Arts writer Gwen Barba spends a sunny Sunday in Silver Lake rummaging with the best of 'em. And guess what? The goods are, well, good!

Santa Monica has one. Pasadena has one. Even Redondo Beach has one. Yet Silver Lake, a place whose inhabitants ascribe to the aesthetic of re-appropriation like it's their job, has been notably lacking in the flea market department.

Until now.

The committed "Silver Lakeans" and self-described "flea market fanatics" behind the Ghettogloss art gallery recognized the missed opportunity. As stated in their press release: "With all the underground and campy delights that make our Silver Lake what it is - with all the residing artists and crafties, record collectors and vintage whores, antique hoarders and penny savers that we know and love...It seems to us that this neighborhood is just begging for a flea market."

Seems obvious now, doesn't it? Every Sunday from 9AM to 5PM Ghettogloss and their army of vendors transform a Citibank Parking lot into what one attendee called "a Flea Market to be reckoned with." Tents are pitched and tables are loaded up with quirky displays of vintage knickknacks and hand-crafted jewelry. Rolling racks overflow with vintage bow-front blouses, high-waisted denim, and silkscreened t-shirts and totes. Posters are unfurled, signs are propped and of course, business cards and flyers are strategically positioned, announcing websites and webstores.

While many of the participating vendors here are straight-forward flea market veterans who make the SoCal swap meet rounds, many more are bonafide crafters and card-carrying Etsy shop entrepreneurs. All of them, however, have the chief distinction of having been hand-picked by Ghettogloss, seemingly with the intention of creating an eclectic mix of old and new. Many of the craft vendors echo that approach. The Tyler Bender Book Co. notebooks - new books bound with old covers - is one notable example of taking the "reduce, reuse, recycle" mantra to heart. Even some of the completely new stuff, like Anise Mouette's baby Tees, gives a nod to the past, in this case with printed images of retro-toys like big wheels and play projectors.

Free to the public and with a reasonably low participating fee for vendors, the Silver Lake Art, Craft, and Vintage Flea Market seems tailored to supporting local start-ups and emerging designers as much as encouraging a lifestyle that values resourcefulness over wastefulness. It's a fitting attitude for a neighborhood that was once home to case study-contributing architect Richard Neutra. One vintage vendor, hocking a delicious collection of candy-colored glass door knobs offered his assessment of the market: "It really reflects the character of the neighborhood. In the valley it just wouldn't be like this."

Which seems to be exactly what they were going for.

THE DETAILS: Silver Lake Art & Craft Vintage
Sundays 9am - 5pm
Located in the Citibank parking lot at Silverlake Blvd. and Glendale Blvd.
2450 Glendale Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90039
www.ghettogloss.com

Story by Gwen Barba.