In a vacant lot at 18th and Peoria in Pilsen sit about eight tables covered with some used, some antique and even some newer items. It’s a Sunday afternoon and this is the first of three Pilsen Community Garage Sales put on by the Pilsen Community Farmer’s Market.
Each Sunday throughout September, this lot will serve as the gathering point for residents of the Pilsen neighborhood looking to sell or trade. There are tables set up to sell jewelry and other accessories, books, children’s clothes and toys and, of course, a couple of tables feature a little bit of everything from antique dishes to a Bruce Springsteen record, an old game of Po-Ke-No and more.
Some old clothes sit atop a blanket on the ground while small samples of artwork sit on top of artist Joanna Archetti’s table.
Archetti just moved to the neighborhood and was hoping this would give her an opportunity to meet some of her neighbors while also putting her work on display and getting her name out there. However, while most of her neighbors are selling old stuff, she’s offering things so new they haven’t been made yet—live drawings. They take about ten minutes to complete, she says, and are sketched with a ballpoint pen on small pieces of paper.
“The garage sale is a great idea,” Archetti says. “I would definitely encourage other artists to come.” In addition to meeting her goal of getting to know a few of her neighbors, Archetti has also commissioned a few paintings with some of them.
She says she heard of the garage sale a few days before while sitting outside a neighborhood coffee shop. “A woman just walked up to me and handed me an application and a flier,” she says. “It was a great idea.” (Beth Wang)
In a vacant lot at 18th and Peoria in Pilsen sit about eight tables covered with some used, some antique and even some newer items. It’s a Sunday afternoon and this is the first of three Pilsen Community Garage Sales put on by the Pilsen Community Farmer’s Market.
