On Saturday, Feb. 27, the BarnHouse Vintage Market was hosted in Thousand Oaks. Vintage jewelry, clothes, books and other unique objects were seen all throughout the booths. The market was held in the movie theatre parking lot of The Oaks mall.
Over 60 small business owners set up booths filled with different antiques and vintage items. All visitors had to wear a face mask before walking into the market.
Lorzel Waltner, event coordinator, explained that she wanted to be able to host some sort of event for these businesses but still keep everyone safe.
“We just wanted it safe,” Waltner expressed. “We wanted it to be spread out and make it able for people of all ages to come.”
Waltner also shared that she met most of these businesses on her own because she herself collects vintage items.
“I met all these people with small businesses, but they didn’t have any common place to unify and sell to people so I wanted to use my marketing to help them get their business out,” Waltner added.
The market is usually held at the Camarillo Airport and would go on for two days, with a much larger number of booths and businesses selling their items. With COVID-19 still being a worldwide problem, the market had to be downscaled and spread out for the safety of the vendors and visitors.
Many vendors have separate stores either in-person or online. Others use flea markets and pop up shops as their main source of selling. With the pandemic causing many restrictions on social events, many businesses have been suffering, so this was an opportunity to recognize some small businesses in California.
Vendors sold items they have handmade, upcycled, or obtained from other people. Upcycled items consisted of random artifacts turned into something that people can use and appreciate.
Jewelry was not an uncommon product to be seen in booths.
One vendor, Adela Hallberg from Ventura County, set up her booth, Vintage Sea Cottage, filled with handmade jewelry and soaps. Hallberg sells her items at the Channel Islands Harbor Farmers Market every Sunday. She also tries to appear at pop-ups throughout the coast.
“I hand make all my jewelry and find all the sea glass myself and try to incorporate natural elements into them,” Hallberg shared.
Along with jewelry, other booths had a larger variety of items that appealed to all sorts of people.
Dee Dee Bonfield of Dee Dee’s This and That, had a booth filled with different types of antiques suitable for any age. Bonfield sells rustic garden items, vintage books dated all the way back to the 1800’s and collectible antiques.
“I sell to a variety of people because I like to appeal to all audiences,” Bonfield stated. “That’s why I’m called Dee Dee’s This and That, because I have a variety of different things here.”
Bonfield also mentioned that she has a warehouse store in Long Beach where she sells more of her antiques.
The market also had booths with upcycled clothes like Anne Inlow’s shop, Dragonfly Dreams, where Inlow makes clothes from toddler sizes all the way up to large adult sizes.
Garden accessories like rustic pots and unique arrangements were also seen among many booths, like Valerie Madeira’s business, Valerie’s Vintage & Supply Co.
The BarnHouse Vintage Market is hoping to plan another similar event in the near future. More information on the market and the businesses featured there can be found on their Facebook page.
