Kindred Market, located at 284 E. State St. A, will be hosting its first Kindred Pop-Up Flea Market this Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
“The idea was that it would be a casual neighborhood garage sale where people are trying to get rid of their old things, but then would come together at Kindred and there would be a sense of community,” General Manager Riley Kinnard, said. “One person’s trash is another person’s treasure kind of vibe.”
Kindred Market will also be participating in the flea market themselves, in an effort to sell some of their backstock. After five years of having the business, the market has accumulated equipment and extra inventory Kinnard said.
“We’re gonna have two booths set up for Kindred Market and it’s just going to be selling some of our stuff we have around the store,” Kindred Market Marketing Specialist Tree Wilson, said. “But I’m excited to meet some community members here and see what they have.”
Kinnard intends to make it a “gotta get rid of this stuff and we’ll take whatever for it,” situation, she said. Kindred Market also encourages attendees to bring their reusable bags for their purchases.
Kinnard expects to host about 12-14 vendors to participate in the flea market in Kindred Market’s parking lot.
“We shut down half of the parking lot, so we still have some parking for customers, and then the other half is filled with vendor booths,” Kinnard said.
Alpha Omicron Pi, or AOII, at Ohio University, will be one of the vendors at Kindred Pop-Up Flea Market.
Philanthropy Chair Lex Northrop, a junior studying field ecology, said she and her friend found out about the flea market while doing their grocery shopping at Kindred Market and thought it would be a great chance for the sorority to get involved in the community.
“We go at least three times a week because we love it so much,” Northrop said. “So we saw the flier on their bulletin board in the front and I reached out and I was like, ‘Oh my god, this is a perfect opportunity.’”
Raising money for the local nonprofit organization Habitat for Humanity, the members of the chapter donated bags worth of gently used clothes to sell at their booth.
AOII has two local philanthropies that they partner with for fundraising, the first being Habitat for Humanity, and the second being the Athens Dog Shelter.
“A lot of us have different passions in the chapter and helping homelessness … is one of our huge passions, since it is local, and we see it a bunch,” Northrop said. “We saw having it at Kindred and having us do a local philanthropy would be a great opportunity for people to support something local and see the impact of it.”
The sorority will be selling pants, shirts, coats and other clothing items. Northrop explained that the majority of the clothes could be described as “fairy core” and would be sold at a reasonable price.
“Since we are doing fundraising, we want to keep it a little low and since it’s a flea market,” Northrop said. “So I think the highest we might be going is 20 or 25.”
Kindred Market will be operating during usual business hours from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday while the flea market is running.
“The store will be open and we are encouraging people to grab a bite to eat or a fun beverage and peruse the offerings,” Kinnard said.
