Flea Market Style by kelly daly

FLEA MARKET STYLE

eight of the

WELCOME There is a lot of fun to be had at flea markets, tag sales, barn sales, and antique shops: You’ll find treasures that simply aren’t available on the shelves at a home decor store or big-box retailer. This FLEA MARKET STYLE is dedicated to all flea market fanatics. We’ve had so much fun filling this magazine with new ideas for using vintage items, whether they’re weird and wacky or broken and in need of rehab. We hope it inspires you to live with old items that are truely one of a kind. To all the dealers, shop owners, collectors, and pickers who find the wonderful treasures that we smile over, laugh over and sometimes fight over, thank you. I hope to see you all at the flea market!

Enjoy,

TABLE OF CONTENTS

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Head to Toe Vintage

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Eight Secrets of the Fleas

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Shopping Mt. Dora, FL

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Crafted by Hand, Made with Love

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Top 10 Vintage Finds

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Our vintage clothing expert shops for one-of-a-kind outfits

Shopping stratagies from veteran flea market dealers and pickers

Renninger’s antique extravaganza in Florida: sunshine, spanish moss & stellar shopping

Style arbiters Sally and Mark Bailey on their new book, Handmade home

Find out what’s going to be hot at flea markets in 2013

Turn the Page. Then slice it, Drill it & Glue it. Vintage and antique books are artist Lisa Occhipinti’s design muse

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With $100 burning a hole in her vintage army-surplus fanny pack, stylist Shauna Thomas heads to Californiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s big gest flea Market to refill her closet.

vintage written by: Shauna Thomas photos by: Kelly Daly

or me vintage clothing is like art, says Shauna the founder of thefleamarketfashionista.com who donned a 1963 cupcake dress to shop at the Rose Bowl Flea Market’s 2,500 vendors, 600 of which sell vintage clothing and accessories. Her outfit was both fashionable and practical. “I always try on vintage clothes, but there are no dressing rooms at fleas,” she says. “It is easy to slide things over dresses.” Why is Shauna hooked on vintage fashion? It’s partly the low prices that feel like a throwback to the 50’s. It’s also the uniqueness, says Shauna: “I don’t want to wear what everyone else has.” Rose Bowl Flea Market, 1001 Rose Bowl Drive, Pasadena, California: open the second Sunday of every month; rgcshows.com. FLEA MARKET STYLE 3

SUMMER 2012 FLEA MARKET STYLE 3

“The vendor told me that this cute, 1970’s silver key and lock necklace belonged to a 90-year-old fashionista who had recently passed,” she says. “I bought it to remind me of the past but to always have the key to the future. It was in mint condition. I had just been looking at a similar necklace on ebay that sold for $50. I paid $30.”

This flower-printed cashmere fabric was a steal at $20! I buy vintage cashmere because it’s a high-quality fabric that pills less than today’s fabrics. The orange, hunter-green and yellow colors on this 70’s fabric are very of-the-moment. The look and feel of this fabric is perfect for any sewing project!

MY TREASURES: key & lock necklace $30 cashmere fabric

$20

hippie vest

$15

sun hat

$25

$90

3 “The color of this late ‘60s or early ‘70s crochet hippie vest ($20) makes this a wardrobe staple to last a lifetime.” This white vest is perfect for rocking with jeans and boots. Shauna’s Tip: Don’t be surprised to find this light and airy summer top while shopping in the spring: Flea market items are not always seasonal.

4 “Let me tell you, a sunhat will never go out of style,” claims this fashion guru. “I love vintage hats. Mine is a bit oversized and perfect for rocking with a maxi dress on a warm summer day in the garden or at a polo match. In fact, I saw the same style hat in a recent catalog for $275. Ridiculous! I got mine for $25. What a bargain”

MY TIPS ON WHAT TO BRING TO A FLEA MARKET: tote with long strap for hands-free shopping wagon with reusable bags bungee cords to secure loads in a wagon or truck FLEA MARKET STYLE 5

sn ag th eb es

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S H O P P I N G S T R AT E G I E S F R O M V E T E R

