From Baker Street Flea:
There was a time when buying something handmade often meant knowing something about the person who made it.
You might hear the story behind a ceramic mug, learn why an artist chose a particular material or discover that the piece of jewelry in your hand began as a sketch at someone’s kitchen table.
Today, almost anything can arrive at our door with a click.
But twice a year, Baker Street in Maplewood Village offers a reminder that there is still something special about meeting the person behind the work.
That idea has been at the heart of the Baker Street Flea since its first event in the fall of 2020.
“What we’ve always loved is watching people connect with artists and makers they might never have discovered otherwise,” said Maggie Marotta, who produces the Baker Street Flea alongside Marichelle Hills and Nancy Cook. “You may come because you want to shop, but you leave knowing the people behind what you found. That connection has always been a huge part of why we do this.”
This fall, more than 130 independent makers, artists and vintage curators will fill Baker Street and the surrounding streets with ceramics, jewelry, art, textiles, vintage finds, specialty foods, food trucks and more.
For the people selling their work, markets like the Baker Street Flea offer something a website or social media feed can’t quite replicate.
“People come back and tell me where they put something they bought from me or who they gave it to. Sometimes they remember the conversation we had a year ago. That relationship is one of the best parts of doing a market like this.” Jess Preleski, Runa Ceramics
As the Flea has grown, so has the experience around the makers.
Live entertainment has become an increasingly important part of the day, with three music stages this fall. On the Baker Street Stage, local DJ Dirty Preston will be joined by live performances from Jitney, Tuffy, and DC and the Desperados. New to the Flea, DJ Monay will take over Maplewood Avenue, while community partner InTune will bring six live acts to the Highland Place Music Stage: The Third Project, Olive Riggio, Jesse Krakow, BroadBand, The Jersey Jammers and the Sally Shupe Quartet. Performances will run throughout the day.
This year, Baker Street Flea launched The Good Neighbor Project, presented by The DeCicco Group, inviting community members to nominate neighbors whose generosity, creativity and everyday actions make the community a better place to live. At the Fall Flea, The DeCicco Group will host a gallery sharing the winners’ stories and recognizing them during the event.
Music will fill three stages throughout the day, including the Highland Place Music Stage, where community partner InTune will present six different band acts.
The Tap & Wine Yard is evolving too, with SOMA-based interior design firm Studio Envie joining as a creative partner to create a lounge space for visitors to gather and stay awhile. Returning partner Pallet Brewing Company will be joined by new wine partner Lum’s Cellars, with the Columbia High School Scholarship Fund continuing its partnership with the Flea.
Taken together, it’s about something larger than shopping.
The makers may be what first draw people to the Baker Street Flea, but the experience is also about everything that happens around them: hearing a band you didn’t know, learning about a neighbor doing extraordinary things, talking to the person who made something you love, running into friends or simply wandering without knowing exactly what you’ll find.
In many ways, that’s what an outdoor market can offer that an online marketplace never will: serendipity.
Maplewood has long been a community of independent businesses, artists, musicians, restaurants and neighbors who show up for one another. The Baker Street Flea brings many of those threads together for one day.
You may arrive looking for a piece of jewelry, a vintage treasure, a work of art or a gift.
But you might leave remembering the person you met, the music you heard or something you never expected to find.
The Fall Baker Street Flea takes place Saturday, September 19, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. in Maplewood Village, featuring more than 130 independent makers, artists and vintage curators, three music stages, food and drink, the Tap & Wine Yard Lounge, The Good Neighbor Project winners gallery and more.
