
Flea market enthusiast Tiina finds colorful vintage treasures: “Smaller towns have better flea markets than the Helsinki region”
Helsinki-based thrifter, 41-year-old Tiina, gets flea market tips from friends all across Finland. Once she even found Finnish designer glass at a London flea market! You can check out Tiina’s finds on her Instagram account @tiina.midmod.
At flea markets, I look for... 1960s and 1970s pieces that match our home’s era and style. I have a weakness for colorful glass and space-age style plastic items.
My magic power is... that I’ve gained a collector’s reputation among my close circle. I get messages from friends all over Finland about flea market finds they think I’ll like. I wouldn’t even need to physically go to a flea market for these treasures!
My best find... is the orange Quadrifolia vase by Nanny Still, which I stumbled upon at a flea market in London. I had seen a photo of it a few months earlier and became a bit obsessed with finding one for myself. I felt a spark of national pride bringing such a beautiful vase back to Finland from abroad.
“I get messages from friends all over Finland about flea market finds they think I’ll like.”
I’ve acquired too many... candlesticks. I collect Finnish Matti Honkanen’s wooden candlesticks, and I already have around twenty of them. I also own far too many glass candlesticks. They’re such a wonderful, often affordable way to get older Finnish design.
The best flea markets... are Secondhand Market and Aarresaari in the Salo area. I’m also fond of Reissukirppis in Mäntyharju, which we pass on our way to the cottage. Smaller towns often yield better treasures than the capital region.
I wish that someday... I’d find an Oiva Toikka bird or Lisa Larson’s ceramics at a bargain price. I once found one of Larson’s cats for next to nothing, but I’m still hoping to spot a Toikka bird on some flea market shelf.




