‘Shabby chic’ market brings vintage items to convention center

On Saturday, Sonya Bradley and Andrew Cecere plan to introduce Manatee County to “shabby chic.”

Bradley and Cecere own a Pinellas County company called Simply Events, that, as the name implies, stages different types of events. One of its most popular is something they call “The Shabby Chic Vintage Market & Artisan Days.” Simply Events puts on the event twice a year at each of five different location, and they’re hoping to make Palmetto the sixth. So they’re hosting Manatee County’s first-ever Shabby Chic Market at the Bradenton Area Convention Center from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday.

It’s kind of like a specialty flea market, with about 100 vendors offering everything from boutique clothing to farmhouse tables. (“Shabby chic” is a deliberately vague category that, Bradley said, generally includes items that have been re-purposed in a clever way, including original art, painted furniture, antiques, cottage glam items, pallet art and signs.)

Bradley and Cecere did their research and found that, despite the large number of festivals in Manatee County, there weren’t a lot of events that specialized in vintage items.

Admission and parking are free, so if you’re not sure whether shabby chic is for you, it doesn’t cost anything to browse. A few workshops are also planned for the day, including “Create a Shabby Chic Mason Jar Candle Holder” at 10:30 a.m. and “Create a Decorative Terra Cotta Pot” at 2:30 p.m.

There is also a free painting demonstration at 1 p.m.

Details: 10 a.m.- 4 p.m. Aug. 19, Bradenton Area Convention Center, 1 Haben Blvd., Palmetto. Free. 727-674-1464, simplyeventsfl.com.

This story was originally published August 16, 2017 at 4:51 PM with the headline "‘Shabby chic’ market brings vintage items to convention center."