Amazingly, the Vintage Village at Stockport had completely skipped my notice (I know… how??), until Lisa had blogged about her family’s visit to one of their Sunday markets here. How, how had this passed me by until now? Well, now I know about it, I’m going to be making a beeline for it!

And what better an introduction than for it to be in… hold on, not Stockport? That other famous ‘Manchester’ place: Salford. This has caused Aidan no end of confusion with his one-up-one-down-confusion-with-numbers-and-place-names-thing. So. We are going to SALFORD on SUNDAY, not Stockport on Saturday…

“The Vintage Village at Stockport Market Hall was developed by Alan of  Village Vintage Clothing Ltd and Sarah of TinTrunk in association with  Stockport Market Culture and Tourism.

We see this fair as contributing towards efforts to regenerate the  beautifully restored and redeveloped Market Hall and Market Place into the thriving trade hub it had been for centuries past.

Its on its way already, with a bustling market on regular trading days, but on Sundays it lay quiet and unused.

So we’ve been lucky enough to have been given the chance to use the Market Hall on the second Sunday of every month for our fair.

Its an amazing venue in a prime central location, with all the character and charm and heritage – and impeccably modern facilities – that you could hope for. 

The fact that Stockport Market celebrated its 750th  anniversary in 2010 only adds to the appropriately historic flavour of a  vintage market, although we can’t guarantee that you will find medieval  artefacts at this fair!

We want to encourage the establishment of a lively vintage event in the heart of Stockport, to help new and developing small businesses locally and regionally, and to contribute to re-establishing Stockport Market Hall and Market Place as an essential port of call in Greater Manchester for seeking out quality goods and unique items.” (From the Vintage Village Website with their kind permission).

You need to visit their site to see why I can’t wait to visit! Everything – and I do mean everything – I like is there for sale from an amazing array of sellers. West German Pottery, retro glass, mid century items, vintage clothing… I’m mentally salivating as I type!

Why is it in Salford this week? Well, usually they’re in the Market Hall in Stockport, but it appears that Salford Museum and Art Gallery have invited them to have a pop up stall at the Museum, filling the galleries with fabulous and fantastic vintage and retro wares. It is purely for vintage this time, although usually it does have some crafts there.

That photo gets me especially excited. That’s just a snapshot yet there’s already at least three things I would buy from this stall! I’ve also had a look at the websites of All Mod Cons and RetroCedric and they look to have exactly the kind of amazing, well-designed retro items I’m after. I don’t know if those particular sellers will be there on Sunday, but if that’s the calibre of items on offer then it should be amazing.

This is an adults’ ice-cream van! It’s like somebody has designed this event especially for me.

If you’re also interested in amazing retro and vintage stuff, love unusual ice-cream and would like to experience it all within the grand setting of an Art Gallery then get yourself to the pop up Vintage Village at Salford Museum and Art Gallery on Sunday 25th February. It’s open 10.30am until 4pm. All of the details can be found on the Vintage Village website.

If you see a ginger woman juggling a camera in one hand, money in the other and a dripping ice-cream between her teeth while she frantically tries to wrestle a piece of retro pottery into her bag… do come and say hello!

Massive thanks to Vintage Village for allowing me to use their photos and text – do make sure you take the time to visit their site, and the fair!