Toronto Uncovered

Posts Tagged ‘Sunday Antique Market’

In recent years, the faux-vintage indie scene appears to have taken our city by storm.  I cite the replacement of many funky Queen Street shops, specifically between Spadina and University, with chain stores like H&M and Urban Outfitters as my evidence. Don’t get me wrong, I like both those stores but I miss the authentic vintage ambiance of “Old Queen”. Yard sales and flea markets are rare in urban cities, which is a shame because in a world where we’ve become so tech and trend obsessed sometimes a little nostalgic taste of the past can be good for the soul.

Fortunately, St. Lawrence Market is our metropolis’s retro oasis and its located right downtown at Front and Jarvis. It’s all too easy to get swept up in the hustle and bustle of contemporary city life and take for granted many of life’s simple pleasures. Get back down to earth by visiting St. Lawrence as soon as you can and might I specifically suggest you do so on the weekend. After an eventful Friday and Saturday a friend and I spent our lazy Sunday browsing the St. Lawrence indoor and outdoor flea market (Sunday Antique Market).  We came upon many marvels such as antique furniture, funky glassware, rare vinyl, retro albeit fully functional turntables, vintage clothes, watches and jewelry and so much more.


Personally, I was delighted upon the discovery of a box of plush toys that took me right back to my childhood. Finding Care Bears was amazing but I was blown away to stumble upon a My Pet Monster with the cuffs intact. Another great benefit about the flea market is that the vendors are informative without being pushy. They’re also incredibly friendly and funny people to talk to so it’s a great place to go especially if you’re a social butterfly and/or new to the city.

Keep an eye out for celebrity sightings such as Colonel Sanders and Aunt Jemima. Alright, so actually they were just a couple of quirky figurines that we noticed were for sale and as tacky as they were it was still delightfully amusing to discover them amongst the sea of memorabilia.

The flea market will appeal to those of you looking for a bargain or a treasure hunt and, with some vendors selling old stamps and coins, it’s also a collector’s paradise.

I have always believed that one man’s trash is another man’s treasure. Since the time I was young, I would join my mom in garage sale hunting and spend hours pouring over other peoples unwanted goods. From these trips, I learned to negotiate, haggle with vendors, sniff out deals, and find diamonds in any ruff. Garage sales, yard sales and flea markets still excite me to this day, which is why on many Sundays I can be found wandering around the Sunday Antique Market at the St. Lawrence Market.

The SAM, open from 5am to 5pm,  is housed in the North building at Front St. and Jarvis St. During the warmer months there are  vendors along the sidewalks and also in the smaller fountain area just West of Jarvis.  I usually spend most of my time visiting with the outdoor vendors. They sell beautiful silks, jewellery, vintage designer items, and even some new designer items (like the Dior shades I got this weekend for half the” in-store” price).  The vendors are very friendly and love to chat with their customers, but don’t let that fool you, they are also fantastic sales people.

Aside from clothing and jewellery, you will also find an endless supply of household items: shelving units, antique glassware, fondue sets, pottery, and  collectibles like comic books, stamps and coins. There is no shortage of selection or diversity. Whatever you might be looking for, you will find some variation of it here – guaranteed!

All of the vendors are local to Toronto and the surrounding area, and many own shops around town as well. Most have a story to tell and will engage you as long as you are willing to listen. This is definitely one of my favourite Sunday morning or afternoon pastimes and I rarely leave empty handed.