Today I went to the swap meet at the Aloha Stadium, I think I may have talked a bit about it before. It is actually in Aiea, near Pearl Harbor. When I was little the swap meet was super cool, and it was a real treat to go there; I loved looking at booths of sand landscapes (black and white sand in a thin frame with colored water which you could tilt to create little mountains...I had a red one!) hand dipped and carved candles, and of course the ubiquitous stalls filled with kitsch and imported jewelry that had vendors that yelled out "One dollah, one dollah, one dollah!" because, you know, their goods were all $1. Now, it's actually harder to find things for $1. The swap meet was definitely the place to go for unique items, many of them handmade, and it definitely had a very local flavor. Anyway, nowadays the swap meet has changed quite a bit; many stalls have the same items over and over again, so even if you were to walk 1/4 of the way around the stadium, you'd probably seen mostly everything there is to see. Many more of the items are specifically geared to a tourist population, especially since there are now buses that run to the swap meet (not that that's a bad thing all the time, but a girl can only get so many beach towels with "Hawaii" on it). It seems as if it is very hard to find unique and fun items... How I miss the old days! Now, the swap meet is really good for cheaper luggage, crack seed snacks, and souvenirs (surfboard keychains anyone?).
Even though I still feel like it's hard to find really good stuff at the swap meet, today I totally scored! Okay okay, not all of my haul was handmade or very unique, they're definitely very cute and made me see a halo of redemption around the general area of the swap meet:
A lemon keychain strap $4
A knockoff Tokidoki bag $4 (I've seen better... with the LeSportSac logo tape and everything... but this print was sooo cute!)
Twig pencils (handmade and the guy was super nice!) $5... worth it because they're the coolest purchase I made today!
oh, those are all so cool/cute! :] Lucky.
ReplyDeleteSo, I found your blog via Ashley's..
ReplyDeleteand I must say I love the twig pencils! Awesomeness to the max!
those are the cutest pencils!! too cute to use!! i can't wait to go to the swap meet when i go to hawai'i!!
ReplyDeleteI agree with you, the swap meet is so commercial and touristy now, but you managed to find some really cute stuff!
ReplyDelete