Flea Market Finds

I've always loved flea markets.  The farther north in California I've moved, though, flea markets have become scarce and rare.  I long for the days of the Rose Bowl Flea Market in Los Angeles ~ although my experience of this beauty is from over 40 years ago.  When I lived in Santa Cruz, I regularly attended the weekly Skyview Drive-In flea market, both as buyer and seller.  When I lived in San Francisco, the Marin Flea Market, which was in Marin City and after many successful years was booted out to make way for a shopping center, was a fairly often Sunday morning jaunt.

Since I've been in Humboldt, there really hasn't been much in the way of flea markets...although the Humboldt Flea Market in Eureka just recently became a regularly monthly affair.  So I attended last Sunday, and the photo above shows what I found.  Two old children's books for a song, and gorgeous silk threads straight from a Paris flea market just a few weeks prior.

Pretty much the same goes for thrift shops in Humboldt ~ littered with true junk, of the crap variety, and if you do find anything worth buying it's usually priced for an antique store.  I've actually found a few things at one or the other of the Fortuna antique stores for less money than those same things are selling for at thrift shops or the flea market.  Gotta keep your eyes open.

Since I started making books, I've begun collecting books as well, ostensibly to alter.  Most are too cool to tear apart, though...which is becoming a problem, because I have so little space.  I'll show you some of the books I've recently collected, on Saturday.