Monday, May 7, 2012

Sparks Flea Market

I'm back from the backroads of Kansas and my goodness did I find some fun things! My mother-in-law and I headed out at the crack of dawn on Saturday to the tiny town of Troy, KS, about four hours away. You know you've reached Sparks when the highway literally becomes a parking lot. There are cars lined up everywhere and people hauling carts and bags of finds anywhere you kind of fun!

{aren't these giant metal letters awesome?}

I didn't take as many pictures as I thought I did, but this should give you a little taste of what it was like. The day was sweltering and we were sweating to death, but we hardly noticed because we had so much FUN! My mother-in-law is a trooper and kept up with me all day...which is saying something when I'm junking! We had a blast digging through the junk piles, bartering and picking out treasures.

This flea market was a very interesting one. Some dealers literally dumped piles of dirty, broken junk onto tables that you had to dig through. Others were truly antiques dealers with beautiful wares. The problem was the antiques dealers wanted true antique prices, and the junk people had mostly...junk. We did get quite a few good deals, but it took a lot of careful hunting and bargaining. Some of my favorite things like ironstone, scales and flower frogs were scarce. Other things like silver-plate, crates and locker baskets were plentiful. It was quite an interesting mix. 

We were there until the market closed down, and left with a full carload of finds. I'll be sharing some of my finds with you throughout the week, so stay tuned!

{I loved this old farm sign}

{pretty green glass bottles}

{I bought several of these worn old flower pots. I love their patina}

{This was the only ironstone pitcher I ever saw, and practically the only piece of ironstone at all. This was in one of the "true antique" booths...which meant a $95 price tag.}

there was lots of cool architectural salvage...

...and old furniture. The guy selling this piece was a character. He was a typical old junk guy, in plaid shirt and overalls, who wanted to tell us all about why American Pickers is fake. He told us they wanted to come shoot a show at his property and he told them he would "run them out with a gun" if they tried. I liked him : )

This old trophy was amazing. It was a Wichita golf trophy from 1925. The price was $100, which for an old trophy really isn't terrible. I decided I'd photograph it rather than purchase it, but I did buy the silver cake plate it's sitting on : )

I thought this old door in one of the "shops" was cool. The market winds down the streets of what seems to be an old town. Some booths are out in fields and others are in old structures and homes. It looks like animals probably live in the buildings most of the time, but for two weeks a year they're filled with antiques!

Overall the market was great, and it was such a fun trip for my mother-in-law and me! If you can ever make it out to the Sparks Flea Market, I highly recommend it. It's quite an adventure! If you decide to go, it seemed to me like there would have been better finds on Wednesday and Thursday when it opens, but the dealers were much more willing to barter since we were there on Saturday, and the deals got better the later in the day it was. There's a little something for everyone, so I'd definitely put it on your shopping list!

I'll share my finds with you soon! Have a great Monday!
{live beautifully}


  1. I want that big old M! Sounds like a fun day!

  2. You must have had a blast! Love seeing the variety of many of the things you saw. Thanks for sweating it out so we all can enjoy the results!

  3. How fun! Thanks for sharing your pictures...I'm heading off to Brimfield tomorrow and can't wait!

    1. Oh Brimfield! I'd love to go to Brimfield someday! Have so much fun!

  4. Anonymous6/29/2012

    my company is looking for these metal letters. Do you have any more info? Are they for sale?

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