With 100 vendors spread across the fifth floor of Evanston’s 1800 Maple Self Park Garage, the city’s Vintage Garage event takes the term “garage sale” quite literally.
The market, which takes place from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and costs $6 to attend, features everything from antique costume jewelry to old magazine covers and vintage letterman jackets.
Sunday was the flea’s final sale of the season and included a twist: in addition to the usual display of oddities that can be found at the other three annual Evanston sales, Sunday’s event boasted antique Christmas ornaments, cookie cutters, Halloween decorations and festive Snoopy collectables.
Marcee Williams, the owner of Lottie Dottie Vintage, has been selling with Vintage Garage for 12 years. Williams’ dad was an original flea market vendor in the late ‘60s and early ‘70s, so vintage selling is “in (her) blood,” she said.
Williams described her job as a display of her true passion: shopping.
“It’s like going on a big treasure hunt when you’re looking for merchandise and, of course, you can only keep so much,” she said. “So then you wind up becoming a seller because you have to be able to offload what you find. I think I still like the hunt the best.”
Vintage Garage Chicago, which has run the market for 11 seasons, was founded by Melissa and Jim Sands, who first entered the vintage business in 1999 when they sold Jim Sands’ comic book collection to put a down payment on their house. The two worked in vintage dealing for 10 years before deciding to start organizing shows.
The market typically sees 1,500 customers on the high end, according to Diana Castro, who checks shoppers in at entry and helps to publicize the event on social media. The show was once held in uptown Chicago but moved to Evanston two years ago when the original parking garage was sold and it needed a new venue.
Weinberg freshman Jason Stokes discovered Vintage Garage through Instagram and said he knew a lot of Northwestern students who were attending. He said he enjoys flea markets as a place to find unique, sustainable items.
“I’m just looking to diversify my closet right now,” he said. “It’s feeling a little lackluster and fall is coming, so I need warmer clothes.”
Jura Avizienis, a Vintage Garage vendor and owner of vintage business Sineiziva, which sells everything from old sweaters to cassette tapes, enjoys selling at the event, which she said is well-organized and well attended.
She said she appreciates the fact that the sale is held in an actual garage, for both the atmosphere and practicality of the shelter.
“I love participating in the ring economy. I love being able to give things a second life,” Avizienis said.
Williams noted that despite the years the sale has been in Evanston, she still meets people who have never heard of it.
“The vintage arena has changed drastically,” she said. “There are a lot of pop-ups these days or other shows that we’re in competition with but I think we remain one of the OGs.”
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