Oh, how I have missed the Rose Bowl (or Long Beach, PCC, etc) – the flea market scene is in the top five things of what I loved about living in LA. So I’m thrilled that the Rose City Vintage Market (with help from Left Coast Revivals) is here and so good!! The whole family went (but we divided up because I promised Birdie a girls’ day shopping so she wanted the boys to do their own thing) and it was incredibly fun. Here is how it all went down:
The market this year was big, mostly inside but with a pretty healthy part outside as well. It was a huge mix of super curated booths (which were very fun and huge respect to the vendors who clearly put in SO MUCH WORK). There were some clothes, jewelry and art, but it was mostly a big variety of different styles of furniture and decor – just how I like it.
Laura of Left Coast Revivals helped support it a lot this year (as far as I’m understanding) and brought a lot of vendors and people out. Y’all, I’m loving this PDX vintage scene. Such lovely people with good stuff that are working so hard to source and curate beautiful things. KUDOS to all these champs.
I ran into a few friends, Max Humphrey was there signing his book and Annie (Shop Wilma) was there shopping. She scored that dope stool that I wanted to steal from her – she’ll likely be selling it soon. My goodness, the lighting in this joint was not my favorite!!!
This vendor had so many good rugs! I loved this blue rug, but the size of it worked nowhere in my house so I had to leave it. So sad since I’m so picky about vintage rugs. Hope it goes to the perfect home.
That dope ceramic lamp was $2,600 which I thought was very risky to bring to a flea market (it was awesome and a super famous midcentury potter, but I feel like it should be on 1stDibs for that price – don’t tease us!!). I almost bought that denim blazer, but I remembered I literally just got this one from Madewell that is excellent. Ha.
Snagged this seascape and it’s already found a spot in my house! It’s from Dry Goods Mercantile and those colors are incredible (and it was only $60).
I also bought a few pieces from this art vendor, Irving Street Trading Co. I am such an art hoarder and will never regret getting a great piece!
I almost bought that weird painting/mixed media over his right shoulder but it was so expensive ($750) and I couldn’t picture it immediately in my house. I’ve thought about it A LOT since then and of course, wish I had snagged it. The red/blue/white painting is AWESOME – thinking up the stairs mixed in with our family art wall.
I picked this ribbon candelabra (which I realized after the fact that it’s from SIN Ceramics so you can get one too!) and gold lamp from RestateD_PDX – both are so goooooood.
Charlie found this skateboard lamp, became OBSESSED with it and while it was overpriced IMHO ($220) the vendor, Coffee and Snacks was so sweet and had made so many things into lamps in such a fun way. Charlie doesn’t get as excited about decorating his room as Birdie does (she’s endlessly enthusiastic) so when he does really really respond to something I try to honor that (especially if it’s vintage and supporting a local vintage maker). So yes, we bought that, which then of course set off Birdie to want something that was also $200 (I tried to hide the price, but they can “read” now which is really a problem in cases like this). She immediately found a less-than-awesome super gaudy lamp (looked like Z Gallery from the ’90s) and almost threw a massive tantrum when I said no. It was hard to explain and she felt it was so unfair, but she just wanted something and didn’t even care what it was. Everything is a thing!!!
Lastly, I got an original painting by Purl that I think I could put most places in my house – the colors are so good and I’m just a big fan of his creative spirit!
