 Sun, Apr 17, 2005 |
 Sun, Apr 17, 2005 |
 Sun, Apr 17, 2005 |
| This white boy's homemade-looking shirt said "Smooth & Creamy." | Some wolf and other wildlife shirts for sale, mostly in XXL-type sizes. | You really never know what you'll find, maybe bar signage, maybe umbrellas with cartoon duckbills and faces. |
 Sun, Apr 17, 2005 |
 Sun, Apr 17, 2005 |
 Sun, Apr 17, 2005 |
| From the outside (in the back) looking towards one of the main hall entrances. They've recently painted this foyer in lemon yellow with a deer motif; photo next time. | The owner of this stall was selling all kinds of crazily-routered wood, as well as this masonite (?) for "fix Pole Barn or Built a house for your Pets." | In the summer the capacity doubles as vendors move outside to rows of stalls in small polebarns. The inner halls were fairly barren on this weekend; hope this isn't a sign that business is bad. |
 Sun, Apr 17, 2005 |
 Sun, Apr 17, 2005 |
 Sun, Apr 17, 2005 |
| Lots of fascination with Native American images, this display is just kind of sad for some reason. | Books are always cheap and tempting, this booth had thousands of romance novels and war pulp. | Romance novel book spines on the shelf. Not a lot of creativity in the design of these covers. |
 Sun, Apr 17, 2005 |
 Sun, Apr 17, 2005 |
 Sun, Apr 17, 2005 |
| A very fair price I'd say. | Scene looking north along the main row of outdoor vendors. I wish Chicago still had Maxwell Street, it'd be a more crowded version of this same random jumble. | These 1970s and 80s Tupperware containers looked too good not to photograph, though I wouldn't want to see the gallery of Horrors of the food they'd once preserved... |
 Sun, Apr 17, 2005 |
 Sun, Apr 17, 2005 |
 Sun, Apr 17, 2005 |
| Not a good photo but lots of great metal enamel pins from the 80s, still at 80s prices! | Always good to see some 9/11 NYC/USA patriot bullshit still on the marketplace after nearly 4 years. | This sign was great and the overlapped numbers sealed the deal. PS- Buy me out |
 Sun, Apr 17, 2005 |
 Sun, Apr 17, 2005 |
 Sun, Apr 17, 2005 |
| The guy in this booth kept watching me closely so it was hard to sneak photos, but I really like this one of the foam skull wearing cowboy hat. I think a sign indicated these were "Toby Keith style" or some other similar contemporary hick singer. | An awesome little display for Superior Wrist Bands, good for Athletes, Farmers, Mechanics, Working Men and more! I'dve bought one if they weren't leather. | Busy Bea has a "Campground" in the back, here you can see a trailer and a pole with numbers that nod to the preferred local color palette. |
 Sun, Apr 17, 2005 |
 Sun, Apr 17, 2005 |
 Sun, Apr 17, 2005 |
| Desolation Row, or the least desirable, furthest booths, most yet unoccupied (check back later in the summer). There was one booth with two sweet old ladies selling stuff to raise money for domestic violence victims. | Piles of Nascar-looking shit, a perennial favorite with the crowd here. | One booth in the middle of the main (front) indoor hall always has some random produce and past-date weird dollar-store type food, as well as fresh popcorn. |
 Sun, Apr 17, 2005 |
 Sun, Apr 17, 2005 |
 Sun, Apr 17, 2005 |
| ONLY...WOW! (Some items might be passed date) | Bins full of used tools and sich. | What separates "real" flea markets from the johnny-come-lately "all brand new stuff Made in China that you can already buy at any dollar store" variety are the piles of unknown and forsaken rusting metal hunks. |
 Sun, Apr 17, 2005 |
 Sun, Apr 17, 2005 |
 Sun, Apr 17, 2005 |
| Good presentation is key, make everything neat and accessible. | The "weapons booth" in the corner has been around for quite a while. They sell all kinds of stuff, but it's the throwing stars, fantasy knives and blowguns that keep me coming back. | It's nice when things are clearly labeled. It'd be better if these were boxes of old porno tapes way up high that you had to ask to see...but those wouldn't come this cheap. |
 Sun, Apr 17, 2005 |
 Sun, Apr 17, 2005 |
 Sun, Apr 17, 2005 |
| I tried adjusting this photo to show more of the background but it diminished the magical quality of the shot too much, so here it is dark. Peanuts for sale, "fresh from under the heat lamp." | I hate the word juxtaposition, but the flea market has it (and irony) in spades, without ever trying. You couldn't make it much more random if you labored at it for your whole life. | Custom Cuts: Personalized Pocket Knives. Put an American flag on ANYTHING and I'll buy two. |
 Sun, Apr 17, 2005 |
 Sun, Apr 17, 2005 |
 Sun, Apr 17, 2005 |
| I like how the Indian looks so melancholy with the price tag on his headdress, he knows it's there and that it's not nearly enough. And look at the size of those eagles! | They've done some major shuffling in this eastern wing of the front building, most of the cool wolf stuff is gone (sorry Liz!) and now it's all "open" and "spread out" and "easy to walk through," at the loss of much variety and merchandise. | Craftsy crappy folksy Americana next to a pretty badly-painted dreamcatcher featuring two bears in a stream. |
 Sun, Apr 17, 2005 |
 Sun, Apr 17, 2005 |
 Sun, Apr 17, 2005 |
| These are both awful pieces in their own right, but next to each other they're pure magic. Note the squashed litle head and face of the cowboy and his look of insecure bravado, and the Indian's sad, weathered face with his back turned to the Cowboy. | This was kind of a teaser, "coming soon" sort of booth. Can't wait to see some of these in action, they're like the ones at cheap Chinese restaurants with moving waterfalls and shit. | I love this booth in the center of the main (front) hall. Always some quality items, god forbid, and the people are sweethearts. Long may they vend! |