New thrift pop-up comes to town: Princeton’s pop-up vintage Market

After three years on campus with no nearby thrift store, I’ve become an avid consignment patron, frequently hitting the classic circuit of Nearly New, Greene Street, and Princeton Consignment. Since the shopping circuit can grow tired with limited options, I jumped at the chance to attend Princeton’s first Vintage Market this past Saturday.

On various social media platforms, including Instagram, the Pop-Up Market was advertised as a joint collaboration between the Arts Council of Princeton and Funk Daddy Vintage, a consignment vendor. The market featured 20 vendors from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., selling a variety of goods, including clothing, jewelry, homeware, and accessories.

With a group of similarly enticed students, I made the walk past the morning bustle of shops on Witherspoon Street to the Paul Robeson House of Princeton, home of the Princeton Arts Council. At the end of the block, a sprawl of tents and racks of eclectic vintage clothing unfurled before us, along with tables of trinkets, rows of furniture, and a WPRB DJ. 

One student I ran into, E.J. Wright ’28, whose attendance was prompted by their friend DJing, commented, “I love this museum, the Paul Robeson Center. I’ve come in a few times, just for fun. … It’s a cool piece of Princeton history that not a lot of people might come across naturally.”

Immediately after, we stumbled upon Funk Daddy Vintage’s stand, an organizer of the market alongside the Princeton Council of Arts. A math teacher during the week and vintage reseller on the weekend and summer holiday, owner Sammy Wheeler shared her path to creating Funk Daddy Vintage: “I literally had the idea to start doing this in college out of my dorm room, but I had no room whatsoever. I made this Instagram account back in 2021 and didn’t actually start doing markets till 2024.”

A graduate of Rider University and Princeton local, Wheeler detailed her previous pop-ups and her call to action for a pop-up market in Princeton, “I’ve obviously gone to a few of the arts council events, and I’m always traveling to Philly or down the shore to do the pop ups. Princeton is yearning for this kind of thing.” Afterward, she explained the back-and-forth email correspondence between herself and the Princeton Arts Council that ultimately culminated in the pop-up market.

After perusing her stand, I ventured into the rest of the market, stopping at different vendors for some personal shopping. Since the event was primarily held outdoors, the Saturday sun beamed down on my friends and me as we rifled through racks searching for an autumnal late jacket or the perfect pair of white jeans. 

Every vendor I stopped at seemed to be open to questions, bartering, and try-ons. Despite the lack of fitting rooms, many patrons ran back and forth to the indoor bathroom, including my group, which piled into a stall to swap pieces we had grabbed to see who liked the fit best. After I tried on an item, I would step out of the stall to peek in the mirror, greeting other patrons and other university friends. Almost akin to a dressing room, many helped us pick which items to buy.

Amongst my friend group, this pop-up market was a huge success, evident by the hauls we left with. I myself walked away with a pair of shorts, a light jacket (which I’ve worn everyday this week already), and a pair of heels with a heartwarming story.

The shoes, a pair of brown heels, were a purchase from Jo Woodley, the owner of the Improvisation 2, an extension of her former boutique, the Improvisation, formerly located on Nassau Street. Woodley, a woman in her 90s, recounted her close connection with the Princeton community, especially as one of the first Black business owners. She reminisced, “I’m glad to be here, and it’s just fantastic, and really, we see the tremendous response, and it just makes you feel really good that I could be able to come back and say, I used to live here. My heart is still here.”

As soon as I tried on the pair of shoes, I could tell that she had a unique approach to vintage reselling, connecting through personal stories and selling her former items of clothing. Woodley recounted this philosophy on vintage selling: “Things like shoes and [outfits], those are all personal. Now that I’ve had it, I knew that it was time for me to let someone else have them and enjoy them. And it’s not a fad. It’s more classic, and it will last for them for as long as this lasts for me.”

Other students I ran into shared similar sentiments regarding the success of the Vintage Market and their hope for future events. For instance, Zara Kamga ’27, Janiya Angoy ’27, and Althea Aguel ’27 all had great things to say about the Pop-Up event. 

Kamga expressed her enjoyment of the variety featured, “There’s a lot of different styles and aesthetics going on. So I feel like I got to try things that I normally wouldn’t be able to. …I saw some really cool pieces that I really love.” She then explained her back-and-forth on a unique pair of jeans she ultimately decided not to purchase.

Similarly, Aguel shared her purchase from the market, “Yeah, I loved it. …I’m really happy because I got a top I recognized from my favorite rom-com. …We reverse image searched, and it was from “‘10 Things I Hate About You.’”

Moving forward, it’s clear there’s a lot of interest on both sides, among vendors as well as the Princeton community and student body, leaving all involved excited about the prospect of more vintage market events in the future. 

Marley Hartnett-Cody is a member of the Class of 2028 and a staff writer for The Prospect and a print designer at the ‘Prince.’

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