It was all so fun and their next show is Oct 21st and 22nd. Below is a partial list of a lot of the vendors if you want to give them a follow (and buy some stuff). We should be getting the rest of the list shortly! These are people doing the good work, in a business that is almost impossible to scale because the nature of it is all one of a kind – so let’s support them 🙂
The Indoor Vendors
The Outdoor Vendors
| Left Coast Revivals | Paul and Kathy Patrick |
| Ain’t That Some Thrift | PDX Salvage |
| Alba Trading Co. | Portland Revibe |
| All Put Together | Robins Vintage |
| All The Stuff and Things PDX | Rupert Antiques |
| Back to Mod | Rust |
| Coco Vintage | She’s Got Baggage |
| Colleen Harrington Studio | Side Door Vintage & Home |
| Cynthia Phillips | The Acorn House |
| Great Stuff | The Golden Treasures |
| Heavy Merchandise Co. | The Lost Attic |
| Jewels Diamond in the Rough | Tom Lund |
| Junkin Jehosaphat | Vintage Memories |
| Larkins Mill Market | Vintage Olive Green |
| Laura’s Antiques and Collectibles | Wendy Rommel |
| Mary Barry Pickers | Wild Animal Botanicals |
| Nancy Kneeland | Opal & Iron |
| Alvera Design |
*Pretty Photos by Kaitlin Green
Great haul and looks like so much fun! You are very lucky that Brian also enjoys a good treasure hunt. My husband would likely opt to be waterboarded first. Also, excellent parenting moment telling Birdie “no.” It’s always easier to say yes in those instances, but you taught her so many good lessons by holding firm: money doesn’t grow on trees (a classic!) and is not to be squandered on a whim just to make things “fair” to a 7-yr-old; not all stuff is created equal and it’s important to learn some discernment; and perhaps most importantly—Mom is the adult and knows what’s up, is running this show, and is always looking out for your best interests, even when it doesn’t feel that way. Coming from someone who has raised two happy, confident and independent young adults (who were not without challenges, as all kids are) I’m here to say Great Job Mama!!!
Love all of your finds, Emily! What a great shopping trip. Yep, the skateboard light was a worthwhile purchase (wink)!
Such gorgeousness. I am English; can someone please supply a synonym for ‘dope’? I am trying to infer something precise other than ‘nice’ ( I have figured out it’s a positive).
Thank you
Cool, rad, au courant.
Very very cool
Thank you, ladies. I should have known that, shouldn’t I!
I really appreciate this post and that you are supporting local vendors and show us your purchases how much they cost, and what you are going to use in your house. I think thrift stuff and local vendors are so important to support you can get something unique that no one else has, it’s so much better than buying new all of the time
Agree and so nice that she shared all the links. Really paying it forward.
I’m so sorry I missed it, I’m so glad to hear there will be another! I recently decided to only buy used/ vintage pieces for my decor, so this market should help immensely in my quest for unique and fun pieces.
I would like more info on why some of the things you chose spoke to you. In particular I’m curious about the “Lecture on General Semantics” piece. I think you’re ok without the mixed media piece you wish you’d gotten. It looks a little weird to me. Overall it looks like an interesting event and I’m sure we all wish we could have been there. Perhaps one way to explain it to Birdie is that purchases tend to average out over time, like she got those two big hanging lamp shades in her bedroom, and now Charlie gets something, and if you ever come across something that is clearly perfect for Birdie’s room then you’ll get that. I’m surprised that she thinks she was “owed” a $200 purchase on the spot. Maybe that’s typical for her age.
it’s typical for her age.
so true, lol!
I love it when you share your thrift/flip buys! I’m working on disentangling my own unique taste from trends and it’s really interesting to see what your process is.
What a fun post! Can you share which vendor had the denim blazer?
Thank you! Just asked Em and sadly she can’t remember!
Who was the superfamous midcentury potter who made the $2600 lamp?
She can’t think of the name! If it comes to her I’ll let you know xx
Possibly the Leaf design by David Cressey.
Where is Emily’s denim romper from?
it’s this one!
Love it! Thank you!
Decades ago, my husband and I tromped through three large buildings (plus outside) in Portland filled with vintage and cool stuff. Our house was already filling up fast so didn’t buy much, but it was so much fun. Yes, my husband is that weird guy who likes vintage and antique shows.
This post is so much fun. I enjoy shopping with you. Now I would love an educational post or three about abstract art. It is something I would like to understand better. What do you look for? How do you distinguish “good” from ordinary (or worse)? It might be really fun to learn about from the different perspectives of your staff…
Love the skateboard lamp!! Adorable! I’m curious what type of light bulbs those are. Do you know?
So much fun! Any chance you can share were Em’s shoes are from?? 🙏🏼