Ian's Travels ? Well I am not entirely sure about that !
 
If you are interested I can tell you where I buy things and the sort of things I look for.

Being a very visual person from a very early age. I remember in the 40s (that gives a clue to my age) being totally fascinated by cigarette packets in the local tobacconists shop in Corsham, Wilts where I was brought up.

I collected cigarette cards as they were so beautifully illustrated (I still have a large collection).

This was my first bout of collecting.

During the early 60s I started collecting tin toys as I became interested in metal printing, as at the time I had started to design ranges of tin boxes and tin trays.

 

I had a very large collection of tin things most of which I decided to sell as I had become interested in another childhood passion, Flying! The sale of the toys enabled me to buy a small 2 seat WW2 spotter plane that I flew all over France and the South of England. Hence the picture of the plane! This is my 4th and most interesting. It's a 1940 Cessna Airmaster and quite rare and an enormous privilege to fly.

The car (1928/9 Austin 7) was my student car when I was at The West of England College of Art in Bristol, I bought it in 1959 ! The photo is of me checking it out before we (Gail, my partner, and myself) prepared for a mammoth few days in Cornwall. We made it 8 hours later !

This is by way of leading up to where I find things ! I am always looking for anything interesting in antique markets especially graphic items like old price labels from grocers and butchers shops or any advertising items. The Ephemera Society (www.ephemera-society.org.uk) is a good association to belong to. They publish a magazine, which is full of interesting things.

 

I go every year to an Antique Market, which is on for 4 days in a beautiful little town in the Gard in France called Barjac. I bought 600 1920s seed packets in 2006 which were absolutely beautiful especially when framed. I sold them for £3.00 each and they look wonderful in a small Ikea frame. I find a lot of the new things for this website at fairs such as Mason et Objet in Paris, the New York Gift Fair and the Frankfurt Fair. All these fairs are Trade shows for retail stores and not open to the public.