A chilly morning to a toasty day didn’t stop the many shoppers who arrived at the monthly flea market on the last Sunday of February.
A menagerie of items can be found at the Vintage Market, such as classic records all the way down to antique toasters.
Rachel Day, one of the market vendors, sells handcrafted artifacts and musical instruments for ages three and up to enjoy.
“These are all handmade. They are made by the artisans and they are made from different parts of the world,” Day said.
Some of her items include the baby cricket, owl whistles, wooden rain sticks and thunder tubes.
“If you hear the difference sounds, you’ll notice some are deeper,” Day said.
Day said she also travels to places in the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) to sell and loves this specific market held at Pierce.
“I like the customer base,” Day said. “I love the customers. They are very artistic and hands on. It’s a great market that’s very well-received with families.”
Gregory Ruiz Jr. sells vinyl records from all genres ranging from rock to pop and time periods from the early 50s to 60s. He says his favorite aspect of the market is the people.
“It’s a very nice relaxed atmosphere compared to other flea markets that I sell at. There are a lot of friendly people out here,” Ruiz Jr. said.
Ruiz Jr. said his price range varies with each record he sells. Albums like Eric Clapton Crossroads, Rockin’ Down the House 50 Original Hits and Stereo MC’s are just to name a few.
“I have records starting from a dollar all the way up,” Ruiz Jr. said.
Daniel Ahal has been selling at the Vintage Market since it first opened. He sells architectural and industrial salvage.
“I make things and then I try to bring good recycled stuff for the community that people would like to have again,” Ahal said.
Ahal said everything he sells is cheap and people pick out certain items.
“A lot of people buy furniture, a lot of men buy tools. Stuff to design your house and fill in spaces that work,” Ahal said.
Ahal said he does a lot of art projects and sells those as well at the market.
“I am different every time,” Ahal said. “A lot of these people bring the same stuff. I run a demolition service and a moving service and I’m also a huge collector so I just collect so much that I come across.”
Jenette Jessop sells organic handmade soaps and lip balms everytime the Vintage Market comes around. She has been coming to the market as long as it’s been open as well.
“This is our favorite market. The organizers are great and this is our community since we are from West Hills,” Jessop said.
Jessop said there are no phthalates and no parabens in the soaps she sells.
“I use all organic oils to create the base,” Jessop said. “They have natural exfoliants. Some of the bars are smooth, some are scratchier for different exfoliation levels. We use essential oils and we also use fragrance oils in some.”
Jessop said she likes that every market is different each time she comes to sell.
“It’s just so interesting. Every market is unique because you just never know what they’re going to bring. They are not allowed to bring anything that is under 20 years old,” Jessop said.
The Vintage Market will be returning next month on March 24.
