Trash or Treasure: A Trip to the Flea Market

by Charles

Where can you go to buy a Bernz-O-Matic® propane stove circa 1960, Julia Cameron books for two dollars, a funky ‘70s purse, and much, much more? Flea markets.

Now flea markets, just like malls, come in all sizes and levels of quality. Some so-called "flea markets" offer new products, like name-brand shoes that probably fell off the back of a truck somewhere, imported plastic items from the Pacific Rim, or miracle cleaning products. Basically it's like shopping at the dollar store, except it’s outside. I personally hate dollar stores and being outside in the heat isn't really a bonus either. But other flea markets are absolutely fabulous. The best type of markets sell a variety of items from antiques, garage sale nick-knacks, produce, and everything in between. One of the best markets in our area is the Clarence Flea Market outside Buffalo, NY. So I rounded up Jan and Taryn and we headed out to seek our fortunes.

I was actually surprised I could get those two up so early on a Sunday morning, but somehow they managed to be at my house around 8 AM, and we headed out for the market. Since they had never been before I attempted to give them an idea of what it was all about, and what they might find. Jan and I were going to be looking for some small glass jars or bottles for Taryn's hanging lantern craft. Other than that, it was whatever caught our eye.

I made the first purchase of the day--a 1950's tin noisemaker. For only six bucks I had a totally cool piece of tin artwork, and another interesting and interactive conversation piece for the living room. After making the purchase I realized I could have talked her down to five, but hell, I liked it, and in the end the extra dollar wasn't a deal breaker. I'm not the type to dicker over fifty cents, although I have seen people try, much to my annoyance. Generally, you should expect to get ten percent off the marked price of old or used items. But feel free to make any offer; after all, the worst they can say is no. At times the dealer might throw in some cute remark like, "Don’t you know how much that's worth? You've got to be joking!" You don’t want to do business with those types anyway, so stay clear.

While I was busy wrapping up my purchase, some dealer was trying to sell Taryn on a vintage U2 vinyl bootleg from 1979. Only twenty bucks, and his review had them sounding like a London punk band. Taryn was interested, which made the dealer push the sale even more, but unfortunately he couldn’t negotiate on the price. Now if craftygal’s ultimate U2 fan, Christy was there, he might have had a sale.

The market is also a great place to get inspirations for your own crafting projects or decorating ideas. We found an entire table full of old postcards. They were organized in every category imaginable, from popular vacation spots to smoking. Of course, we had fun looking up places we've been to, but reading the some of the notes on the backs of the postcards was even more interesting, some dating back to the early 1900s. Think about using some of the images in creating note cards, collages, or scrapbooks. Frame a set of four old postcards of your loved one’s hometown or vintage valentines for a bit of nostalgic gift giving.

Speaking of nostalgia, this folk art paper maché clown mask could make an interesting Halloween centerpiece.

Then of course you see things that you’re not sure what you could do with, but are intriguing nonetheless--not to mention sometimes creepy.

Jan and I did find a vendor who dealt in old glass bottles of all types. We were lucky to find a bargain bin of bottles, one dollar each. I found just one, and Jan walked away with an assortment of small ink wells and milk bottles. You can see the results here.

And when in doubt or at a loss, you can always buy a craft kit that somebody else never got around to completing. I had to talk Jan out of this Crotchet'n Fun set. Just kidding! Actually, she distracted the dealer as I took a quick snap shot of this beauty.

Jan was also able to pick up a outdoor cooking stove for fifteen dollars, and not in that classic outdoor green, but in a bright aquamarine--still mint in box. Taryn grabbed a cool orange purse for just two dollars. You just can’t go wrong with those colorful deals!

Books. Yes, there are a ton of books at flea markets, and if you’re into that sort of stuff like Taryn and Jan are, you can spend hours just sifting through piles of old and musty titles, which I think they did. Jan found some interesting cookbooks. One of our favorites was The Little Book of Excellent Recipes by the Mystery Chef.

Be honest, would you eat anything that was prepared by someone wearing a mask? I mean, what are they trying to hide? Jan also found some great vintage cooking pamphlets from the 50s. But unfortunately she showed too much interest, so when she went to ask the dealer the price, it was a little steep. Be wary of dealers who don’t price their wares. They tend to feel you out, and give you a price based on your interest.

And just when I thought we’d lost Taryn, I looked back in between a rack of books, and there she was.

"Come along," I yelled. If I had to look at one more book I was going to go insane. Then she popped her head out in excitement from finding an early German edition of Tonio Kroger by Thomas Mann. Finding stuff you didn’t expect to is what it's all about.

We made one last stop before heading home. I was purchasing some swiss cheese and pepperoni sticks from a local vendor, and in the process almost traded Taryn for a bag of cheese curds. Now that's a whole other story, but it goes to show that you never know what you may walk away with after a day at the flea market.

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