Sherry, Burger and I recently took a day trip to Washington, DC and made a stop at the city’s renowned Eastern Market. Built in 1873 and located near Capitol Hill, Eastern Market is DC’s oldest continuously operating marketplace. Weekends bring it to life: Saturdays feature a farmers market, while Sundays host a bustling flea market. The Sunday we visited was chilly and overcast, but the market was lively nonetheless.
Vendors offer an eclectic mix of goods, from jewelry and original artwork to antique furniture and vintage collectibles. It’s a welcome change from the uniform lines of big-box stores—an opportunity to find one-of-a-kind pieces. Several booths were selling rustic, iron-framed mirrors that caught our eye.
Another stall featured old windows repurposed into framed mirrors, a clever reuse that blends vintage charm with practical design.
There were many furniture vendors, including a booth specializing in Asian-inspired pieces. Though we haven’t added an Asian element to our home decor yet, this gave us ideas for future accents and where to shop when the time comes.
We also spotted a mid-century display case that fit our style perfectly—an attractive alternative to a typical bookcase or china cabinet. Sadly, it wouldn’t fit in our trunk, so we left it behind with a small pang of regret.
One booth overflowed with vintage treasures: old maps, photographs and antique keys. We considered picking up a few keys as subtle accents for a side table or collecting several to display in a jar. The whole booth felt like a small museum of interesting odds and ends.
Even more compelling were the classic woodblock printing letters stacked in boxes. The variety and tactile appeal of these vintage type blocks drew us in—another delightful reminder of analog craftsmanship in a digital age.
Sherry and I have a soft spot for woodblock letters. Early in our relationship we found a set at the Hell’s Kitchen flea market in New York City—our initials plus a “7” to mark July 7, the day we started dating. That date later became our wedding anniversary. Those first letters now sit in our guest bedroom as a small sentimental reminder.
At Eastern Market we couldn’t resist adding a few more woodblock letters—priced at about $3 each—to place on top of a stack of sentiment cards from our wedding guests on the living room console table. It may be a bit sentimental, but small tokens like these are meaningful and display well in the home.
