From 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. every Saturday and Sunday, people in search of hidden treasures scour the North Carolina State Fairgrounds, shuffling through crates of old records, sniffing homemade candles and enjoying a meal from one of the many food trucks that line the hotspot of cultural abundance — also known as the Raleigh Flea Market.
With more than 600 vendors selling everything from handmade jewelry to fresh produce to intricately painted antique lamps, the year-round flea market has something for everyone. Although the market is now a Raleigh landmark, it originally started as small family business back in 1971. The flea market quickly attracted a wide variety of vendors, which brought about even more eager bargain hunters. By the 1980s the flea market was in full swing, and remains a local sanctuary of creativity today. One of the market’s icons is Heavenly Beezzz Honey Company, run by bee enthusiast Betty Noble, which has been a sweet hotspot for nine years now.
“We sell honey, we make gourmet pimiento cheeses, as well as barbecue sauces,” Noble said. “We sell all kinds of things, like homemade jams and jellies. Everything is made by hand, so it’s our little specialty niche we have out here at the flea market.”
Heavenly Beezzz, located in the indoor portion of the flea market, attracts customers with rows upon rows of honey, pickled vegetables and even jars of fresh bee pollen. Specialty finds include “fire and ice” cucumber pickles, hot pickled okra and white chocolate almond cream honey. It is widely accepted that homemade honey is a cult classic flea market find, an idea Noble reinforces.
“The most popular product is always going to be the honey,” Noble said. “The other is the pimiento cheeses because they’re all made from hand, with no chemicals or preservatives whatsoever. It’s one of our number one sellers also.”
Another vendor that proves popular is The Bake Soapery, a newly founded company that sells soaps that look more like decadent desserts. From the chocolate chip cupcake soap to the raspberry chocolate pie soap slice, the luxurious treats bring in an influx of customers looking to pamper themselves.
Dawn Graham, founder of the sweets-inspired soap shop, said that what is now known as The Bake Soapery originally started as an at-home hobby. After playing with a wide variety of luxurious soap scents and styles, Graham began selling her products on Amazon before making her recent debut at the Raleigh Flea Market.
“I started making soap that didn’t involve chemicals for me and my family, and it just became something fun to make and create, so my creative side came out,” Graham said.
Graham’s successful business began with a love for self-care and pampering. Her homemade products line her vendor table, which is set up outside. Tie-dye colored bath bombs sit next to the pastel soaps, both of which can be gift wrapped for no extra cost. As what first started as a hobby is now an ever-growing business, Graham works to sample the sweet-smelling soaps until she finds just the right scent.
“By feel, my favorite product is the cotton candy soap,” Graham said. “It really moisturizes my skin. I like to sit in the bathtub with a bath bomb and my favorite soap.”
Sweet treats aside, the flea market also offers vinyl collectors crates among crates of records to filter through. One of the more popular record vendors is John Murray, whose extensive array of vinyl boasts everything from jazz legend Ray Charles to Joni Mitchell to The Rolling Stones.
Murray, who is also the drummer in rock band Skullduggery, said he enjoys talking with and meeting more people at the flea market. The leather-clad, bandana-wearing musician said his record booth has been a part of the flea market for 10 years now. Although the booth has records falling in multiple genre categories, there seems to be a crowd favorite.
“I’d say 95 percent of what we sell is rock ‘n’ roll, if not more,” Murray said. “Probably about 98 or 99 percent. On vinyl, classic rock seems to be the hottest item.”
More information about the Raleigh Flea Market is available at their website, http://www.raleighfleamarket.net/about-us.html.
An outdoor vendor at the Flea Market sells guitars and lets people play them at the NC State Fairgrounds on Saturday, May 20. The vendor had both electric and acoustic guitars for sale.
