H&A travel
Vintiquing in
Amsterdam Amsterdam is not just about bicycles and canals. Wander its small streets and you’ll find antiques and vintage shops galore – not to mention museums full of oddities words Rosanna Morris Photographs Phillip Morris
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With this in mind, visit this friendly city for some shopping and you know you’ll be in for a treat. Due to the city’s diminutive size, it’s easy to get around on foot, though it’s also worth trying bikes, trams and boats. The small streets that crisscross the canals show you Amsterdam at its best. Chic shoppers head for the Negen Straatjes (Nine Streets) area of town and serious antiques and art buyers go to the designated antiques district Spiegelkwartier (Mirror Quarter). But strike out to the north and south and you’ll find old garages
and dance schools that have been transformed into sizeable, upmarket shopping destinations. When Amsterdam was the largest port in the world during the Dutch Golden Age in the 16th and 17th centuries, spices and other goods were imported into the city from the country’s colonies in the Dutch East Indies, now Indonesia. You’ll notice many Asian influences in both the food and the antiques trade, where many pieces hark from that part of the world.
illustration: sophie joyce
he residents of Amsterdam love old things. If they’re not pedalling along a canal street on a rusty loop-frame bicycle, they’re out looking for a bargain to add to their collection. You only have to count the number of mini museums, formed through someone’s liking for an item – be it spectacles, chess sets or pianolas – to realise the Dutch love of acquisition. Even the window of a dry-cleaner flaunts a vast collection of antique irons, while a cobbler’s object of choice is old shoe lasts.
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H&A travel
ANTIQUING, AMSTERDAM-STYLE
On reflection
Key shops for antiques, vintage and homes lovers – plus flea markets and thrift
You know when you’re in the art and antiques district, the Spiegelkwartier, as there’s no mistaking the ‘antiek’ signs protruding from the buildings. Passersby pause at thrift emporium HK May (Nieuwe Spiegelstraat 25), even if it’s just to pore over the contents of the window display. Two shops that stand out are owned by the same family, Eduard Kramer (Nieuwe Spiegelstraat 64; antique-tileshop.nl) and, a few doors down, simply Kramer (Prinsengracht 807). In both there are hundreds of Delft tiles dating from the 16th century with prices getting keener the later they are. We were also drawn to Harry Jong’s eponymous shop at Nieuwe Spiegelstraat 41, where chess sets and artwork by Dutch artist Anton Heyboer are arranged with barometers and newly upholstered antique armchairs.
RAW MATERIALS Rozengracht 229-231; rawmaterials.nl A barber’s chair, industrial stools and shelves of numbers and letters made from the wood of Indonesian fishing boats pull you into Froukje Van Vuren’s beautifully styled shop in a former dance school. ‘We like raw materials,’ she says of the awe-inspiring collections of Moldavian kilims, Indian linens, Rajasthani cabinets and Italian ceramics beautifully displayed against the exposed bricks and pipework. ‘We have a lot of things that make you say, “What’s that?” and we are very proud of our prices.’ LAURA DOLS Wolvenstraat 6-7; lauradols.com Any vintage fashion lover will feel as if they have gone to heaven in this shop of sartorial delights. Internationally recognised for its immaculate collections, the airy store has glittery cocktail dresses by the wardrobe-load in every shade imaginable, hung on rails in rainbow colour order, not to mention swimming hats, shoes, wedding dresses as well as vintage linens. ANTIEKCENTRUM AMSTERDAM Elandsgracht 109; antiekcentrumamsterdam.nl You can while away quite a bit of time in this antiques centre peering into the glass cabinets and trying to work out what things are, while the dealers listen to opera. We eyed film memorabilia, coffee grinders and oodles of kitsch Christmas decorations as well as Royal Delft vases, pocket watches and miniature portraits. An arm-waving papier-mâché policeman allegedly from a Skegness amusement arcade 142 H&A November 2011
stopped us in our tracks but we seriously coveted a pre-loved painting box, a pocket sewing machine and an antique magic set. There’s even a stall for ukuleles for goodness sake!
Laura Dols
DE WELDAAD Noordermarkt 35-36 and Reestraat 1; weldaad.com Metal garden chairs and rustic tables stacked between chic cafes on the Noordermarkt square tempt you inside this old garage, recently reopened as a second outlet for this Amsterdam store. A favourite of Verkhoophuis Gerard Dou interior decorators, the shop stocks pieces from the Netherlands, Slovakia and Germany – think giant cabinets and chests of drawers that would be just the ticket in a tall, canal-side house. We loved the mercury glass candlesticks and Delft toilet bowls.
tuur Het Grote Avon
Raw Materials
Farmers and fleas Amsterdammers love to have a good haggle and find a bargain. At the daily (except Sunday) Waterlooplein flea, dealers simply deposit their wares on the tarmac. It’s worth rising early on a Saturday to have breakfast in one of the many cafes around the Noordermarkt, where there is an antiques and farmers’ market. In the summer months, the daily Nieuwmarkt has antiques and curiosities for sale on Sundays. You must visit Albert Cuyp Market on Saturdays to soak up the atmosphere and to browse its 300 stalls selling fruit, fish, spices and clothing. But by far the biggest flea is during the Queen’s Day celebrations on 30th April when everyone sells their unwanted tat on the city’s streets.
FIFTIES-SIXTIES Reestraat 5; fifties-sixties.nl ‘The name of the shop is Fifties-Sixties but it’s more like Thirties to Eighties,’ says Jetty Bär of her shop that is choc-full of mid-century lighting. Jetty also sells old home appliances that she fixes up herself. As well as a teasmade and vintage desktop pencil sharpeners we spy several cabinets dedicated to old toasters from the 1920s-60s. A note in the window promises ‘no replica’.
