Or what finds YOU at the flea market.  As you may know, I am re-examining my roots and heading back to Philly to open my own antique store.  The antique and design scene there is growing at a break neck pace as new locales are created and new traditions begun.  I have been writing about the store and looking at ways to become involved in this growing scene.  One of those ideas was to set up at a local flea market...

Flea markets are where I began to first understand antiques and where I began my business those ten years ago in New York City.  So, it seemed only logical to set up at a flea market in Philly and pass out some cards.  What I wasn't prepared for was the overwhelming response to my merchandise and the film crew!  Looks like I picked the right weekend to set up...

Early Saturday morning I pulled in to the warehouse space for the indoor flea market.  Set up was a breeze and I immediately started to check out what the other dealers were offering.  Within a few minutes, I had purchased an amazing pair of leather and boucle upholstered chairs, a Philadelphia immigrant trunk, an Italian hot air balloon chandelier and a travertine marble and brass coffee table.  My booth was now even more packed...

Fast forward to 8am when the market opened to the public.  It was a nice start to the day when a couple of items sold.  Then I noticed the camera crew.  Hard to miss them actually as they were in the booth of the dealer directly next to me.  The show features four experts who are challenged to find great items at flea markets across the country.  I was on pins and needles hoping that they would find their way into my booth...

Hours passed.  It seemed like the experts on the show had found what they were looking for in other booths.  Or had they?  Taken by surprise, one of the experts rushed into my booth and made a bee line for a specific item.  We talked for a while about the item with the camera rolling and settled on a price.  Looks like I had a sale!  Just when I was about to text my husband with the good news, another of the experts came in to ask about a different item.  Turns out we know each other from the 26th Street Flea Market in NYC.  This expert also wound up purchasing something.  And if that wasn't awesome enough, another of the experts came in and also purchased something.  Three hours went by like one minute and the excitement level kept rising...

The end of the day saw more sales to a fellow dealer.  While my van was still pretty full on the way out, at least it was with new merchandise for the store.  I'll be heading back down to Philly later in the week to do a bit more work on the store.  In my usual fashion of doing things backwards, I have stocked the store before I have installed all the windows, painted the interior, hung the lighting, etc...

It was a wonderful start to this new adventure in Philly and I can't wait to see what's next!