1 LOVE IT? BUY IT NOW

If you find something you want and it’s in your price range, don’t think twice. Once I had three women arguing over a dresser I was selling. The lady who got there first took it home. –Tom Howland, picker extraordinaire

ALL THE GOOD STUFF IS IN THE RIVER TOWNS Back in the 1800’s, before there were highways, goods moved by boat. Flea markets in river towns like Paducah, Kentucky are where I find quality, 100-year old stuff. –Billy Joe Faulkenberry of Faulkenberry’s

INSPECT OLD FABRICS FOR HOLES BEFORE BUYING To spot holes, hold vintage fabric up to the sunlight or moonlight, looking through the back of the fabric toward the front. –Margaret Meir of Vintage Fabrics & Etc

BE A DETECTIVE If you see something really cool in someone’s cart, ask him or her, “What vendor did you buy that from?” Some shoppers won’t share, but most are friendly. –Theresa Cano of gardenantqs.blogspot.com

AN FLEA MARKET DEALERS & PICKERS

5 IT’S OKAY TO BUY OFF THE TRUCK I always take something really unique to every sale, and it’s usually gone before our trailer is unloaded. – Dustin Rowser of Uber Chie Home

BE AN EARLY BIRD Want super bargains? Shop on the last day. Just remember: You usually can’t get the best items at the best deals. It’s often an either or thing. – DeWayne Lumpkin of British Route Sign Designs

LOOK HIGH, LOOK LOW We display a lot of cool stuff on top of armoires that some buyers never notice. When I go in a booth, I slow down and look around, even if at first it looks like there’s nothing I want. – Dustin Rowser of Uber Chie Home

DON’T FORGET YOUR MAGNET! Sterling silver pieces won’t attract a magnet, but silver plated typically will. Iron, steel and nickel are usually magnetic; aluminum is not. Also, real gold is magnetic. – Dustin Rowser of Uber Chie Home

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SHOPPING M

T. DORA, FL

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Executice editor Ki Nassauer and HGTV host Tim Luke hit the trifecta at Renninger’s Antique Extravaganza in Florida: sunshine, Spanish moss and stellar shopping. like Tim Luke is a blast. Many folks There’s a lot to smile about today in recognized my shopping partner in Mt. Dora. The weather is crime from “Cash in the Attic” and spectacular. The grounds at the “Antique Roadshow” and they Renninger’s Antique Extravaganza stopped to give him a hug or a hello. are dotted with 800 outdoor booths, Given my addiction to coffee, I’m many of which sit beneath old oaks drawn to a $250 tin bin at Jean draped with Spanish moss. Best of Russel’s booth; it is about three feet all, we don’t spot a single tube sock! tall and was used to hold coffee in a The organizers ask dealers to bring general store at the turn of the last primarily vintage antiques. Already century. I was surprised that we it’s shaping up to be great shopping didn’t see more Disney items like We’re surrounded by incredible this Mickey Mouse doll, given that antiques on a beautiful Florida day, Mt. Dora is close to Orlando. but we have our priorities: Our first A bevy of curvy WWII beauties stop is for coffee at the Grub Hub. caught Tim’s eye from afar, so he Fully caffeinated, we kick off the day eying the refurbished ice cream made a beeline for Colleen Vagnini’s booth, which was filled with scoops at Curt Howard Antiques. chalkware figurines. These old With prices that often fall between $5 and $50, they’re an affordable pieces were given away as prizes at carnivals in the first half of the 20th collectible that’s a perennial favorite. century and can be priced as high as “even when I worked at Christie’s $300 in good condition. auction house 20 years ago, people were collecting ice cream scoops,” Tim says: the dealers at this show says enthusiastic Tim. really know their stuff. That means Although I’ve been to Mt. Dora twice you won’t fun ultra-cheap prices because they know what they have before, this is Tim’s first visit. He’s and they know where it came from. impressed by not only the quality of the antiques, but also the wide But that’s good too. You can learn a lot by just asking questions. diversity of offerings, like the Now that our passion for modern stunning five foot-tall copper-clad w i n d o w f r o m Ta m p a B a y. furniture is well-documented, it’s not surprising that both Tim and I were Ki says: Antiquing with a celebrity

