A little black book, made public.
Kartique started as a spreadsheet. I'm a designer, and I was constantly looking for secondhand and vintage pieces for my home and soon enough people started asking where I got it from. But my searches were all over the place: saved posts, open tabs, a name someone mentioned once. I got tired of losing track of good places, so I started writing them down. The shop, the city, what was worth the trip, what wasn't.
I care a lot about how a room feels, and I've noticed that the spaces I love most almost always have something old in them. A piece that's already lived a bit makes a room feel settled. It also just makes more sense to me to use what already exists than to buy something new every time.
At some point I realised the spreadsheet was useful enough that other people might want it too. So I cleaned it up, made it look nice, and put it online. Kartique is my own list of the best secondhand, vintage and antique spots, city by city, based on my taste, my research and my notes from actually going.
If you buy slowly, choose carefully, and don't mind driving an hour for a good tip, I hope it saves you some time.
Lana Ostojic, Founder
Three rules. No exceptions.
Curated by a human
Every spot is scouted online or curated and written up by an editor on the ground usually a working interior designer.
Verified seasonally
Hours change. Owners retire and close shops. We re-check listings on a rolling schedule and stamp each record with the date.
Edited, not crowdsourced
We don't list every shop. We list the ones we'd actually send a client to. If it isn't here, it's because it didn't make the edit.
Interior designers, stylists, set decorators and the quietly obsessed. Anyone who believes the right object a patinated brass lamp, a teak credenza with original hardware is the difference between a room and a memory.
If you've ever lost a Saturday to a disappointing thrift trail, this is for you.
Open the directory
Filter by city, category or era. Save the ones worth a detour.
Find a spotSubmit a spot
Tell us about the dealer, workshop or auction room you'd hate to lose. We read every submission.
Submit a spotContact for collaboration
Brands, shops, studios and press: tell me what you have in mind and I'll reply by email.