Every Sunday for 15 years, the Melrose Trading Post has been "LA's Marketplace" supporting the Fairfax High School community. At only $3, admission is a steal and the treasures that await are well worth it. This market hosts a variety of vendors selling everything from quality silver rings and clunky vintage necklaces to re-purposed antiques - even a dinosaur's head!
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| I'm not even sure what this is really, but that is why I love the flea market hunt. |
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Word to the wise: shop in the morning, the LA hipsters will still be sleeping. I arrived just before 11am and found it to be quite lovely. I could move around easily until about 12:30 when the lunch rush came in. Oh! I forgot to mention, the Melrose Trading Post has food booths too! It's pretty awesome.
Unlike larger flea markets such as the Rose Bowl Swap Meet, this market is more reasonably priced and you can scour the whole place in about 30 minutes. I always start with a "lay of the land" walkabout when I go treasure hunting. I'll note booths I want to come back too, compare prices and even start a negotiation (it's always a good idea to walk away if a vendor won't come down, but plan to go back, chances are they'll meet your offer the second time around). However, at the Melrose Trading Post I found the prices to be really fair so negotiation wasn't necessary.
Typically at a flea market I am on the prowl for cool accent pieces and frames (if I'm not in the process of furnishing an apartment). Stuff like this:
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| A 1950s candelabra for a WALL?! I immediately needed this but Boyfriend said we had no more wall space (due to all the frames). |
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| I have a real obsession with wood frames. They just don't make 'em like they used to! |
But, the jewelry on this trip really caught my eye. There were some really quality pieces and all very much in style.
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| The vibrant colors and funky shapes at this vendor were totally reminiscent of the jewelery advertised in the most recent J.Crew catalogue. Most of these necklaces were between $15 and $25. |
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| I ended up buy the mint colored necklace on the left. That color is so in right now and for $25, I just couldn't resist! |
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Sometimes at a market you have to train your eye to see past the "big ticket" items like the freshly painted dressers and over-sized potato sack pillows and really look, because the smallest design details can have the greatest impact on a room.
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| "Who" wouldn't want this sweet little bookend? |
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| Analog time seems to be a thing of the past but a few old clocks on a shelf or bookcase can be a gentle nod to yesteryear. |
Now, if I were buying furniture on this trip I most definitely would have been in heaven. The Melrose Trading Post had some stellar pieces at unreal prices.
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| I have a beautiful tufted headboard at home but when I saw this handcrafted one for only $90 I kicked myself for buying mine full price at Pier 1. |
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| This white-washed sofa table with a faux reclaimed wood top is pretty much all of my favorite things in one piece of furniture. My heart breaks that I have no place for this in my house - it was just $190. |
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This crate coffee table is like a masterfully done
Pinterest project. The orange accents really bring out the color of the
wood - $40.
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Boyfriend
likes to remind me of important things like "budget" and "space" when
we go flea marketing. He eyed this great vendor with some awesome
accents on the cheap that we could easily lug home.
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| This would be a simple project. Clothespins and twine and are just two of life's necessities - $10. |
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| I could also make this but Boyfriend loves his Scrabble board game too much - $10. |
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| Now this one I bought (in teal) because bending spoons and forks? Ain't nobody got time for that - $15. |
Share your thoughts...
Questions:
1. See anything you would have bought in a hot second? Explain.
2. What's the
strangest thing you've ever found at a flea market?
Click me to learn more about the Melrose Trading Post
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