written by: Ki Nassauer

mad about these midcentury property, you’ll also find the modern wire chairs from vendor Renninger’s Antique & Art Center, Brenda Forringer. Their simple which is open every weekendconstruction is terrific. including the weekends of the Tim and I haven’t shopped together Antique Extravaganza- and has 200 before, so I had to laugh that we indoor booths. Need even more both love kitschy items. Honestly shopping? Stop by the nearby the kitschier the better! The 1960s Renninger’s Farmers & Flea and ‘70’s “soakies” from the vendor Market, which adds 200 booths to Cynthia Christman were right up our its normal size during the Antique alley. Because they were targeted at Extravaganza and in the summer. kids (and filled with bubble-bath Ki says: Wear a good pair of walking soap), you’ll find them in the shapes shoes. Although a small part of the of the popular comic characters of show is indoors, most of it is the day. We spotted sets of four for outdoors. Some of it is hilly, and $50, which is a good price. What’s there are a lot of dirt paths. It’s a most desirable? Anything from little tough to pull carts around, but Hanna Barbera or Disney. it’s possible if you put your mind to it. One of the nice things about the Tim says: We shopped the Mt. Dora Antique Extravaganza is that the Antique Extravaganza in one long pace seems very relaxed. Maybe day. But when I come back, I’ll try to that’s because it’s a three-day show stretch it to two days for a more instead of a one-day affair. The leisurely experience. outdoor booths don’t open until 10am We h a d a g r e a t d a y, b u t I ’ m on Fridays, which is lazy and late. disappointed that our adventure is And I love it. (The indoor booths open over. Shopping with Tim was like at 8am every day for those who want shopping with a human encyclopedia. to a get a jump-start on the day.) Just I swear that man knows everything a quick reminder for those of you who about antiques! Next time we return are planning your first trip here: The we’ll carve out time to head into Mt. Renninger’s Antique Extravaganza is Dora’s downtown, which we hear is a special event that happens only quaint and filled with more great three times a year. On the same antiquing and vintage finds.

renninger.com FLEA MARKET STYLE 13

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photos by: kelly daly

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Question: Tell us about your approach to decorating in your book Handmade Home? A n s w e r : We follow a philosophy of “undecoration.” We like to keep things simple and do things in moderation. We tend to cover walls in minimal or very soft colors, in order to make what’s in a room the focal point rather than the walls. We let the handmade objects whether it’s pottery or textiles or hand-woven tea towels we remade into cushions-add the color.

Question: How do we start a collection of handmade items? Answer: Collections should be personal. They should be what you want to collect, whether that’s oil paintings, or hand carved paddles. Our advice: be patient. You can’t assemble a collection all at once. You’ve got to build it slowly, one piece at a time, and not worry that it’s going to take a few years, do be choosy and remember that quality not quantity is the watchword.

Question:What is your trick for showcasing handmade items? Answer: It’s about balance. When you’re decorating a room, don’t overfill it. We curate things so that every piece feels special. But even we sometimes overdo it. We’re the worst because we’re constantly collecting new pieces, including 1940’s Welsh blankets, Brown Betty teapots and Etheopian cups that were used when milking goats. Sometimes everything gets out of control and just starts to look jumbled.

In that case, we take the whole lot away-remove everything from a room-and start over. You have to take it away to put it back. We’ll have a complete purge quite frequently, which sounds crazy, but we find that it works. Question: Why are you attracted to objects made by hand? Answer: You can see someone has put something of themselves into things they’ve made. It isn’t perfect and we think that’s great. Each object is different, and that is fantastic.

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photos by: Dean Riggott words by: Christie-Hofmann-Bourque produced by: Ki Nassauer styling by: Kim Yeager

Much like tramp art and outsider art, quirky bottle cap art was created by regular folks using materials they had close by- in this case beer and soda caps. The colorful metal toppers were twisted, nailed, glued and strung together to make everything from candy dishes to decorated furniture. “I love anything made by people’s hands,” says Pam Curry, a flight attendant and antiques dealer who bought this American flag wired with thousands of caps for $600. Although this art has humble roots made by workers at a gas station- it is displayed in not so humble places: The Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington, D.C has a giraffe made of bottle caps in its collection.

