Today we’d like to introduce you to Emily Low.
Emily, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
In 2014, I opened a retail shop on Main Street in Downtown Garland. As a resident of Downtown Frisco, people repeatedly questioned not only my decision making skills, but my sanity as well. I saw huge potential in Downtown Garland, but it lacked exposure. Fortunately, I secured the empty lot behind my shop and said “let’s have a pop up flea market”. This is how The Urban Flea began.
I called many of my friends in the business and begged them to participate. The Urban Flea had its first pop up market in May of 2015 with 13 vendors. To say it was a wild success would be an understatement. The Urban Flea is a true grass roots success story. The event is held the second Saturday of each month, May through December (excluding August-it’s too damn hot).
In 2016, we had so many vendors and patrons, we took over 7th Street. As 2017 approached, I realized The Urban Flea had become another full-time job. The success of the flea, coupled with a busy retail shop, left me little time with my husband and five children.
There was only enough of me to keep one endeavor going, I chose The Urban Flea.
As painful as it was to close my shop, doing so allowed The Urban Flea to relocate to the square in Downtown Garland. This gave us room to grow and to support the revitalization of downtown.
Intrinsic Smokehouse and Brewery (on the square) had always helped organize The Urban Flea. In 2017, they became our official hosts. The fellas at Intrinsic are huge visionaries and partnering with them has given us even more momentum. Each month, we even have our own beer, Fleas Company.
We kicked off the 2017 flea season last week (May 13th) with almost 60 vendors.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
A smooth road? It’s been more like a winding road.
The only struggles are “what you don’t know that you don’t know”. Closing down city streets, organizing vendors, food trucks, live music and other logistics could only be done with a great relationship with the city of Garland. Jackie Justice, the Special Events Coordinator for the city, makes it all happen.
As we continue to grow and I can solely focus on The Urban Flea, life is much easier.
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about The Urban Flea – what should we know?
There are a lot of flea markets in the Dallas area. Since The Urban Flea is a one day show, I am proud to feature local vendors. This is a juried show and not all applicants are approved. We pride ourselves in featuring vendors that specialize in hand crafted, repurposed, vintage and vintage inspired goods. From a vendor perspective, they are assured that this is a quality show. It’s also affordable and well attended. Many of my vendors have full time jobs and a Saturday only show works well for their schedule
Along with Intrinsic Smokehouse and Brewery, we are proud supporters of Jake Tubbs and Square Food. Jake sets up his vintage Airstream trailer at every Urban Flea as our breakfast and dessert truck. All proceeds from Square Food are used to feed the homeless and the hungry in the Dallas area.
Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
Goodness, everyone…
Jackie Justice- Special Events Coordinator with the city of Garland.
Scott LeMay- Mayor Pro-Tem for the city of Garland.
Cary Hodson and Casey Vincent, owners of Intrinsic Smokehouse and Brewery.
Amazing vendors and supporters that keep coming back to The Urban Flea.
Most importantly, my husband, Todd. He’s a police officer by day and “the guy that helps me get stuff done” on the day of the event. He answers to “Mr. Emily” and he always has our official mascot (Mercy, our English Bulldog) in tow.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.theurbanfleatx.com
- Email: theurbanfleatx@gmail.com
Image Credit:
Take to Heart Images
Chelle Cates Photography
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.
