Utrecht Fabric Market

Has everyone been watching the Olympics? What did you think of the opening ceremony?

I watched it with a mixture of pride and trepidation. Pride because I loved the whole set up, so typically British and I thought it was well executed. The Queen as a Bond Girl? I'll take that anyday. Trepidation because I was worried not everyone would get it. True enough, my Cameroonian friends on Facebook did not get it.

I did not watch all of it though because the following morning I was going to Utrecht Market, and I had to wake up at 5am. My guide for the day was Jhuriene from Julys Diary. Way back in 2009 when I had my wordpress blog, Jhuriene was one of the few (very few) people who used to read my blog. She was one of the first people I started following on the blogosphere, and it was so nice to finally meet her. As it turns out, she lives about 30 minutes from where I am at The Hague. Small world huh?






Jhuriene and I

Our first stop was in a vintage shop near the market. The lady said she sometimes bought her wares from London. Fancy that aye!


In a Vintage shop

 The Utrecht fabric market or  Lapjesmarkt as it is known locally, has been taking place every saturday for about 400 years. It runs from 8am to 1pm, so an early start is most advisable. Jhuriene and I met at the Hague station at 7:20am and took another train from there to Utretch. She has 2 young boys so that was really kind of her to leave them that early and take me to Utrecht. She wanted us to travel together as she has a card that would give me a 40% discount on my train ticket. How sweet is that? Thanks again Jhuriene.

I took a tram from the house at 7:05am and arrived at the station on time.  The trams here are so efficient its spooky. Coming from London, I am used to train delays but here it functions like a well oiled machine.

This market is amazing. If you ever find yourself in Holland, you should fit this market in your schedule. You have to be careful though, you might end up buying more than you wanted. The quality of the fabric on offer is really good. You do have some dodgy ones as well, but majority of the stuff is really good quality. I saw a silk fabric, which was so really nice, but at 98 Euros, I thought it was best not buying it. I asked the lady selling if I could take a picture of the stall., she refused. hmmm.

I almost cried at this market. No really! I almost did. You would too, if you found yourself surrounded by all the beauty on offer. To be honest I felt a bit overwhelmed.I had spent a couple of minutes stroking a really soft cotton jersey fabric when Jhuriene took this picture.

I have never seen so many leather off cuts in one place before and believe me, it was the real stuff.

 I found this fabric really interesting. I did not buy it though.

 Jhuriene made me try this typically Dutch waffle. It was delicious. I sense I shall be eating alot more of this before I return to the UK.

I ate this corn. It was so soft and sweet, and I had mine with butter. They also served it with different things, like sugar, chilli, mustard as well I think.

Vintage buttons from the vintage shop.

 My haul. 2metres of cotton jersey at 5euros/metre, 5 leather off cuts for 13euros, 2packets of large Burda carbon paper, and some buttons.

 I am being very careful with how much I buy, as I don't have space in my suitcase. Travelling alone with a baby is not the most pleasant thing on earth. Jhuriene suggested I post them to my home address in the UK, which is what I will probably do. I still have to go to Amsterdam, Brussels and Paris, and I know I will buy there as well, so best be careful with my spending. My surname is not Hilton, so I am HIGHLY restricted by my bank balance.

When I got home, I regretted not buying more fabric, and then reminded myself of the mountain of fabric I have at home. I would definitely love to go back to this market one day. I highly recommend it if you find yourself round these parts.