HET GROTE AVONTUUR Haarlemmerstraat 25; hetgroteavontuur.nl Flower garlands and 1940s tunes welcome you into Anna Massee’s shop, which translates as ‘The Great Adventure’. It boasts a mix of vintage and new, with a Chinese twist. Turquoise planks for walls set off vintage wallpaper, tea sets and toy cars. The styling makes you want to buy something – even if it’s an enamel shopping list. VERKOOPHUIS GERARD DOU Albert Cuypstraat 217-219 Albert Cuypstraat hosts a multicultural Saturday market and you’ll find an equally diverse array of items at this warren of a shop. Indian metal folding chairs lean upon chests propped against cupboards in this dark maze, which also has pieces from France, Holland, Tibet, China and Afghanistan. T RUNNERTJE Prisengracht 531 ‘I opened a shop in this area 43 years ago, starting with one lamp,’ says Eddy Zwolsman, whose shop overlooking the Prisengracht canal does not have a single corner free of art deco lighting, garden chairs or kitchenalia. He specialises in restoring Dutch enamel bread bins, too, which are ‘not to keep your bread fresh but the mouse out.’ An old barber’s pole by the door tells you if Eddy’s in. November 2011 H&A 143
Eating and drinking
While you’re there In between shopping, gaze at handbags, gables and old masters Most visitors to Amsterdam make straight for the Museumplein to see Van Gogh’s colourful oils at Van Gogh Museum (Paulus Potterstraat 7; vangoghmuseum.nl) and the Rembrandts and Vermeers for which the Rijksmuseum (Jan Luijkenstraat 1; rijksmuseum.nl) is noted. While these are definitely must-sees, we advise hunting out the small, quirkier collections on display, too. The Museum of Bags and Purses (Herengracht 573; tassenmuseum.nl) houses the largest collection of handbags (4,000 in all) in the world, amassed by Hendrikje Ivo and dating from the 16th century to today. Wander the beautiful 1664 canal house in which they are stowed, learn about the evolution of this most coveted of fashion accessories, and drool over examples by Enid Collins and the like. For an insight into how the wealthy lived in 19th-century Amsterdam, seek out the nearby Willet-Holthuysen Museum (Herengracht 605; willetholthuysen.nl) to see its collections of silverware, ceramics and Golden Age artwork. Where major routes in the city converge, there’s usually an ancient church or other important building to be found. De Waag (or weigh house) in Nieuwmarkt is the oldest of these. Built originally as a city gate in 1488, it later contained scales for weighing goods and to test suspected witches, who were believed to weigh nothing. No visit to this city, whose canals rival those of Venice and where almost every denizen owns a bike, is complete without a boat cruise and a pedal around its streets on two wheels. The Architectural Bicycle Tour (macbike.nl) leads you off on a five-hour ride to see 50 of the city’s modern architecture highlights on the outskirts of the centre. If the placid approach is more your thing, sit back and chug along the waterways for the best viewpoint from which to admire the ubiquitous 17th-century baroque canal houses and their distinctive and varied gables with protruding hoist beams. Various companies offer trips in the city. Round off your visit by nipping along to the House of Bols (Paulus Potterstraat 14; houseofbols.com) to find out about the Dutch gin genever and this distilled brand that has been in the city since 1575 – even Rembrandt was a fan. 144 H&A November 2011
NEED TO KNOW… For more information, contact the Amsterdam Tourism & Convention Board on 00 3120 201 8800 or go to iamsterdam.com
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official website for the Netherlands Board of Tourism and Conventions is holland.com or call 00 3120 7539 7950
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you’re staying for a few days and intend to see the sights, it’s worth investing in an iAmsterdam card, which gives you free entry to 36 museums and attractions, a free canal cruise, free use of the trams and underground, and discounts on other attractions as well as shops, restaurants, bike hire and boat rides. Prices start at €39 for 24 hours. 00 3120 201 8800; iamsterdam.com H&A stayed at
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NL Hotel Amsterdam
Nassaukade 368. 00 3120 689 3225; nl-hotel.com Getting there H&A travelled with easyJet, which flies to Amsterdam from eight UK airports, with flights starting at £28.99 one-way. Visit easyjet.com for more information
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Museum of Bags and Purses, Amsterdam; © JOHN KELLERMAN / Alamy
On almost every street is the unmistakable sight of rounds of cheese stacked in the windows of specialist shops. Judging by the queues, De Kaaskamer van Amsterdam (Runstraat 7; kaaskamer.nl) in De Negen Straatjes is one of the best, with over 200 cheeses and cured meats on offer. Taste a full range of artisan cheese s at the Reypenaer Tastin g Rooms (Singel 182; reype naer.com). You don’t have to worry about how good your Dutch is at Red (Ke izersgracht 594; restaurantred.nl) in the antiques quarter, which serves only steak and lobster or, if you can’t decide, both. Also, not far away, Spelt (Nieuwe Spiegelstraat 5A ; restaurantspelt. nl) comes highly recomme nded. Indonesia was a Dutch colony for more than 300 years and the result is a pletho ra of Indonesian restaurants. Locals head for Kantjil & de Tijger (Spuistraat 291-29 3; kantjil.nl), an Amsterdam institution for over 20 years, with an art deco-inspired int erior. And for tea and cake, look no further tha n De Taart Van M’n Tante (Ferdinand Bolstr aat 10; detaart.com). Meaning ‘my auntie’s cak e’, this kitsch tea parlour has mismatched furniture and crockery, and cakes that resemble pop art sculptures.