If you were planning on heading to Stittsville to browse endless shelves of vintage tools, records and teacups, you’ll want to do it soon.
After 50 years of treasure hunts, Stittsville’s Carp Road Flea Market announced via Facebook on Aug. 9 that it would be closing at the end of September.
Melissa Pacey — the market’s social media manager — was the one who wrote the announcement, which she said in a message had sparked a lot of emotion for its vendors and the community alike, who all found out together.
A vendor herself with the storefront Mel’s Marvels, she had been selling homemade gifts at the market for the last four years, often bringing her daughter to see what had become like “extended family”, and to “teach her that she too can make a living as a boss of her own business one day, like all the vendors who have come through over the years.”
Pacey added that it would be “odd” not seeing her family every Sunday.
She said the closure is, in part, due to a long-term construction project in the area , which will eventually result in two traffic lanes in both directions.
“The main market entrance would be shut down during that time, and customers would be re-routed a longer way,” she wrote, adding that instead of taking on the cost of building a new entrance, the property was sold, but she “has no idea” to whom.
Barbie Museum to close Aug. 16
Along with the loss of a beloved space full of Tiffany lamps, Pyrex sets and John Cena action figures came the loss of the Barbie Museum , an archive of thousands of vintage dolls, houses and accessories.
In another post, Pacey, via the market’s Facebook profile, said the museum was closing too, and that its collector, Elizabeth Kondruss, hoped to reopen in a new location, but wasn’t sure when or where that would be.
Aug. 16 will be the museum’s last day, Pacey confirmed in a message.
Kondruss’s adjacent operation — Kondruss Galleries — which is an antique furniture boutique, will also be closing soon, according to the market’s Facebook page, but it does not specify when exactly.
Pacey also wrote that its indoor vendors will remain in business until the end of September, and that, weather permitting, outdoor vendors will stay open until the end of October.
While it is usually only open on Sundays, Pacey said the market may open additional days to help vendors sell more items before relocation or closure.
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