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BOTTLE CAP ART

“The neat thing about old game wheels is you’re not sure where they’re from- a carnival, a private club, a VFW, or maybe a church basement,” says collector Al Linder. “Some of them are commercially made with a company mark, but a lot are handmade.” Graphic and colorful, although often faded over the years, they’re a favorite of collectors and the prices reflect that. Usually made of wood and metal, they can cost as much as $6,000 if they’re in good condition with original paint. This is one category where you’ll usually find true antiques: “I’ve not seen many game wheels less than 50 years old,” says Al. “Most of them are prior to World War II.”

DISPLAY TIPS Hang them on a wall as art, mounting so they can still rotate. “My grandkids like to spin them.” says Al. “It’s like a small roulette

wheel.”

COLLECTION STARTERS Whimsical figures made of bottle caps are easy to find at flea markets and are usually priced at $20 or less. The one featured to the left, is an outline of

Australia.

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GAME WHEELS

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FUNKY TRUNKS

number three

Think of old trunks as an early version of luggage. Soldiers used them to ship and store their gear. Soon-to-be-married ladies packed their dowries inside. Travelers put them on trains, ships, and stagecoaches. Made of metal, wood, tin, and cardboard, these sturdy boxes almost always had lockable brass fittings and leather straps, which have often rotted off. “They were made to take a lot of abuse moving around,” says Jane Hall, right, of Mustard Moon, who sold this wall of trunks at last year’s Junk Bananza flea market in Minnesota.

PRICEY MATTERS Expect to pay $35 to $150. Unless it’s by luxury goods manufacturer Louis Vuitton, in which case add a couple of zeros to those amounts.

PUPS Chalk it up to animal magnetism: Dog statues, puppy figurines, and stuffed toys are faithful companions at flea markets. Most collectors focus on a breed of dog that they own, although famous dogs such as Benji, Rin Tin Tin, and the RCA Nipper Dog have wide appeal. With price points that start at just $1 to $40, a dog collection is o n e o f t h e l e a s t e x p e n s i v e t o build and it will be your best friend f o r a l i f e t i m e . Wo o f , Wo o f , Wo o f !

REAL VERSUS FAKE In this collecting category it’s easy to pick out the real deal from its plaster, bronze, and papier-mache cousins.

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It’s a mod, mod world thanks to uber-trendy vinyl chairs from the 1950s, ‘60s, and ‘70s. The Egg is a chair designed by Arne Jacobsen in 1958 for the Radisson SAS hotel in Copenhagen, Denmark. “Vinyl chairs are a cross between an accessory and piece of furniture,” says Executive Editor and junker-for-like Ki Nassauer. “People used to turn up their noses at these. A lot of them came out of offices and their waiting areas, and now they’re moving into the living room. I love them.” Buy one or two chairs for a room to get hipster flair without breaking the bank. “Vinyl chairs are still really inexpensive at flea markets,” says Ki. You can find chairs like these lovelies, left, for $25 to $85. At this price it is a must have to complete any room.

GROOVY CHAIRS

CLEAN ‘EM UP Ki’s trick for cleaning vinyl? Vinyl boat cleaner, which you’ll find in the marine section of a hardware store. It works like magic on almost any stain. Tears in vinyl are very hard to fix, however, so shop for chairs with fabric that isn’t

ripped. Classic American toy since the 1930s, the most popular sock monkey was made using two brown socks from Nelson Knitting Company; these socks have red heels, which create the monkey’s iconic red mouth. Over the years, the toys have been made with many different socks, including white tube socks, including white tube socks, and the species has evolved to include cats, elephants, and bears. Although sock monkeys have been mass-produced for years, Deb Haupt of Haupt Antiek Market collects only vintage handmade monkeys. “I love that every monkey has a different personality,” she says. Expect to pay around$15.

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SOCK MONKEY

WHAT’S ITS AGE? Look at the monkey’s outfit to give you a clue, says Deb. A monkey in a ‘50s poodle skirt couldn’t have been made in the 1930s. Also, check out the stuffing. Older monkeys were stuffed with sawdust or ol nylons, while newer ones sport white fluff stuffing.

