An encounter with Leyha Ahi, seller of antique textiles at the Saint Ouen Flea Market on the edge of Paris.
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I first met Leyla Ahi at a white picnic beside the Eiffel Tower one summer night, where she flitted about like an ivory moth, stopping long enough to pour me a glass of Champagne and, as the lights on the tower twinkled 11pm, to invite me to visit her stand at the Puces (Flea Market) at Saint-Ouen.
In the fall I did, and I found Leyla as adept at serving tea as she is Champagne. Not that she stayed long by my side here either. Here in the Marché Dauphine where she specializes in old and antique textiles, wall-hangings, and their trimmings, her passion, energy, and peddler’s vigor don’t allow her to stay still. She is constantly bringing over cushion tapestries, table mats, swaths, trimmings, and lengths of embroidery and pointing out table cloths, cloth lampshades, embroidered vests, Catholic ceremonial dress, tapestries, tassels, and braids.
The explosion of colors, shapes, motifs, and arabesques of the textiles Leyla sells make her stand a treat for the eye—and for the fingers, too. “Touch,” she says, “feel this.” After visiting so many don’t-touch museums it seems almost illicit to be fondling the 18th- and 19th-century fabrics that are Leyla’s specialty (she carries 20th-century pieces as well).
Leyla was born in Iran in 1973 and moved to Paris with her family when she was 10. Persian traditions are obviously in her blood. It’s no accident that her father sells carpets, rugs, and French tapestries in the small adjacent stand. Nevertheless, Leyla entered the textile field via her own detour, which included initial studies in law and in archeology, making her passion for the puces a personal affair. A natural when it comes to buying, selling, and negotiating, she enjoys her own treasure hunts as well as those of those of her customers. She says that she appreciates the dusty aspect of these flea markets, adding that “these are antique dealers, not dealers in dust.”
Leyla’s wares draw many decorators and designers, professional or not. Collectors stop by as well, as they do throughout the puces, yet the colorful, touchable articles here especially work up the creative juices of a clientele looking to rework old fabrics and tapestries into contemporary decorative items or clothing.
Ask Leyla about an article’s original use so as to benefit from her knowledge in traditions of techniques, of use, of the way in which a fabric was worn or hung. Then ask yourself what you might do with it. With enough imagination, you can find dozens of uses for every piece of old or antique fabric or tapestry. Or simply enjoy the feast for the eyes and for the fingers.
Leyla Ahi
Marché Dauphine, stand 55
138 rue des Rosiers
93400 Saint-Ouen
Tel.: +33 (0)6 13 40 31 10
E-mail: leylaahi@hotmail.com
Opening time: The Fleas at Saint-Ouen are open Saturday, Sunday, and Monday 9am-6pm. Leyla is also usually at her stand Friday morning and can otherwise be available by appointment. Many other stands are also open for several hours Friday morning, around 9:30am-2pm. The markets are announced as being reserved for professionals on then, but in fact anyone can go.
This is from an occasional series on the Puces de Saint-Ouen, the vast array of flea markets with 2000 stands and shops on the northern outskirts of Paris. While portions of the Puces sell new, knock-off, or downscale items, they are known nationally and internationally for their permanent stands dealing in antiques, vintage articles, collectables, and by-gone objects. The stands are grouped into 15 different sections or markets spread over 17 acres. Stands aren’t strictly grouped by theme though a number of dealers may sell similar types of objects in a particular market. The term flea market can be misleading since these sellers in these shops and stands are well-established, highly professional, and present quality and/or specialized goods.
Websites: For more information about the Saint-Ouen Flea Markets at Porte de Clignancourt see www.parispuces.com.
Getting there: Marché Dauphine, in which Leyla’s stand is situated, and other markets at the Puces de Saint-Ouen can be reached by one of two metro stops. From station Porte de Clignancourt (line 4) walk about 500 yards north (to just beyond the highway overpass) then turn left onto rue des Rosiers. The walk will take you past the hustle and bustle of shops, stands, and sidewalk sellers of cheap and counterfeit goods, past the rag-and-bone and new-but-cheap market, and perhaps a few pickpockets along the way. The calmer, less intimidating walk is from station Garibaldi (line 13), via rue Charles Schmidt then rue Lecuyer, which leads to rue Paul Bert. Rosiers and Paul Bert are the main streets through the serene and genteel sector that houses the more notable antique and vintage dealers—not without its own rag-and-bone charms. Those who might be uncomfortable walking amongst urban and suburban character and characters, or unwilling to do so in bad weather, will prefer taking a taxi directly from the hotel to a specific market or simply to the corner of rue des Rosiers and rue Paul Bert.
© 2007, Gary Lee Kraut