We went and saw some friends in Orange County today, and decided to take advantage of the once a month Long Beach Antique Market. I've never been before, but having been to similar ones I knew to expect some really great stuff at a premium. It's not the type of flea market where you can buy a new pair of sunglasses and a bag of oranges (like Kobey's). The vendors are true collectors, they bring the best of the best and charge for it. The pros-so many wonderful things, furniture, knick knacks, salvalged architectural details, spotless quilts and linens, and so on for what felt like miles. Unfortunately, there were cons-it was crowded, the vendors were often distracted chatting with other vendors, so that asking for prices usually involved waving like a maniac or standing awkwardly close to them not wanting to interrupt. Most were unwilling to haggle and made terrible faces at you when you said "How about $8?" instead of $10, not entirely unreasonable. Still, the sea of vintage goods was dizzying and magnificent.
I picked up a few things, but surprisingly nothing special. It was so odd to be surrounded by wonderful stuff and not even see one item that I would have seriously shelled out for. I ended up with a wire milk crate, a couple metal card drawers, an old salt can, and a wooden D (after 6 months I finally got my last name officially changed). I'm happy with my finds, but I think I will stick to sifting through the junk at garage sales and swap meets.
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