Today St. David’s Church in Wayne, PA did a pop-up version of their annual fair. Flea market, books, clothes, kids toys, and more.
It was just fun. It was a beautiful day. A lot of people were out. Apparently they were lined up to get in before it even opened at 9 AM. The church raised a lot of money for their outreach.
I didn’t get tons of stuff but I found a few treasures!
I just love older colored glass. That vase is of indeterminate age, but hand blown which I love. A pair of never used April Cornell pillow shams for $6 and antique hand towels for $2 each.
A handmade pottery wren house for the garden. And some books. Including a very special one, that my friend Eddie Ross wrote and gifted to me today out of some treasures he found….and he personalized and signed it.
I also found a little garden sign.
But in this crazy and often unpleasant world in which we live, today was just a nice day. Happy people having a fun time shopping and volunteering and kids also having fun.
In life, we all need more days like this. Actual community in action.
Ok ok I think at the 50% off sale today at St. David’s Fair in Wayne I got the deal of the decade! I finally found new everyday flatware.
I have been looking for flatware for such a long time that was just the right look for me.
I have had my old every day flatware for over 20 years. I like it but I was tired of it and I wanted something new that was preferably vintage that also had weight to it. And that’s one of the things I find important in everyday flatware because the handles have weight. That sounds rather picayune perhaps, but it’s just something you like the feel of a certain way, or you don’t. I think that’s probably why I also am a fan of old hotel silver which really isn’t silver. It’s got weight to it.
Yesterday at the top of a shelf in the back of the flea market sheds at St. David’s was a flatware chest that was dusty and I couldn’t reach it. It was also SO crowded that I couldn’t get to it even to really see.
When I came back today, it was still there. And I came back at the very end of the 50% off sale, and there it was. Service for 16 with the hostess set and was originally $74.00. At 50% off it was $37!
I just did a little bit of research and what I found is it is indeed very heavy, vintage flatware from Oneida. The pattern is called “Royal Flute”. And rather amusingly, it’s collectible! I was looking on eBay and the prices are kind of all over the map for it and people seem to like it.
My flatware is stamped Oneida Community. According to what I looked up, Oneida Community started production of silver-plated flatware and hollow-ware in 1899 using the “Community Plate” mark. The Oneida Community purchased the Wm A. Rogers company in 1881. In 1929 the merged company began producing a somewhat lower-quality line of products using those companies’ marks. In 1935, Oneida Community changed its name to Oneida Ltd.
So I don’t know? Maybe I think it’s stainless steel and it’s silver plate? Whatever it is, I don’t think it’s actually ever been used. I bought service for 16 with the hostess set for $37!
I washed up my new old flatware and dried each piece by hand. I swapped out my former everyday stuff and put it in the old flatware chest that the Oneida came in. I will hang onto that for buffetware or something. Or some day when someone’s kid has their first apartment, I will just gift them all this flatware.
I also bought some wonderful old books that I have to go through at my leisure. When I came home, it was time to move the tropical plants from the patio back inside for the fall and winter, so I didn’t get to everything today.
Anyway, this was a fun and lucky purchase, and that’s why I love flea markets in general.
I had a blast! Flea It Up is located back off Matlack Street in West Chester in an industrial area. The address is 21 Hagerty Blvd, West Chester, PA 19382. This outdoor flea market is being run through Christmas on Sundays between 9 a.m. and 1pm. It is being brought to you by For Sale Free or Trade Chester County and Tee It Up Golf.
This flea market has a nice mix of crafts people, small businesses, regular people setting up a flea market table, and vintage dealers who work the flea market circuit buying and selling. I was thrilled to find Dahlia Designs (handcrafted jewelry) and Chester County Antiques (Chestercountyantiques.net) there.
It was a steady flow of people when I arrived around 11:30 a.m. The dealers were all fairly affable which was nice. The pricing was true flea market pricing and people were willing to dicker on price. I was especially glad to see the vintage and antique dealers doing open air/flea market pricing because last year I was finding sticker shock with a lot of the Clover Market dealers in Ardmore.
As always, cash is king at flea markets. It keeps the prices down. I found a couple of treasures including a terrific book on quilts and the history of American quilting!
Flea It Up is going to be a lot of fun for fall, and I would say if you are a dealer or crafts person in Chester County or even someone who wants to do a garage or collectibles sale, Flea it Up is for you ! In addition there was mini golf and that West Chester historic train stops at this location and there are train rides!
Mark your calendars and check out Flea It Up! Lots of parking too!
