There’s something about September that feels like change. Never mind the arrival of pumpkin spice, well, everything. When summer fades, we’re ready for fresh looks, fall decor and cozying up our homes.
A great way to warm up your space with something new — to you — is by adding a touch of yesteryear.
You could visit one of Springfield's large flea markets that sell a variety of goods among hundreds of booths. But for an aesthetic vendor shopping experience worthy of girlfriend get-togethers, try a boutique-styled market that showcases vintage, antique and cottage country-style wares.
Two such markets in Springfield less than three miles apart — The Vintage Peddler and Freakin’ Antiquin’ Vintage Market — are hosting a fall Shop Hop event on Saturday for those on the hunt for autumn decor. A similar market, Spring Creek Antiques & Tea Room, is in Ozark near the square.
All three are tidy, attractive markets with vendors who create pretty booth vignettes displaying one-of-a-kind vintage finds.
How are vintage markets different than flea markets? (Click to expand story)
“There are flea markets and then there are vintage markets,” explains Shelly Gordon who owns The Vintage Peddler. Nearly anything can be sold in a flea market — including vintage wares and antiques in attractive booths — but a market like those featured in this story requires a majority of wares to be vintage or antique, with a strong focus on home décor, goods and furnishings arranged in pleasing displays.
Melissa Sharples, who owns Freakin’ Antiquin’, says her vendors are expected to display 75 percent of true vintage items, “and then the other 25 percent needs to be complimentary to what’s in their space,” she says of gift and décor retail found in some booths. Gordon’s market, which opened first, has a similar philosophy. In fact, Sharples and Gordon support each other by sending each other customers, and they team up to host fun seasonal shopping events.
“It’s not competition,” Sharples says. “You’re building a reputation whether it’s together or separate. It’s a reputation for having a nice place to shop that people enjoy coming to, with good customer service and good products,” she says. “We both look at it as giving the vintage or antique world a good name. That’s our goal.”
Spring Creek Antiques and Tea Room in Ozark, established 25 years ago, is a long-standing vintage market venue. Kerry May, who owns the market with his wife Brenda, says they require new potential vendors to show them samples of what they would sell. Like the other two shops, they allow some vintage-looking new home and décor items, but they don’t allow used clothing, shoes or purses, and they discourage glass collectibles. What makes Spring Creek stand out is its popular tearoom, open five days a week for lunch and dessert.
The owners of these markets expect vendors to work their booths with some frequency. They have a lot of repeat customers, and if booths look stale, customers notice and walk on by.
That’s why these markets are fun to shop for home décor, furniture, practical goods and gift-giving any time of year. As temperatures cool, they are especially festive when decorated for seasonal changes and holidays, and they make a great way to add a touch of warmth or whimsy to our homes.
Best of all, you’re shopping locally!
Keep reading to learn more about each of these vintage markets.
The Vintage Peddler
Location: 1432 E. Trafficway St., Springfield
Online: facebook.com/TheVintagePeddler
Contact: 417-864-9808
Owner Shelly Gordon’s passion for vintage wares spans decades: She had vintage booths in various area flea markets as a side gig for more than 30 years.
“I’ve just always loved the old things,” Gordon says. “I got into having a booth with a friend of mine, and it just kind of branched out from there.”
Six years ago, she decided to open her own vintage market, establishing The Vintage Peddler in an old building she saw for lease on Trafficway. Completely empty, she started from scratch to build the market it’s become today. Gordon says while she allows a strictly limited number of vendors to sell clothing and retail gift or décor items, most vendors at her market sell vintage and antiques displayed in ways that encourage shoppers to envision goods in their own homes.
If you like farmhouse, cottage or shabby chic décor, repurposed material creations, restored or painted vintage furniture, antique salvaged architectural pieces, garden florals and décor, pillows, old doors and much more, you’ll find it at The Vintage Peddler.
Twinkling string lights, colorful umbrellas overhead and an easy flow from one booth to another makes shopping here feel like an outing. If you need a nibble, find baked goods for sale near the central register counter.
Freakin' Antiquin' Vintage Market
Location: 2259 E Bennett St., Springfield
Online: freakinantiquin.com, facebook.com/freakinantiquing
Contact: 417-755-7141
Less than 10 minutes from The Vintage Peddler, Freakin’ Antiquin’ Vintage Market on Bennet Street has a similar philosophy and ambiance. Just inside the door, shoppers are greeted by staff, with neat displays of giftware and DIY furniture paint nearby. The main vendor space is a large open building lined with quaint, attractive booths displaying collectibles, home and seasonal décor, antique and restored furniture, lamps, pots, florals, dishware and more.
A paralegal and law firm administrator by day, owner Melissa Sharples’ was a vendor in several markets — including The Vintage Peddler — as a side gig until 2017, when she decided to open her own market.
Like Gordon, she expects vendors to display a majority of vintage and antique wares in well-decorated booths with attractive vignettes. In fact, she’s even held booth decorating workshops and pairs new vendors with a mentor. Bright overhead lights, paired with lamps, chandeliers and string lights in booths add to the ambiance. Mixed among vintage wares are new retail décor items that compliment the vintage. She also expects vendors to refresh their booths frequently.
“Appearance is important to us,” Sharples says, “because it encourages people to return on a regular basis.”
Spring Creek Antiques & Tea Room
An Ozark staple since it was established in 1998 by Kerry and Brenda May, Spring Creek Antiques & Tea Room sets the tone for vintage markets with pretty, well-decorated vendor booths. Like the other two businesses, Spring Creek is not a flea market. Rather, the large rambling building on North 3rd Street near the downtown Ozark Square displays a wealth of vintage and antique finds, mixed with a scattering of new retail home décor.
What sets Spring Creek apart is its tearoom where lunch and dessert are served Tuesday through Saturday (except during a fall vacation week, Sept. 17-24). The mouth-watering aroma of home cooking adds to the shopping ambiance and makes Spring Creek a fun destination for meeting with a friend. A recent menu board included daily specials of Italian chicken soup, blueberry tea, and a variety of cakes, pies and cheesecakes. Plus they serve daily salads and sandwiches.
The tearoom was also established in 1998 within a small space, but became so popular it was expanded. They get local visitors and many from out of town. “And while they’re waiting to eat, a lot of times they’ll shop around,” Kerry May says. “They just go hand-in-hand together, the tearoom and the antique store.”
Want to visit the Fall Shop Hop?
The Vintage Peddler and Freakin’ Antiquin’ Vintage Market have teamed up for their fifth annual fall Shop Hop event, starting at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 17.
Both markets close for a day on Friday to transform their shops into an autumn wonderland with fall and seasonal décor and homewares. The Shop Hop features refreshments, door prizes and other goodies.
“We try to make it a really special shopping event and people just seem to love it,” says The Vintage Peddler owner, Shelly Gordon.
