SHOPPING
ALAMY
Sandrine insisted. “Justhis fee foraday
[$1,100 forahalfday/$2,177 fora full],and
believeme,he’sworth it. I’dbereallysur-
prised ifhedidn’tendupsavingyoumore
moneythanyou’llspendonhisservices.
Heknowsall thedealersatSaint-Ouen,
andhe’sreallysmartandaniceguy.”
So,aweek later,overacoee inacafé,
I foundmyselfusingmy iPadtoshow
Kneifephotosofmyoce:aspaciousroom
withaslopingeve,anoakparquetfloor,
olive-greenwallsandadormerwindow
overlookingthegrayzincrooftopsofParis.
“Whatagreatspace,”Kneifesaid,and
thenheaskedmea lotofquestions.What
colorsandmaterialsdidI like?Whoare
my favoriteartists,architects,designers?
WhathadIbeenreadingrecently?HadI
shopped forantiquesbefore?Hetooka few
noteswhilewechatted,andthen itwasmy
turntoaskthequestions—whichwashow
I learnedhe’sbeengoingtofleamarkets
sincehewasateenager.Heactuallygrew
upnexttooneof thebest-knownmarkets
inParis, thePortedeVanves.
DiscoveringthatKneifewasaswarm
and friendlyashewasunpretentious,not
tomentiondeeplyknowledgeableabout
thedecorativeartsandarthistory, I
quietlydecidedI’dtakeachanceonhim.
Aswecontinuedchatting, I learnedhehad
a fewhiddentalentsaswell.Towit,before
hebecamea full-timeantiquesshopper,
he ledadouble lifeasatrader intheParis
ocesofaJapanesebrokeragefirmbyday
andaDJatsomeof thecity’shippestclubs
bynight.Hisweekends,however,were
spentatParis’ famousMarchéauxPuces
deSaint-Ouen, theworld’sgreatestflea
marketonthenorthernedgeof thecity. It
wasduringthesummerof ’98, though, that
Kneife foundhistruecalling.Atthetime,
hewasworkingasa limodriver,andoneof
hisclientshada fewhourstosparebefore
headingtotheairport, soKneifeoeredto
takehimtothefleamarket.Afterbrowsing
throughthevariousgalleries, theclient
gaveKneifea listof items—andagenerous
tip— forKneifetofind,purchaseandthen
shiptohim.Therest,astheysay, ishistory.
BEFOREWEMET
forourshopping
day,Kneifesentmeseveralemailsabout
midcenturyFrenchdesigners—Jacques
AdnetandRobertMathieuamongthem
—whohethoughtmight interestme.He
alsorecommendedabook,
TheRadetzsky
March
,byJosephRoth,whichhethought
TOMARKET
WEGO
THEMOSTFAMOUS
fleamarket inParis,
MarchéauxPucesdeSaint-Ouen
(or Les
Puces, as the localscall it), covers20acres
and receivesnearly200,000visitorsevery
weekend.Withmore than 1,600 traders, it’s
theworld’s largest fleamarket andcanbe
more thana littledauntingunlessyouknow
yourwayaround. Resemblinga small village,
it’sdivided into 15different sub
marchés
(markets), eachofwhich specializes inadif-
ferent timeperiodor categoryofgoods. The
ruedeRosiers is the fleamarket’sMainStreet,
and local lorehas it that thedeeper into
themarket yougo— i.e., the furtheroff the
beaten track— themore likelyyouare to find
abargain.Among themajormarchés, the
mostpopular include theMarchéBiron for
Asianart; theMarchéPaul Bert formid-20th-
centurydesignand furniture, aswell as fine
18th- and 19th-centurypieces; theMarché
Malassis for toysandartdeco furniture;
theMarchéVernaison for vintageclothing,
kitchenware, andbooksandprints; and the
trendyMarchéSerpette formuseum-quality
antiques inavarietyof styles. The following
shopsareKneife’spersonal favorites.
BENJAMIN BAILLON
MarchéSerpette
Allée6, Stands 16and 17
Includes anoutstanding selectionof 20th-
century furnitureandobjects,withpiecesby
everyone fromLeCorbusier toGaeAulenti
andOscarNiemeyer
JEAN-LUC FERRAND
MarchéBiron
Allée 1, Stands39,40and41
Offers 19th- and20th-century furniture ina
varietyof styles
OLIVIA SILVER
MarchéBiron,
Allée 1, Stand6
Specializes in 19th- and20th-century
silverware
HDC ANTIQUITES
MarchéSerpette
Allée 1,Stand22
Impressive for its 19th- and20th-century
decorativearts
LESMERVEILLES DE BABELLOU
(ISABELLE KLEIN)
MarchéPaulBert
Allée 1, Stand 13
Boasts someof thebest vintageChanel jewelry,
plus ready-to-wear andhaute couture clothing
Formore informationonRiadKneife, visit
. His services
includeeverything from sourcing to
purchasing tohomedelivery, so clients
don’t have to lift a finger.
AUTUMN
AA.COM CELEBRATEDLIVING
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