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FABRIC CALENDARS

Get a jumbo helping of kitsch with vintage fabric calendars printed with praying hands, aqua butterflies. Holly Hobby, and more. Because they were often free advertising giveaways, the calendars were cheaply made and often featured the name of a local grain elevator or supermarket. Grandma may have hung hers on the wall or used it as a dishtowel. PRICE TAGS Expect to pay $2 to $5 each, says seamstress Nancy Polacek who sells fabric calendar pillows and tote bags on her Etsy site, nancypolacek.etsy.com. But if it is signed by a famous artist like Vera Neumann, the price may jump up to $25.

Our Garden calendar features 12 garden-themed illustrations and fits perfectly on a wall in a kitchen or above a desk. Includes rustic jute twine for hanging.

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Long before we turned them into vases for fresh flowers, these square-sided-wet-cell battery jars held caustic acid that helps power American homes from the mid 1800s to the 1930s. “They were used with things you wouldn’t necessarily think of doorbells, telephones, house lighting, radios, and electric fences on farms,” says Tom Caniff, a writer for Antique Bottle & Glass Collector. They can be found primarily in blue and clear glass and may have embossed lettering. Prices start at about $35.

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SAFETY FIRST Clean jars well to be sure there is no residue from the battery’s acid. Don’t use jars to store food. These jars made great terrariums and vases.

BATTERY JARS

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HOME MOVIE GEAR

Lights, Camera, no action! Non-working movie projectors, cameras, and film canisters from the 1940s, ‘50s, and ‘60s deserve a starring role on a mantel or bookcase. “Fans of Hollywood could create a display with a movie poster like one from ‘The Wizard of Oz’ or ‘Gone with the Wind’ for unique décor,” says antiques guru Tim Luke. “They’re great conversation starters.”

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Religious statues, stained-glass windows, ornate candlesticks, and old pews can squeeze a ‘Hallelujah!’ out of even seasoned shoppers. Many of these items are salvaged from churches that are closing down or merging with other churches, says Don Riggott of D.C. Riggott Inc., one of the largest U.S. dealers of liturgical artifacts. Prices range dramatically, from a few dollars to $10,000 and up.

NOT FOR SALE Not everything taken out of a church is available for sale to the general public, says Don. Certain sacred vessels, such as chalices and tabernacles, are only sold to clergy and churches.

MOVIE BUDGETS You don’t have to be an Oscar-winning director to afford this flea market treasure: Americanmade movie gear can be picked up to $10 to $100, says Tim. Unless you are a serious c o l l e c t o r, h o w e v e r, s t e e r c l e a r o f European-made equipment, broken or not; it’s in serious demand, with high prices to match.

A caryatid is a sculpted female figure serving as an architectural support taking the place of a column at the Erechtheion temple on the Acropolis in Athens.

CHURCH ITEMS

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LISA OCCHIPINTI TURN THE PAGE. THEN SLICE IT, DRILL IT AND GLUE IT.

Lisa Occhipinti only uses vintage and antique books without significant value in her artwork. She won’t deconstruct rare, collectable, or first edition books. She believes those books are best left on a bookshelf, not made into a bookshelf. (Which happens to be a project in Lisa’s book, The Repurposed Library.)

