It used to be one of our favourite weekend traditions.

But ever since Covid-19 restrictions closed Mother Jone’s flea market, that slow Saturday stroll around the heaving stalls, coffee in-hand, is another joy that will have to wait until normality is restored.

In the meantime, you can now browse one of the market’s most interesting stalwarts online.

Curiosity Cove has just unveiled a brand new website, where you can have a virtual rummage and find all manner of curios, books, furniture and home decor from times gone by.

Not only is it a great way to shop local, but it’s also a clever way to shop more sustainably. In our experience, vintage furniture tends to cost more or less the same as new pieces, but it’s often better made and built to last.

Here are five quirky Curiosity Cove finds looking for a new home:

1. Whiskey barrels

Buy it: €75

Spending the lockdown turning the garden into an outdoor barbecue spot ahead of summer 2021? These wooden barrels make brilliant tables for a patio. You can paint or varnish them or simply use them as they are for a rustic feel.

2. Fry’s Chocolate Sign

Buy it: €50

This adorable Fry’s Chocolate reproduction sign would make a brilliant addition to a kitchen. Alternatively, you could nab it now and keep it as a special gift for a fan of the famous minty chocolate.

3. Double-sided chaise

Buy it: €300

This rather fabulous chaise boasts solid oak legs and a botanical water lily print. While the chaise was invented as a spot for rich 16th Century French folk to lounge about on, they make an ideal sofa alternative or statement piece.

You could also have it re-upholstered to fit your apartment decor.

4. Arklow Coffee Set

Buy it: €100

A fancy tea set will elevate your elevenses to new heights, even if you’re enjoying it solo while you work from home.

This beautiful Arklow Pottery set includes a beautiful teapot, six cups and saucers, a milk jug and a sugar bowl, all made in Ireland and in perfect condition. Looked after carefully, it may even become a family heirloom.

5. Punkt Roller

Buy it: €40 

The Punkt Roller is a bizarre 1920s ‘slimming aid’ originally invented in Germany.

The makers of the Punkt Roller claimed the device’s suction cups could be rolled over the body to “boost circulation” and “dissolve fatty deposits.” Advertising for the product promised that users would “live ten years longer and become ten years younger”. LOL.

Read all about it here.