Every spring flea markets are as abundant as, well, fleas. You can find them at churches, front yards, places of business and organizations. But, they are not all equal.
My first one of the season was the ARTifacts yard sale held by the Ashe County Arts Council. They have a sneak preview for $3.00 on the night before the non-paying public show up Saturday morning. What is nice about this event is the variety of items available. This year there was a table loaded with hummel figurines selling for $30.00 each, furniture, croquet set, linens, paintings, home crafted items and books. I went home with a bag of fabric, a metal tray and knitting needles.
The next weekend I visited the Shriners, the Chevy dealership and two church rummage sales.
It took me a while to find the Shriners building. The road sign was facing the other direction and I sailed right by it. If I had known better, I would have kept going. Once I turned around and saw the sign I drove up to the back of their warehouse and ventured inside. This was one sorry collection of items, from the dirty dog leash to the rows of old clothes. I scurried out of their empty handed.
On Saturday I was in charge of the Rada cutlery items that we offer at all of our church events. I only sold two items, but by Saturday afternoon most of the tables were pretty empty.
Early Saturday morning I stopped at the Chevy dealership. It looked like folks from the community had set up their own areas to sell their wares. There were some sad looking items, from old flip-flops to light fixtures and piles of old clothes. I did go home with a small red pepper seedling that still needs to be planted. One thing that set this rummage sale apart was the hotdog vendor. There is nothing like a hot dog at 8 AM.
The Methodist Church in West Jefferson had a preview night also. The front room held items for a silent auction and what a delightful selection they had. Here is a sample:
Their tables were overflowing with items from furniture, books, clothes, and it looked like someone had cleared out their crafts rooms as there were piles of ribbons, fabrics and half-finished projects. I went home with an armful of fabric for $3.00 and brownies from the bake sale.
My first one of the season was the ARTifacts yard sale held by the Ashe County Arts Council. They have a sneak preview for $3.00 on the night before the non-paying public show up Saturday morning. What is nice about this event is the variety of items available. This year there was a table loaded with hummel figurines selling for $30.00 each, furniture, croquet set, linens, paintings, home crafted items and books. I went home with a bag of fabric, a metal tray and knitting needles.
The next weekend I visited the Shriners, the Chevy dealership and two church rummage sales.
It took me a while to find the Shriners building. The road sign was facing the other direction and I sailed right by it. If I had known better, I would have kept going. Once I turned around and saw the sign I drove up to the back of their warehouse and ventured inside. This was one sorry collection of items, from the dirty dog leash to the rows of old clothes. I scurried out of their empty handed.
Next stop was our church flea market. The tables were loaded with goodies. I know the ladies had been working for weeks gathering, pricing and grouping items. There were Christmas, household, books, fabric, linens, furniture, small appliances, wall hangings, hundreds of patterns and things I never could figure out what they were.
Their tables were overflowing with items from furniture, books, clothes, and it looked like someone had cleared out their crafts rooms as there were piles of ribbons, fabrics and half-finished projects. I went home with an armful of fabric for $3.00 and brownies from the bake sale.
What a fun couple of weeks I had! Each sale was different, the people were friendly, and the next great find was right around the corner. I am itching for next year.