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isa Occhipinti is an artist, photographer, author and instructor based in Venice CA. Her art, centered on books, is abstract yet narrative in both her two-dimensional work and her assemblages. Combining digital photography on fabric with embroidery, she tells fluent stories by editing together images of and from books, as well as from life, then enhancing the surfaces with hand-stitched pattern and texture. She also takes portrait photos of books to capture their singularities. Her sculptures, where parts of books are assembled into bespoke forms, are concerned with the inner lives and histories of books as objects. She has written and illustrated The Repurposed Library (STC/Abrams) and her Bookmobiles have been included in a compendium on paper arts titled Papercraft (Gestalten). Most recently she has contributed as an essayist to The Laws of Subtraction by Matthew May (McGraw-Hill). WIth a BA in Fine Art, Lisa has studied in France with Parsons School of Design and in Italy with The School of Visual Arts. She was a faculty member at the New Hampshire Institute of Art for five years. While there she coordinated and taught their first summer abroad program at the Burren College of Art in Ballyvaughn, Ireland. She has also taught at the Art Center at the Currier Museum of Art, and the Brentwood Art Center and the Craft and Folk Art Museum in Los Angeles. She has won a full fellowship from the Clowes Fund for a residency at the Vermont Studio Center in Johnson, VT and was awarded a residency at the Woodstock Byrdcliffe Guild in Woodstock NY. Books inspire some people to confess their secret love or follow the circus or open a cupcake shop. They inspired a mixed media artist Lisa Occhipinti to pick up a craft knife and rework their printed pages into delicate wreaths, working chandeliers, music boxes, wall clocks and sculptural vases. “I love that books are made from just paper and ink, but when you open them you can change your life depending on what you find in them,” says Lisa, author of the new book The Repurposed Library: 33 Craft Projects That Give Old Books New Life. “ It is so powerful when you start to interact with them.” Lisa’s passion for altered books has its roots in

her teen years. “I’ve been going to flea markets since I got my driver’s license at 16.” Says Lisa, who might be drawn to a book’s title, color, illustrations or even stained cover. “I’m always looking for things with character.” She tries not to spend more than $5 on a vintage or antique book, and she scores the best deals at library sales.” When I go out book hunting, it’s pure pleasure.” Says the artist. “I feel like I’m on an expedition. I get lost in this stuff.”

ARTIST STATEMENT Words, text, image and the notion of endless possibilities are what fuels my work. I am fascinated by the way books connect people, places and time, not just the author-reader relationship but the history of the book itself: who has owned it, who borrowed it, where it has traveled to. They are historical figures. Books contain a vigor and by reconfiguring them and presenting them in new forms I aim to give them a life beyond the shelf. I am mesmerized by the object of a book. As a child I hated to read but adored books, loved the feel of them in my hands, the forms and colors that combined when stacked several high, the soft breath of turning pages, the pattern text makes on page. When I re-form a book, it is essential to maintain its integrity, in all its worn patina, marginalia and otherwise proof of life. Where others may see a stain on a cover, I see a story. I utilize book pages and text as substrates and extract content from them while maintaining their mien for sculptures, paintings and photographs. Pages, spines and covers are stitched, mended and assembled into sculptural objects. As a painter, I use book pages as collage elements in my compositions and conversely use books as surfaces for mark-making and color. With transparency central as a means of depth and intrigue, I embrace the filminess of beeswax and encaustic as part of my layering system. As a photographer, I aim to capture the subtleties of books' physiques and attributes by harnessing a detail and enlarging it to ennoble their quietude. All of my work is intended to be read, not in a traditional sense, but by inference. I endeavor to tenderly reveal truths to the viewer that are simultaneously enigmatic and universal.

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#1 room with a past

january Carrington, ND

#4 autumn junk fest

march Avon Lake, OH

#6 the summer market

may Carver, MN

#8 mustard moon

july

Kansas City, MO

#10 liberty belle antiques

september

Frederick, PA

chartreuse

november

#13 sage farm antiques

#12

Walnut Creek, CA

#13

chartreuseandco.com

#12

libertybellekc.com

mustardmoon.blogspot.com

#14

thesummermarket.com

#10

junk-fest-blogspot.com

december

#14 the vintage bazaar

Chicago, IL

october

lakewood antiques market

#15

august

#11 the red barn boutique

Cumming, GA

thevintagebazaar.com

june

#9 the bee cottage

Stillwater, OK

lakewoodantiques.com

#11

roomwithapast.com

#2 three spekled hens show Paso Robles, CA threespekledhens.com

february #3 sweet salvage

Phoenix, AZ blog.sweetsalvage.net

april

#7 the whites market

Excelsior, MN

redbarnboutique.org

#15 #5 molly moâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s

Somers, MT

shopthebeecottage.com

Sublimity, OR

thewhitesmarket.com

mollymos03.blogspot.com