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Featured on The Vintage Bazaar

Wednesday, July 31, 2013


Check out my guest post on The Vintage Bazaar. I wrote this post for Libby Alexander, founder of Vintage Bazaar, in February 2013 for their Love Hangover Dank Haus Market. At this Lincoln Square event, I was given the opportunity to interview selected vendors and hear their stories.
My first TVB was amazing, I am so excited for the next! Check out the permalink!

Trophies, glassware, and clothing! Oh my! You could say there’s no place like The Vintage Bazaar. With one of the coziest gatherings yet, collectors beat the cold and met under one roof to admire and shop an intimate selection of of vintage vendors selling furniture, décor, clothing, and accessories. The kickoff party even had free Big Star tacos and Scofflaw cocktails while you shopped — where else would you want to spend your Friday night?!
Featuring 25 vendors the hunt was on for the ultimate treasure. I was pleasantly surprised to come across such reasonably priced items and it just made me want to keep buying! Some of the quirkiest goods included Hot House Market’s retro hair salon dryer seat and Morning Glory Collectible’s floral decorated lava lamp, which does in fact work!

Linda Renehan’s Morning Glory Collectibles caught my eye right off the bat. Linda has been selling for over 20 years and described her booth as “Mid-century Kitsch,” focusing on items from the ’40s all the way into the ’70s. As the daughter of a garbage truck driver, Linda learned at a young age the importance of recycling, because a large portion of her toys and furniture were garbage picked. You can expect to find funky, unusual items such as vintage poodles, quirky cats, and mid-century glassware in Linda’s booth. She’s “always kitschy, always retro, and always fun!”
Another mid-century modern vendor was Century Chicago. The husband and wife duo, Robert Smith and Robin Broman, were at DANK Haus this weekend celebrating their 15th show! The two met at a vintage clothing store (how adorable!) and about 15 months ago started selling mid-century modern furniture and housewares together, in fact their first show was actually at last year’s TVB at DANK Haus. The two have been collecting for a long time, and have had a “crazy-successful” first year of selling. Robert filled me in on some great finds he was excited to showcase like the Verner Panton cone chair he had reupholstered to look almost identical to the piece’s original red fabric.
He also shared one of his favorite pieces with me, a 1933 desk with a built in bookshelf attached, mixed with a 1960s Danish chair, upholstered in an elegant dark leather. A peek of this can be seen in one of the sneak peek posts. I was also lucky enough to snatch up a set of four mid-century glasses that have made a beautiful addition to my kitchen and they were only $10! What a steal! For more on Century Chicago, check out their blog or visit their booth at the Broadway Antique Market.
I also spoke to Maranda Powers from Persnickety Vintage, a shop she started in 2009. She even shared a little secret with me: She started selling because she, like the rest of us, couldn’t stop shopping! She found herself drawn to all sorts of styles and eras and knew there was a home for each and every find. Maranda focuses on women’s vintage clothing and jewelry, pulled from several different time periods.

Although her Etsy shop is mainly clothing, she mentioned that it’s her vintage jewelry that customers swoon over at markets. She recently collaborated with her husband, Jon Chambers, and together they started a vintage men’s clothing shop, The Vintage Alchemist, which focuses on men’s jackets and ties.
Overall, TVB’s first show of 2013 was a space to get happily lost in. DANK Haus was lit beautifully, emphasizing the captivating displays in each booth. What a wonderful experience it was to hear the crinkling of stuffed shopping bags and watch my fellow flea marketers laugh with vendors then haul super unique finds to their cars at the end of the night.

Did you attend the event? What finds did you go home with?

Georgia O' Keeffe


“I found I could say things with COLOUR and SHAPES that I couldn’t say ANY other way. -things I had no WORDS for” -- Georgia O' Keeffe