Every first Friday of the month quite a lot of vintage and antique stores open up for the weekend in the West Bottoms business district of Kansas City. A few are open all the time but if you want to get the full experience, First Friday's is the best time to stop by. Try to pick a time not in the middle of the summer because this vampire was dying the entire weekend but if you do, spreading your time out through the weekend, makes it easier to see all the shops and not pass out. I've explored the West Bottoms since I was in college, way too many years ago, and during that time there was not much down there but empty warehouses, a few artist lofts, buildings converted into haunted houses for halloween, and the homeless. It was a great place to go exploring and hunting for discarded items like old computers, books, signs and furniture. I still have a rusty old metal EXIT sign that I found in the grass.
I've put together a list of some of the shops in the area. All are within walking distance to each other and a nice variety of food trucks park along the streets. Everything I've tried so far have been really good food. I don't have every shop listed but I will add more once I figure them all out. The web sites I found didn't seem to have update information. If you can only visit a few I would pick the ones that have 3 or 4 floors. You can get lost so leave breadcrumbs. I added links to everyones site or Facebook page.
Sometimes I have an idea of specific things I'm looking for but usually when I go out I'm looking at vintage toys, package design, patterns, typography, vintage signs, clothing, color combinations, how vendors have displayed their products...it's a really long list. It's one hobby I have that really makes my brain happy and keeps me creating my own unique worlds around me.
I can never get enough of vintage/retro artwork and toys. It's something I'm always hunting for. If anyone knows of great places to find toys preferably from the 70's and later, please feel free to leave me a comment. I would love to find new places to go. It doesn't have to be limited to places around me.
You can find anything if you search hard enough. This porcelain baby doll has three faces so you can rotate to a different emotion. I guess there is a bonnet that goes over the rest of the head so you can't see all the faces at once...because that makes it so much better! I've always loved things that most people see as creepy. This doll is definitely unique but did not come home with me, which is probably for the best so it doesn't kill me in my sleep.
I posted more photos on my Flickr if you're interested in what else I saw this weekend.
I love to go hunting for vintage items and will keep posting different shops I find and would recommend visiting for people who share my passion or anyone that's interested in looking at old stuff.
Have a great Monday!
-Sara
