The Art of Vintage at SoWa Market

It’d seem there are two types of us: those of us that prefer ‘new, shiny, state-of-the-art’ and those that favor ‘old, trusty, rusty.’

Twenty years ago in the pre-digital age, there was a great deal less disparity between new and old. Now there’s a world of difference… which has made folks like those that frequent SoWa’s Vintage Market that much more passionate about what they do.

“It’s a great way to recycle things that are already on the planet,” Stephanie Pernice told me over the phone from the Brimfield Antiques & Collectibles Shows, which she described as a ‘sensory-rush.’

Together Pernice and her partner, designer/furniture-maker John Warren, curate the Vintage Market that runs indoors, alongside the largely artist-dominated weekly SoWa outdoor market. As purveyors of collectibles, antiques and all-things-vintage, the Brimfield shows are major events for Pernice and Warren, not to mention the rest of the resale community.

“There’s so much more to it than just the idea of recycling," Pernice said. "People come looking for vintage housewares—practical items like glassware—that, frankly, are manufactured to a much better level of quality than the made-in-China garbage you might buy new today.”

Now in its second year, the SoWa Vintage Market has become a coveted weekly event that brings people out of the woodwork in search of everything from retro furniture to LPs, leisure suits, art prints, luggage, costume jewelry, industrial tools… the possibilities are limitless. As the season unfolds, more dealers take part and the market fleshes out into somewhere between thirty and forty ‘booths’ spread into three rooms of warehouse space at 460 Harrison Ave.—heaven for folks that prefer more mid-century-oriented stock to what the traditional Charles Street antique stores tend to carry… and usually at more down-to-earth prices, too.

“I was in high-tech sales for a number of years and then I had kids,” Pernice said. “I ended up buying and redoing an antique farmhouse, and this was at a time when we didn’t have revival pieces being made by companies like Pottery Barn and Restoration Hardware. I’d always been interested in vintage textiles and the farmhouse got me more involved with furnishing. Eventually I started using ebay as a means for selling vintage tablecloths, but it remained little more than a hobby for a number of years.”

When Pernice, who calls her business VintageSteph, branched out into doing shows, her hobby made the leap into something more serious. She said that the invitation to run the SoWa Vintage Market came about naturally.

“Doing shows was the big step – Round Top in Texas, Brooklyn Flea, Brimfield—and I also had become a regular part of the outdoor SoWa Market,” she said. “John and I got to know the people running it and they seemed to like my vibe when I was set up at the art market, so they went out on a limb and offered us the opportunity. It was completely organic—all about karma.”

Curiously, Pernice says the crowd frequenting the market is younger – which means the attraction isn't so much about the nostalgia factor, but rather, a keen sense of design. And that’s not the only stereotype she’s tearing down.

“Bargaining has always been a part of this sort of business, and there’s nothing wrong with that,” she said. “But that said, I think there’s an incorrect perception about the lengths that dealers will go to in order to make a sale. Yes, we’re here to support ourselves and our families, but that doesn’t equate with being desperate. There are limits, not to mention an awful lot of work that goes into finding the items, transporting them, restoring them, etc.”

Pernice is obviously passionate about her work, but she admits that making the leap between being someone who collects and sells for hobby to a full-time dealer had its challenges.

“When you buy things you love, you have to be willing to let them go,” she said. “Over time I'm happy to say I’ve learned—there will always be more stuff.”