First street finds

Downtown’s new flea market is a goldmine of vintage swag and local creations

Two blocks north of Hodges Bend, a curious building wrapped in big, bright murals sits near the highway. Known as the Gateway Building and owned by downtown entrepreneur Michael Sager, the giant, quirky space is now home to both First Street Flea Market and POST, the new art and apparel shop opened by Mary Beth Babcock and Aaron Whisner. 

“So much killer stuff is happening downtown, and people craved something like this,” said Babcock, who formerly owned Dwelling Spaces. “There are always new bars and shops opening, but there wasn’t a flea market.”

The market, located at 823 E. 1st St., is juried, with vendors chosen by founders Babcock, Paula Warlick and Shane Hood. Getting a booth, which runs $45 for one time, is a pretty straightforward process: potential vendors apply by submitting information and photos of their product to First Street Flea’s Facebook page.

“We have a few different vendors each time,” Hood said. “And because it’s juried, we have a nice mix of designers and makers, some who have never done this before, and some who do the flea market at the fairgrounds on Saturday.”

Indeed, the unique curating process has yielded an especially eclectic array of vendors. While visiting, I found, among other treasures, Tiki mugs, Ghostbusters action figures, a silk kimono, a gilded-edge “Indian City, Anadarko, OK” collector’s plate, vintage patches, Dillon Rose handmade jewelry, a pair of velvet toreador paintings, Frankoma pottery, and a John Prine vinyl.

The trio based First Street on flea markets they’ve visited on travels to both US coasts—like the Rose Bowl Flea Market in Pasadena, CA, a pop-up flea in Brooklyn, NY—and even some in Europe. 

“The crowd here tends to be younger,” Hood said. “It’s a lot of young people who are willing to pay money for vintage, whereas at some other flea markets, everyone wants a deal.” 

It’s true not everything at First Street Flea is a bargain. There are definitely great deals to be found, like the aforementioned John Prine vinyl (I nabbed it for $5)—but there are also $25 t-shirts and pricier vintage finds like boots, jackets, and art. 

Vendors Steve and Debbie Massey offer vintage pieces from Tulsa’s history, as well as some books, jewelry, and a large selection of records, many of which cost only $1.

“These dollar-records are for people who are maybe just starting out, wanting to try vinyl,” Steve said. 

I spied a Rod Stewart album in the bin. “Rod’s a dollar?” I asked.

“Yeah, Rod’s a dollar.

“We like this environment because it’s so social,” he said of the market. His wife Debbie agreed. 

“The entire vibe, each booth compliments each other,” said co-founder Warlick. “This is more than a flea market, this is a community thing.”

Bound for Glory Books, Tulsa’s new used books, comics, and records store has had a booth at the first three First Street Fleas, as has Rhonda Hinrichs, who calls her booth “Rhonda’s Rehab.” Hinrichs had so much in storage she decided to sell some off. 

“I just like junk,” she said as we chatted among her Native American, Mexican, Southwest, and cowboy-style wares. She’s in good company.

Chimera has a booth as well, serving $2 coffee and $3 breakfast tacos, pastries, and bagel dogs with omnivore and vegan options. 

Flea market shoppers can also visit POST. Babcock described POST’s inception as something of a happy accident. 

“Opening a second store was not a plan,” she said. “I was looking for an office space and Michael Sager showed me the space … well, retail is in my blood. The space was so charming I couldn’t not do something in it.” 

So she partnered with Whisner—founder of Clean Hands and the Habit Mural Festival, and the artist responsible for the Woody Guthrie Center mural—to open POST, which offers Whisner’s apparel designs, art, smudge sticks, patches, and graffiti and art supplies. The name was Whisner’s idea—suggesting the next chapter for him and Babcock post-Clean Hands and post-Dwelling Spaces. POST keeps loose business hours, open Tuesday through Saturday, noon-ish to 6 p.m-ish.

First Street Flea returns Sunday, Feb. 12, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.