The monthly De Anza Flea market had its most recent meeting on Saturday, Feb. 4. Although the event was not jam-packed, the flea market had quality finds and great vendors promoting a sense of community. 

Many vendors sell at De Anza College because it is a place of familiarity. Vendor David Vallejo sells homemade steampunk lamps, explaining that he continues to do business at De Anza because his family has been vendors there for decades.

“I used to always come in when I was a kid, which was back in the early 90s,” Vallejo said. “I remember coming here with my uncle and my parents. This was a personal market for me.”

Wilson Wise and Dwayne Jones own Blue Drip Co., which sells soy candles, body care products and flower reed diffusers. Both Wise and Jones said they appreciate De Anza for the connections it builds within the community and how it helps growing businesses advertise their products – which is especially important after the pandemic.

“Finding a place that both treats you well and provides an area for people to come see your product is something that’s kind of hard to find in the Bay Area,” Wise said. “De Anza treats us really well. Just having a place to present and have people come to us without having a storefront. It’s kind of a lifeline.”

New vendors said they enjoy selling and seeing others sell their household items at De Anza. One such individual is Jennifer Acevedo, who has started selling extra items she had left over at home, such as vinyl discs, at the market.

“I really like looking at the handmade stuff here,” Acevedo said. “They have embroidery and handmade wooden stuff and it’s just really cool.”

Cindy Baldanzi has been selling period antiques and prints for 35 years and running. Baldanzi saw the market as an opportunity to help students and have a diverse set of people come together to buy from local vendors. 

“It’s nice to see the youth getting involved in the market now,” Baldanzi said. “It’s just really great to be able to benefit the students because there’s so many challenges in the education market today.”

Vendors and attendees alike agree that the flea market is a great way to be immersed in the De Anza community, to give back to its members and to provide a space for people to meet after the pandemic. 

The next flea market will be hosted at De Anza on March 4 from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.