“Why would you buy a modern vase that lots of other people have, when you can buy something far more distinctive, better quality and usually for a lot less?”
Meet Viv and Claire, the women behind Things We Like, one of the independent vintage traders joining the I Love North Shields Vintage Market at Salt Market Social on Sunday 25 October 2026.
Their stall is exactly the sort we love to rummage through: Mid-Century homeware, Czech glass, vintage ceramics, kitchenware, decorative pieces and wonderfully random objects that have earned their place simply because Viv and Claire like them.
There is no complicated buying strategy behind the name.
They find things they love.
They take them home.
They enjoy them.
And eventually — sometimes reluctantly — they let somebody else have them.
Welcome to Things We Like.
From Loving Interiors to Selling Vintage
Things We Like grew naturally from Viv and Claire’s shared love of their homes, interiors and vintage décor.
Like many collectors, they reached a point where they’d spot something beautiful and simply couldn’t leave it behind — even when there wasn’t necessarily anywhere left to put it.
As they explain:
“We both got to the point where we would find ‘things we like’ that we just couldn’t leave behind but equally we couldn’t necessarily accommodate at home.”
Anyone with a vintage habit probably knows exactly how that feels.
Rather than stop buying, Viv and Claire came up with a much more enjoyable solution.
“We acquire lots of lovely things, keep them for a while to appreciate and enjoy them, and once we experience the joy for a bit, we can let them go for others to enjoy. So things we like become what you like!”
It also means that, for them, buying and selling vintage has never really felt like a job.
“Buying and selling vintage for us is not work. It’s a thoroughly enjoyable hobby!”
Why Viv & Claire Choose Vintage Over New
Ask Viv and Claire what they love about older pieces and their answer covers much of what makes vintage shopping so appealing:
Style. Quality. Creativity. Quirkiness. History.
But there’s also a very practical argument for buying vintage.
“Why would you buy a modern vase that lots of other people have, when you can buy something far more distinctive, better quality and usually for a lot less?”
It’s a philosophy we share at the I Love North Shields Vintage Market.
Vintage doesn’t need to mean expensive.
It doesn’t even have to mean rare.
Sometimes it’s simply about choosing something with quality, character and individuality over another mass-produced object.
That’s why we’re careful about the traders and stock we bring together at our markets.
We want people to walk around Salt Market Social and discover things worth stopping for — good vintage, antiques, collectables, records, interiors and pre-loved pieces chosen by people who genuinely know and love what they’re selling.
The joy is in never quite knowing what you’ll find.
Czech Glass, Hornsea, Denby and Mid-Century Finds
So what can you expect when you find Things We Like at the North Shields Vintage Market?
Quite a lot, as it happens.
Viv and Claire bring an eclectic mixture of Mid-Century pieces, including:
Sklo Union Czech glass, vintage kitchenware, decorative ceramics, wooden pieces, metal ornaments and other unusual homeware and collectables.
They also have a particular fondness for names including Picquot, Denby, Pernod, Ricard and Hornsea.
But don’t expect their stall to follow a strict formula.
Their real buying criteria is considerably simpler:
“Anything which has something about it frankly!”
At the moment, the pair admit they’re particularly obsessed with Czech glass.
But that could change.
And apparently anything French remains extremely difficult to resist.
The Best Bit? Finding Someone Who Loves It Too
There’s another side to selling vintage that Viv and Claire hadn’t necessarily expected when they started.
It’s the moment somebody stops at their stall and spots something.
Something Viv and Claire originally found because they loved it.
Now somebody else loves it enough to take it home.
They describe discovering the joy of someone being willing to part with their money because they simply have to have something the pair chose themselves.
That’s what makes independent vintage markets so different from conventional retail.
There is a human being on both sides of the object.
Someone found it.
Someone chose it.
Someone probably lived with it for a while.
And now somebody else gets to continue its story.
Forget Etsy – Viv & Claire Prefer a Good Chat
We asked for the Things We Like website, Etsy shop and online store.
There was just one problem.
They don’t have them.
Why?
Viv and Claire’s answer deserves to be published in full:
“Can’t be arsed with the faff of it!”
😂
They haven’t completely ruled out selling online in the future — apparently people keep asking them — but for now they prefer doing things the old-fashioned way.
Face-to-face.
They’ve recently established a stall at Bay Traders on Whitley Road, and markets give them something an online shop can’t: the opportunity to actually meet the person buying something.
Or, as they put it:
“We love the more natural approach to selling, a bit of the old face to face, some chit chat and if truth be told a bit of bop with our customers if there’s music going!”
And then came the explanation:
“We’re menopausal so we don’t care any more!”
There really isn’t anything we can add to that.
More Than Rows of Vintage Stalls
And perhaps that’s why Things We Like feels such a good fit for what we’re building at Salt Market Social.
We don’t want our Vintage Market Sundays to feel like walking silently along rows of tables, buying something and going home.
The people behind the stalls matter.
Talk to them. Ask what they’ve brought. Find out where something came from. Have a rummage. Discover something you didn’t know you wanted.
Then grab some food, have a drink, listen to the live music and go around again because you know you missed something the first time.
And if Viv and Claire happen to start dancing behind their stall?
Well, apparently that’s all part of the experience.
Meet Things We Like at the North Shields Vintage Market
You can meet Viv and Claire of Things We Like at the I Love North Shields Autumn Vintage Market on Sunday 25 October 2026.
They’ll be joining more than 50 independent vintage and antique traders across two floors of Salt Market Social on North Shields Fish Quay, with everything from vintage fashion and homeware to antiques, records and collectables.
And if you see a particularly lovely piece of Czech glass on their stall, don’t think about it for too long.
There’s always the possibility Viv or Claire will decide they aren’t quite ready to sell it after all.
Sunday 25 October 2026
Vintage Market: 10am–4pm
Food, drinks and live music until 7pm
Salt Market Social, North Shields Fish Quay, NE30 1HE
50+ independent vintage & antique traders across two floors
FREE ENTRY · Dog friendly · Wheelchair accessible
Come for the vintage. Stay for the social. ❤️
