FLEA.O.LOGY: Local Collectors Collaborate to Form a Unique Flea Market

Antique collecting is a science.

Paula Perkins, one of the creators of Flea.o.logy, a large tri-annual flea market in Payson, Perkins finds tremendous satisfaction in the study and acquisition of second-hand treasures.

Perkins, along with her friends Jenifer Reed and Kathy Cox, grew tired watching their items collect dust in consignment shops and decided to try a different approach. Perkins’ home, a Victorian mansion on Payson’s main street, seemed the perfect location to host an open-air flea market.

They swept a variety of trinkets from consignment store shelves, slashed the prices, arranged them on the front lawn, and invited the public to meander through the spread.

The results were phenomenal. Because of the exclusivity of the items and their heavily discounted prices, the front yard was nearly picked clean. The first Flea.o.logy market, although not originally given that title, was born.

Since the first market in 2005, the group has grown from four vendors to nearly twenty, and business continues to grow out of the area. If this growth continues, the market will begin to spill into the surrounding yards.

Flea.o.logy is a term coined by Perkins, Reed and Cox that describes the science of discovering second-hand treasures. Each of the three founders, along with the large supporting cast of vendors, have extremely diverse tastes. Some are drawn toward the vintage and the pristine, while others toward the primitive, shabby and rustic. But the beauty of Flea.o.logy is that its definition is broad enough to encompass all of their tastes.

Next Flea.o.logy
July 16, 8 a.m. -5 p.m.
218 North Main, Payson
Early birds discouraged.