5 things to know about the Philly Queer Flea at Mural City Cellars in Fishtown

Ab Gibson and Alyssa Rose were selling their soy wax candles at Brooklyn Queer Flea, a curated community marketplace, when they wondered what a flea market celebrating Philly’s own LGBTQIA+ artists would look like.

Philly Queer Flea, not affiliated with but inspired by the Brooklyn market, began in 2022 with 15 vendors, growing to 20-plus in 2023, selected from over 100 creators that applied. The market pops up mostly at Mural City Cellars’ wine garden roughly three times a year, though an event last year at Love City Brewing featured 55 vendors.

On Aug. 26, the Philly couple will host their sixth pop-up flea, bringing a boisterous market of local queer artists and creators to Mural City Cellars in Fishtown from 2 to 8 p.m. This flea will be the last for 2023, with more to come next year.

“Selling at a queer market is so amazing for queer businesses — you’re instantly drawing in your target customers, and you feel so much more safe, secure, comfortable, and authentic,” said Gibson, who runs online shop Queer Candle Co. with Rose from their East Kensington workshop.

Philadelphia has a history of LGBTQIA+ makers supporting each other and working together — take the West Philly craft scene and Trans Art Mart, which exclusively highlights trans and nonbinary artists. Gibson sees a resurgence of community groups creating dedicated spaces for artists.

For Gibson and Rose, the flea offers a space for queer entrepreneurs to “navigate capitalism in a queer way.”

“We’re putting it all out there, so the customers coming in know exactly what they’re looking for, and that they’re there to support people being their authentic selves through their businesses,” Gibson said.

Whether you’re looking to score handmade pieces or support queer businesses, here are five things to know about Philly Queer Flea’s final market of the year.

When you walk up to the block between Dauphin and Susquehanna Avenue, you’ll see vendors out on the sidewalk of Mural City Cellars ready to greet you with various items. Tables decorated with handmade jewelry, botanical-inspired prints, candles, and more sit on the sidewalk and continue into the garden, creating a colorful circle to walk through with the backdrop of Mural City’s repurposed trolley car.

Gibson suggests taking a cursory lap around to see what folks are selling. Then, order a drink and chow down on food at one of the picnic tables in the garden. Take another lap around — get a tarot reading, shop items, and dance if that’s the day’s vibe.

Gibson and Rose love hosting the market at Mural City Cellars’ garden, owned by Nicholas Ducos and Francesca Galarus, another couple celebrating hyperlocal products. The spacious outdoor space is a welcoming, comfortable vibe, Gibson said.

The garden has ADA-accessible bathrooms, along with portable potties available for guests. Small rocks pave the space, so Gibson and Rose make sure to include that info on posters for guests with wheelchairs — plus there are tables on the sidewalk for wheelchairs that may have trouble in the space. Curb cuts on the street corners of Frankford Avenue allow easy entrance to the sidewalk.

The organizers hope to return to Love City Brewing in Callowhill. They also hope to work with the Cherry Street Pier near Penn’s Landing next year.

Philly Queer Flea is free, with a pay-as-you-go policy for vendors and food. The Aug. 26 market partners with Philly Trans March, an autonomous committee and grassroots collective organizing events and protests in the city. Donate to win giveaways — items from vendors at the market — and support the collective’s efforts.

The Aug. 26 event will have 22 or 23 vendors.

Buy handmade clay polymer earrings, crochet, and amigurumi (Japanese stuffed yarn creatures) from Saksahoounash. Find stamps and block prints from LessCoStamps, handmade soap bars, moisturizing oils, and scrubs from Triton Soap. If fun handmade rugs are what you’re looking for, stop by the “i look great with rugs” booth.

Other vendors include Naturally Queer, Leatherdykefag, Lil Thrift Ma, Arte Amaranta, object permanence, Peri Law, Snug Baby, Fifth Month Crafts, Unruly Patchouli, Bearded Noise, Sour Lemons, Klo Art; Illustration & Other Things, Chloe Tai Designs, Strong Hands, and Forrest Supply.

Solar Sounds, a Philly-based DJ collective, brings the tunes to the market — DJs URBANKOWBOI, LORBOO, and R3MSATIVA will play Aug. 26.

As you sway to the music and explore vendors, munch on tacos, burritos, and more from the Taqueria Dos Hermanos food truck parked on the sidewalk. Wash it down with wines (by glass or bottles), frosés, lagers, seltzers, nonalcoholic sparkling Riesling, apple juice box, or kombucha from Mural City Cellars’ garden trolley car.

While Gibson and Rose hope to host larger events in the future, there is only space for a maximum of 20 or so vendors at Mural City. “We had to unfortunately turn away over 100 people,” Gibson said.

To become a vendor, keep an eye on the Philly Queer Flea Instagram page and sign up for the mailing list linked in the Instagram bio.

There is no fee to apply, but a vendor fee is charged based on booth size and is “price accessible to the vendor,” Gibson explained. A four-foot-square space ranges is $40 to $50a six-foot-square space is $60 to $70 — vendors choose what they are able to pay in that range.

The organizers ask interested folks to fill out the application thoroughly and authentically — don’t leave questions blank, share as many details about your business as possible, and include photos. The two look for a variety of products when creating the vendor lineup to ensure one category does not saturate the market.

“We also give free booth spaces to BIPOC queer folks who otherwise wouldn’t be able to pay, because we try to make [Philly Queer Flea] accessible,” Gibson said.

📅 Aug. 26, 2 p.m. to 8 p.m.,📍2211 Frankford Ave., 🌐 instagram.com/phillyqueerflea