Shopping for vintage stuff @ the NC State Fairgrounds Flea Market

Raleigh Fairgrounds Flea Market

I used to love going to the Flea Market on the weekends.  And if you’re in the Raleigh Triangle area, it’s worth a stop.  I used to go a lot more, just to poke around, but now that I have a 6 yr old the weekends get busy and I tend to forget about it.  But last weekend we didn’t have any plans and the forecast was looking a little murky so I packed the family into the minivan and off we went.

In my experience the Flea Market here is always hit or miss.  You might go one weekend and find so many great deals that you can’t fit them all in your car.  Or it might be a total bust.  That’s pretty much what this weekend was for me.  I was pleasantly surprised to see lots of vintage furniture this time though.  Lots of really beat up, grungy, chipped paint, furniture.  I came across this really cute 5 drawer dresser.  It looked like it had been painted by a 6 yr old.  Seriously…..thick, chalky paint, streaks everywhere, drawers almost painted shut.  They even painted right over the handles.  I mean, they couldn’t have done a worse job on this if they tried.  Perfect! Score! Exactly what I was looking for.  But whoaaaaaaa…..what? $125? You must be joking.  That’s probably what I’d charge for it AFTER I refinished it.  Do people actually pay that kind of money for beat up stuff that they’ll have to then put some elbow grease into? I’m speechless.

But I did manage to leave the Flea Market with one spectacular thing.  A phone number.  There was a fantastic vendor there by the name of Cortland (like the apple!) Pemberton.  He had bolts and bolts of fantastic fabric.  I had been on the hunt recently to find just the right fabric for a little wrought iron bench that I did, and I must’ve gone to 8 stores looking for just the right one.  Most of the local places had crap.  It was all either too frumpy, too boring, or the colors were all wrong.  But Cordland….ooooh, he had loads and loads of great stuff.  And his prices WAY beat the local stores.  So if you’re in need of fabric for a project, and   you’re around the Fairgrounds some weekend, definitely stop by and check him out.  One thing to note though – he’s only there every other weekend. So if you miss him one weekend, check him out on the next one!