The Newfane Flea

Since moving to Vermont I've been scouring the area for good flea markets, but unfortunately coming up completely short. There are heaps of antique stores out here, but that's just not what I'm after. Online research unearthed a few promising posts about the Newfane Flea Market, so we decided to make the hour drive to Newfane, VT one Sunday morning a few weeks back.

I'm not sure if it was a slower than normal day at Newfane, but the size of the market & selection of items that day were pretty underwhelming. My ideal market is packed with vintage and antique items and large enough that I can spend at minimum two full hours cruising the grounds without passing the same vendor twice. A 15 minute pass through Newfane and I'd seen everything there, none of it right for my shop. 

Somewhere amidst the hunt for shop-worthy finds, my eye had passed right over the one item at the market that we actually need, a wood burning stove. The barn workshop at our new house is the perfect space for running my Etsy shop, but it lacks heating, a crucial, non-negotiable feature in Vermont. We'd been looking for a wood burning stove to heat the workshop for months when Josh's eagle eye spotted the old Ring Gold Hot Blast stove sitting between a pile of old wood crates and cracked windows at the far corner of the market. The stove is old, for sure, and will need a new handle on the front and a good cleaning, but it will suit my purposes just fine. The top lifts up to accept a decent amount of cord wood, and the bottom has a pull-out tray for easy disposal of ashes. Add to that the old timey look and true flea market asking price, and we were sold. We'll set this bad boy on top of a large piece of limestone at the back of the barn, and the combination of the stove and heat absorbed by the stone should keep the workshop nice and toasty.

Fresh off our wood stove score, we wandered over to the food area, and quickly spotted an aqua blue airstream trailer outfitted with a striped awning, paper lanterns, and hand painted signs. A ten year old girl sat at the front window and rang up our sale on a plastic toy cash register while her dad made our food in the back. The food was surprisingly tasty and the quirky, hand painted trailer was pretty sweet. If you ever find yourself in Newfane, Vermont on a Sunday morning, give the Blue Moon Cafe at the flea a try. I can't promise any good antiques, but the Blue Moon is worth a visit.