We are so excited about the newest venture in the works for The Bernice Garden – and evidently, so are you! Garden coordinator Liz Sanders put up the vaguest of Facebook pages Wednesday for the South Main Vintage Market, which is really still in the idea/planning phase, and by Saturday afternoon, it has 164 likes.
We knew people love vintage and that it was a great idea, but you’ve solidified that notion by your quick response.
Now we thought you’d like the back story and some details.
The word of the day is “serendipity.”
Owner/founder Anita Davis had been thinking about the possibility of a reoccurring vintage market at the Garden and brought it up Liz.
“Anita mentioned how cool it would be to have a flea market/antique market-type event once a month,” Liz says, “and literally a day later, Dayna Duncan, a local vintage seller emailed me with the same idea.I thought they must have talked to one another but they hadn’t! It was in the air I guess.”
Or as Dayna, who owns Roadside Attractions, puts it, “Crazy, huh?”
She called Liz to pitch the idea of Little Rock’s first open-air vintage market and was pleased and surprised to learn Anita was already on board.
“The Bernice Garden will be a lovely place for it, and vintage items should be very popular in the South Main area,” Dayna says. ” I really believe the vendors will be top notch, and locals as well as tourists will not want to miss this event.”
The market will be the the second Saturday of every month from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. The goal is to start in June – we’ll let you know when it’s definitive. Here’s what we do know so far:
• Items sold must be able to be described as unique, esoteric, wacky, fun, high-quality and clean. The last two are non-negotiable. We host quality events at The Bernice Garden.
If Dayna’s cute little trailer looks familiar, well, she’s been around for a couple of years. She originally got the reproduction of a 1947 for camping purposes, and that was serendipitous, too.
She’d been “scouring the Internet” trying to find one close by to buy after seeing one in Colorado.
Then, “I looked on Craigslist one day, and there was one in the storage unit across from mine in Maumelle! The guy had gotten the plans for one and built it in his garage on a dare from his friends who said he couldn’t do it,” Dayna says.
“He ended up not using it very much and felt that it needed to go to someone who would. I bought it immediately upon seeing it. He loves what I’m doing with it and we still keep in touch.”
She even sends him photos of “Sophie” in action. (He’d named the trailer after his much-loved dog.) Soon she can send him photos of Sophie at the Garden. Maybe you’ll be in one of them, especially if you like mid-century modern or vintage Western, Dayna’s two specialty areas.
Or maybe you’ve got specialties of your own to sell – as soon as you sign up and let us know, we’ll put the word out for you, too. We love good news.
Did I mention we’re excited?