:24perfect canister to hide a remote. It's so beautiful. I have to breathe. I have to breathe.
08:31This is great instead of a vase because it's so much more elevated. You could put just a clear
08:36glass vase on the inside of that and then pop your little flowers in it. It'll look so good. Great
08:41in a
08:42coffee table. Great in a nightstand because it's smaller. Good in a powder room. But yeah, little ice
08:47buckets. Buy them. Look how cute this one is. That one's 25 pounds. This is coming home with me.
08:54Wow, that's loud. This is where I'm probably going to lose you. But I don't like trash cans. I think
09:02they're generally pretty ugly. I like the idea of using a big ice bucket. Consider that as your powder
09:09room trash can or in your office under your desk. I know it's crazy, but like that with paper in
09:15it
09:15instead of just like a plastic vessel. So much more civilized. This one's a little expensive. I
09:19think you can dig around and find one that's not quite as extravagant. But if you have a guest bedroom
09:24that is tucked under a nightstand as the trash can. So civilized. Oh, hello. Bargain table. 10 pound items.
09:34This is insane. This is a cover for a large box of matches. It's got a ship on it and
09:40some sad
09:40sailors. You know my feelings on sad sailors. 10 pounds. It's coming home with me. Look at the
09:45craftsmanship on that. Alrighty, moving on, moving on. There's plenty to see. That's a monster.
09:56Side tables. I've got a hard and fast rule that wherever you sit in your house, you have to have
10:02a small side table so you can put a drink down. It's essential. There's nothing worse than if you're
10:07guest in someone's house and you hand you a drink and you have that sort of like awkward moment where
10:11you're like, I don't know. So you just end up holding a cold sweating glass. It's the worst.
10:16Always look for small side tables. You should be on the hunt for them every time you go vintage
10:20shopping because they are really essential to finishing a room. This is a particularly good
10:26one. It's Fontana Arte, so it's magic. You're not necessarily always going to find one as good as this,
10:32but if you can, get it. And look, small lamps on a console. I'm not wrong about this, I swear.
10:42Elphys is absolutely packed with art. It's totally overwhelming. I still get overwhelmed. I've been
10:46coming here for years. If you don't have an art collection and you don't know where to start,
10:51I suggest you start small and cheap where the stakes are low. Look for something that you really,
10:58really love, but keep it small enough to pop it in a suitcase. It's like, this is a great little
11:03painting in a very beaten up frame. It's not important. It's not going to be super valuable,
11:08but it's got a lot of personality. I think something like that is a great way to start.
11:14I'm super into the fact that this frame is all beaten up and crusty and a little dirty. I think
11:21that
11:21in an apartment that's super new is an amazing way to start. We live in apartments where it's white
11:28sheetrock walls, white cabinetry, bleached oak floors. Everything is new. Nothing has any sort
11:34of texture. Nothing feels like it's been touched or handled. Something like this, it'll look amazing.
11:40And when you start to collect and you add like piece by piece slowly over time, you're going to build
11:45a
11:45really exciting, fun collection. The place just never ends. All of these Christmas ornaments are
11:51vintage and they are spectacular. Second row from the top is Space Race. The Americans never made an
12:00astronaut Christmas decoration, but the Soviets did. So he has a whole row of little cosmonauts,
12:07all kinds of different styles. Some are pretty ornate with their little faces painted on them.
12:11Did you know that you needed a Soviet cosmonaut on your Christmas tree? You do now. Miniatures.
12:17They're amazing. Before Instagram, this was the thirst trap. Bear with me. 16th century. You want
12:22to bag a man? This is how you do it. Photos didn't exist. So if you wanted to get married,
12:27you had to
12:28have your likeness made so you could show people who you look like. This polite, sweet, little rosy-cheeked
12:33English lass is definitely going to get herself a hot, rich lord because she was so cute. And they were
12:40also
12:40used for porn. They don't have any porny ones here. They're pretty polite. They were also hot for
12:47political affiliations. So if you were part of the Napoleon party, you better make sure you carry your
12:52Napoleon miniature. If he's coming over for dinner and he's not in your cabinet, I mean...
12:57I think they would be amazing, especially in a contemporary house, buy a bunch of them and create
13:02a very pleasing arrangement on a wall. A trick is look at how they hang these in museums to get
13:09a good
13:09idea of a pretty way to arrange them because they look incredible en masse. Wow, and there's more
13:15great art. What caught my eye in this space is that painting of the fish and the fruit. I love
13:21fish
13:22paintings and it makes me think of a painting that I have on my kitchen counter. I bought it on
13:26vacation and
13:26I like buying paintings on vacation, smaller things that you can take with you because they're a great
13:31memento of your trip. It's so nice to like, when I'm annoyed and cooking at home and don't feel like
13:35making dinner, that little painting makes me so happy. It's like, okay, it's a mood elevator. It's
13:40like a little dopamine hit, takes you back on vacation. And this one is going to be my new
13:46dopamine hit for the day. I'm literally just going to take it off the wall.
13:51Yeah, that's too good. That's coming home with me. This painting ended up in my hallway.
13:55It looks amazing over a little wicker cabinet that I bought in France. And I'm absolutely obsessed
14:01with it. By the way, frame is amazing. Anybody? Do I just steal it? London is my favorite place
14:08to shop. It really has the kinds of things that I love most. And everything that you find has a
14:13lot
14:13of personality, great craftsmanship, and tons of style. If you've only got a day, check out Portobello
14:19Market and Alfie's. I guarantee you, you'll find something great to take home with you.
14:27I can't do it. These boots are heavy.
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