Today we’d like to introduce you to Brittany Cobb.
Flea Style – previously dubbed The Dallas Flea – was founded in 2009 by Brittany Cobb. The former lifestyle editor fostered a deep love for vintage and unique goods as a writer and as a child combing local markets and antique malls with her mom in Southern California.
“My mom had a stall at a local antique mall and I loved to wander the aisles in search of treasures while she decorated her booth,” says Cobb. “One of my earliest memories is convincing her to buy me a funky iron and crystal lamp there that ended up in my bedroom until I went off to college.”
In 2001, Cobb moved to Dallas to attend Southern Methodist University. Post-graduation, the journalism major spent ten years writing lifestyle articles for The Dallas Morning News, Forbes, Lucky, and DailyCandy. With her editor’s eye and flair for flea markets, she cultivated a curated mix of vendors and launched The Dallas Flea as a one-time holiday shopping event.
The show’s huge success proved that vendors and shoppers were craving the unique indoor marketplace. Cobb retired her writer’s cap to focus on the flea and grow the event, which attracts thousands of shoppers and supports the local artists, small business, culinary, retail and hospitality communities. In 2015, Cobb changed The Dallas Flea name to Flea Style to take the coveted concept to multiple cities, starting with Houston.
In 2016 the company expanded into e-commerce to sell vendors’ wares, custom collaborations between makers and Flea Style and unique finds Cobb sources around the globe. The company also launched Flea Style Summit, a conference for creatives to help inspire and educate the small business and artisan communities.
2018 will be Flea Style’s biggest year yet as the business moves its corporate headquarters to downtown Dallas inside a 5,000 square foot industrial space to offer retail, workshops, a maker’s studio and more! Cobb resides in Dallas with her husband and two young children. She’s still a devoted flea market fan, shopping stalls around the world from Marrakech to her beloved SoCal.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Heck no! Owning a small business is the wildest, bumpiest ride you’ll ever take! There are daily struggles — and daily successes! My struggles focus on work/life balance and growing pains mostly. I’m constantly trying to juggle growing a business with limited capital and employees while being the best mom, wife and family member I possibly can. Growing pains change daily, monthly and annually but usually center around making decisions that will scale the company and build it to last in an ever-changing retail and media society.
Please tell us about Flea Style.
Flea Style connects and supports creative spirits through inspiring, educational and fun experiences that show our love for one-of-a-kind style and the small business community. We have huge shopping events, an e-commerce platform, podcast and blog to support these efforts. We are opening a retail store and event space this spring to also have a physical location to sling goods, tape live episodes of our podcast and host our amazing artisans and community for incredible workshops, classes, parties and more! I’m proud of creating something from nothing that supports what I believe in from the bottom of my toes: one-of-a-kind style and small businesses.
Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
Gosh, I have so many! The things that always stick out to me are the little things. Grabbing a hot dog after softball games with my dad. Sitting on my grandparents’ porch in the sunshine for hours talking about anything and everything. Grabbing oranges from the trees in our backyard to play fetch with my dog instead of a tennis ball. Shopping antique malls with my mom. I had an amazing childhood that instilled creativity, imagination and a love for the little guy. I’m so grateful every day for those years that made me who I am.
Pricing:
- Our e-commerce products range from $5 to $98
- Our shows are $5 entry; parking is free
Contact Info:
- Website: www.fleastyle.com and www.shopfleastyle.com
- Email: info@fleastyle.com
Image Credit:
Kelly Christine Sutton, Natalie Shelton
Getting in touch: VoyageDallas is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
