TreasureFest in Marin County, California
While planning a fun-work trip to Marin, a county just outside of San Francisco, I made sure we put the TreasureFest on our To-Do list. The name itself is made up of two of my favorite words. Additionally, I was visiting California to help a friend decorate his new home, so this was a no-brainer. And it truly was a festival of treasure hunting.
This open air marketplace happens one weekend a month and it’s supposed to be the one not to miss. In just a decade, it has gone from a small flea market on Treasure Island to a 300+ vendor collective that needed a new venue. And on September 19 I got to wander around at its new location – the expansive grounds of The Marin Center.
They even had the cutest welcoming committee enjoying the perfect early fall day.
We bought tickets online, and after a quick phone tickets scan at the gate and we were in! First stop was actually a bar truck. I didn’t stop there, but some of the Bloody Marys that were coming from their counter looked very tempting.
First stop was a poster booth, featuring reprints of vintage ephemera. Although the quality didn’t justify the high sticker prices, they had a wide range of subjects and styles – pinup, botanical, medical, architectural, religious just to name a few. Although we left empty handed, we found some inspiring motifs in the home we were decorating.
After passing a forged metal booth and a handcrafted wooden furniture, we made a stop at a large jewelry stand that combined new and vintage and I probably could have bought the whole table.
There were so many stunners, like the art deco hang earrings made out of shell and the lotus flower ones.
As we headed towards the main booth area, something giant and rusty caught my eye. A huge metal rhino, one of the mutant vehicles usually found at Burning Man. This year, the festival held a virtual burning ceremony, but I was excited to see a sliver of it in real life.
When we finally made to the booths, we could definitely notice some trends in the type of vendors. Variety of plant shops, one of which had this cutie staring at me.
Quite a few vintage spots selling clothing, …
…memorabilia…
And, my favorite, decor.
Some of the vendors really played a really strong game, with items sourced from all corners of the world, and its probably a good thing I don’t live here. Otherwise, I’d be spending some serious money on these goodies.
These cushion covers in traditional African patterns on vibrant materials were simply gorgeous.
And here are some other fun things seen along the way.
This was a fun day even though we didn’t go to the food truck section or stayed to hear local bands. I will just have to come back for a full experience.
