Nearly a year ago, Darrel Baker and Earnest Williams hatched an idea for an open-air market in the North Davidson community. The idea was to provide a space where sellers could earn extra cash and shoppers could find great deals.

Today the NoDa Flea Market is doing just that, but it’s also helping to connect a community.

Each weekend vendors set up their merchandise in the parking lot of NODA Storage (which Baker manages) on N. Davidson St. In a rough economy, Baker and Williams said, it is a way for some to earn needed money.
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Earnest Williams, right, manages NoDa Flea Market. Some customers said they were attracted to the market by his colorful garb as he stands beside the street waving to passing cars. (Photo: Qcitymetro.com)
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“It gives them an opportunity to sell some things that they might have laying around,” said Baker. “They can convert those items into cash or come out to find some items they might need at home… and get a good deal on it.”

Baker said he furnished his own home with items he purchased there.

Williams, who manages the market, said it is their own form of an economic bailout plan.

“We are not waiting for government to bail us out of rough economic conditions,” he said. “We are taking the well-being of our families and households into our own hands.”

At $15 a weekend, the rent is cheap, and many vendors say business has been profitable.

A woman who calls herself Omega and runs a business called Omega’s Blessing Beads said the market is helping her make ends meet. She said she can earn an average of $300 to $500 each Saturday selling her handmade jewelry, hats, incense, oils and natural soaps.

“Once the economy got bad, I just started to go into business for myself,” she said. “It’s better than being in somebody’s office all week and having a boss.”

Omega said the biggest payoff isn’t the cash; it’s the time she spends with her family.

“I get to spend a lot of time with my children,” she said. “They come here and learn to sell, too.”

Omega, who has sold her merchandise in various flea markets over the past 10 years, said the NoDa market has a more diverse culture and a different atmosphere.
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A woman who goes by the name Omega, right, said she makes $300 to $500 each Saturday selling handmade jewelry, hats, incense, oils and natural soaps. (Photo: Qcitymetro.com)
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Another vendor, Doris Craig, said she looks forward to Saturday mornings at the market. She sells books, albums and a host of other items. But it’s not about the money, she said. She enjoys the fellowship.

“I like to talk to people and get to know people,” she said. “I talk with people about the blessings in life and God. You never know the type of people you will meet or from whom your blessings are coming from during the day.”

Baker said the market serves as a weekend gathering place for the community. Sometimes there is music and live entertainment.

Williams said it is the family oriented atmosphere of the market that keeps shoppers coming back. Building a sense of community, he said, was a major goal in the creation of the market.

“It makes sense to communicate with your neighbor and try to build some kind of relationship where you are continuously trying to work together,” he said. “One of the biggest things in our market is to get people to talk with each other and exchange ideas and merchandise.”

Each Saturday by noon the market is abuzz with NoDa residents and others from around town. Some come after eating at a popular bakery across the street. Others simply stop by on a whim after noticing Williams clad in colorful garb waving down cars as they pass.

On a recent Saturday he caught Gwen Germaine’s attention. She is in town visiting from Virginia Beach and stumbled across the market by accident while trying to find N. Tryon Street.

Germaine said she enjoys browsing and hunting for unique items and historic pieces. “I like things that you don’t find everyday,” she said.

She said she also was impressed by how organized and clean everything was.

In many ways, the NoDa Flea Market is a shopper’s delight. Vendors sell merchandise including art, designer furniture, albums, clothes, handmade jewelry, live plants, natural soaps and so much more.

J.D. Perry, who stopped by for her first time Saturday, said she was able to find so many great bargains she had to make three trips to her car to load up.

“It’s a good atmosphere,” she said. “It’s lively, and the people are very nice. It’s a sense of peace coming through here for some reason. I like it.”

The market also has been good for business for NoDa Storage. The facility has seen a 50 percent increase in occupancy since the market opened, Williams said.
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Editor’s Note: The NoDa Flea Market is located at 2401 N. Davidson St. It is open on Saturdays from sunrise to sundown and on Sunday from noon until sundown.

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