The Thrill of the Vintage Treasure Hunt
When my daughter and I wandered into Antiques & Uniques Vintage Market the first time, we had no idea it was a literal treasure chest.
Some things in life, especially treasure, are about the thrill of the hunt. And with more than 220 vendors under one roof constantly refreshing their spaces filled with antique, vintage or newer homemade items, exploring the market is like stepping into moving water — never the same experience twice.
And like a treasure map (or a bingo game), one navigates to specific vendors at their letter-and-number booths. Or you just walk around and experience that thrill of the hunt. The eyes and brain go into visual overload. I scan as I walk — my brain making split-second decisions on whether my feet should stop or keep moving.
Vintage clothing, furniture, appliances and gadgets, toys, artwork, home decor, jewelry and more. We’ve seen wedding dresses, record players and Captain Planet lunchboxes. Bell bottoms, colored glass and funky sunglasses. Baskets, really old sewing machines, collectible coins, Matchbox cars (old and new still packaged), creepy dolls, and every era of kitchenware.
Some vendors offer items they create, like candles and soaps, wood signs and paintings. Crochet bags, crochet bikinis, leather jackets, macrame wall hangings and costume jewelry.
If you can think of it, it’s likely inside these walls. It’s actually super fun walking back through time. I was hit by nostalgia from my ‘80s youth at multiple turns. I’m sure my dad, born in the 1940s, would feel as much nostalgia from different items.
Antiques & Uniques Vintage Market General Manager Tina Mooney relates the shopping experience to not only a treasure hunt, but also a needle in a haystack.
“You’re not going to see everything. I’m here every day and walk the store every day and I haven’t seen everything,” she said.
We are trying to live more eco-friendly, knowing it’s always better to repurpose, reuse and recycle. The local antique and vintage markets are great places to find useful and unique things that don’t feed the fast fashion and let’s-suffocate-our-planet-with-more-stuff mindsets that pervade our society.
I’m so glad my daughter, Ella, who is 10, quickly talked me out of a clothing store in the mall recently, reminding me I had pledged to quit fast fashion. Instead, I found a chic dark red mesh-like shirt with a stylin’ side bow that I’m fairly confident no one else in this area has.
SIDE NOTE: I feel like our EverythingBrevard fashion thought leader Maggie Hickson (who wrote about colorful men’s fashion this issue) would be so proud of me. She looks fabulous everywhere she goes as our local second-hand and repurposing fashion queen. Oh show me the way, wise Maggie!
One thing I wish there was an easier connection to was the stories behind the items. Who owned my shirt before and where did she wear it? Was it a gift?
Tina, the GM, said treasure seekers can sometimes learn the stories behind the items they buy when they attend the monthly first Thursday Sip & Shop events. Many of the vendors are on site and can share what they know. Some also participate in third Saturday outdoor markets in the parking lot.
She also said that she sees customers drive in from Miami, West Palm Beach, Vero Beach, Orlando, Daytona and even from as far as the Carolinas. How fortunate are we to have multiple of these massive treasure malls right here.
It’s fun to go with someone who grew up in your same era, but also from different generations. It’s a shopping experience unlike a typical mall or big box store. Various emotions bubble up.
Did we need that satin and pearl wedding bouquet covered in sparkly costume brooches? No, but it’s so unique, we had to have it. My 10-year-old said she wants to use it in her wedding. Despite not knowing its origin, but now with a cool mom-daughter shopping experience story behind her obtaining it, she just might.
Antiques & Uniques Vintage Market
1240 Sarno Road, Melbourne, FL 32935
321-622-6445
Antiquesanduniquesvintage.com
info@antiquesanduniquesvintage.com
Instagram: @antiquesanduniquesmarket
Facebook: /antiquesanduniquesvintagemarket
- Ship & Shop, first Thursday of each month, 4:30 - 7:30 p.m., free beer and wine
- Outdoor Market in the parking lot, third Saturday of each month, 10 a.m. - 3 p.m.
Meet Our Managing Editor
EverythingBrevard Managing Editor and proud word nerd Lee Nessel is an award-winning journalist. She thinks best through her fingertips and started churning out iambic pentameter as a kid. She embraces last-minute cross-country travel and also works as a junior publicist thanks to her daughter Ella Grace Helton’s child acting adventures. She prefers to operate behind the scenes, shining the spotlight on the uplifting stories of the people making an impact on the Space Coast. Lee loves the barbell, home cooking and can’t stop tapping her foot to the great rhythms of being a ballroom dance mom.
Instagram: @lee_nessel
Facebook: /leenessel
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