By Angelica Recierdo, Inside Columnist
It was a pastime I learned from my mom. Driving home after school or doing errands together, we would spot fliers tacked to telephone poles. Sometimes they were block sales, flea markets, farmers markets or church rummage sales – we went to all of them. Sometimes we actually needed something like tomatoes or coffee mugs and other times we just went for wistful browsing through books or trinkets. Ever since then, I’ve had an eye for the vintage aesthetic of local finds and antique treasures. I like the idea of sharing items one has made or cherished and having them end up in someone else’s home, where they will find new appreciation.
Now I live in a city with the best market I’ve ever been to. The SoWa Open Market is my interpretation of heaven. A section for food, arts and everything vintage in the artists’ den of the South End – I could happily linger there for days. I’ve now become the type of person whose latest best purchase is a $10 antique wooden trunk. The next best marketplace is probably the Union Square Greenmarket in New York City around the holidays.
In every city I come across, I try to find where the markets are, where people gather in plazas or parking lots to make their art come alive and take home gifts you can’t find online or in department stores. I like seeing the faces behind the products, visualizing the studio where my jewelry was hammered into shape, the vineyard where my wine was blended, the print shop that designed my beautiful stationery. There’s something special about answering the question, “Where did you get that from?” with “it’s handmade” or “an artist/chef/designer from…”
I like to think the best markets are off the grid where social networking doesn’t happen and no business cards are exchanged. The kinds of markets that only locals know where and when they pop up and where old-world bartering happens. The leather market in Florence, Italy has probably the biggest leather collection in the world. The best handbags, wallets and belts are yours for the picking and you’ll walk away never able to forget the smell of authentic leather. I dare you to leave without a wristlet or crossbody.
On the other hand, visiting the Dajabón market on the border of Dominican Republic and Haiti is eye-opening. The poorest merchants congregate there to sell everything from firearms to televisions. When visiting on a volunteer trip, my group was told to hold hands in a straight line to avoid getting lost, taken or in the way of traffic. United Nations peacekeepers dotted the border to prevent thieves and illegal migrants from crossing. It’s amazing what types of markets are found in different parts of the world, what the people there consider valuable goods. I think what is being sold on streets says so much about a culture. It’s telling visitors, “This is what the people here want; this is what we spend our livelihood on.”
We live in a society now that is built on exchange and sharing – sharing of personal information, sharing of reviews on places to go, sharing car rides, dates or apartments. The online interconnection has spilled over into our daily lives of sharing goods and services. Everywhere is a marketplace, and everyone has something to offer. I like markets so much because of the search: we walk around looking for an item to jump out at us whether it be for its utility, beauty or innovation. I like the bustling of crowds all in search for something special, the buzz of life coming and going, the acknowledgement of “Yes, we are all looking, but not for the same thing.”
Photo courtesy SoWa Sundays, flickr.
