Playground equipment at the entrance of Elephant's Trunk
Faye Armon and I headed up to Elephant’s Trunk this past weekend. It’s one of the largest flea markets in New England, and only about 2 hours north of New York City.
It runs only on Sundays from April until November, 7am-2pm. They claim it takes up 55 acres; maybe that’s true if you count the parking lot. Regardless, it took us all day to walk past every single booth at least once.
I saw Americana, ephemera, steampunk treasures, baubles, furniture from around the world, and more than a few things where I had to stop because I didn’t know such a thing had existed. The prices ranged from thousands of dollars for pristine antique furniture, to tables filled with sundry items for a dollar each.
We brought a van along which we filled with potential props for both Merchant of Venice and Winter’s Tale. Next time I think I’ll bring a rolling cart as well, as the carts that are available for borrowing there are so rusted they’re nearly immovable.
Last week, Jay and I finally got to check out Build it Green NYC. It is a non-profit group that collects salvaged and surplus building materials, and sells them to the public for low prices.
Pile of lumber, beams, and flooring
The location is a bit of a bear (the northwestern corner of Astoria); then again, if you want cheap prices in New York City, you have to expect to get off the beaten path. The great news is that they will store your purchases for seven days. If you have to rent a car or truck (which is what New Yorkers usually have to do), you can do it after you’ve bought your goods. You don’t have to worry about spending money on a car rental only to find there’s nothing at the store you want to buy.
Chairs for sale at Build it Green
In addition to construction materials such as lumber, sheet goods, flooring, windows and doors, they also have a selection of furniture items like chairs and tables.
A small sampling of stoves
A props person would also be interested in their selection of appliances, like stoves, fridges, and other items. They’re a little more expensive than what you might find on Craigslist or other classifieds, as they only sell working items; often, your show doesn’t require an operating fridge, and you can save money hauling away something destined for the landfill. But don’t forget that you may need a fridge for your backstage area to keep prop food and consumables cold.
Porcelain sinks in a row
For those bathroom scenes in your production, they have several aisles dedicated to sinks, toilets, bathtubs, and an assortment of other accouterments from both residential and commercial restrooms.
Books and their prices
If you go, don’t forget to check out their side room filled with books, records, other media, and paint.
You can find a number of unique and smaller items as well. There’s an area up front filled with the kind of sundries you might find in a thrift store or flea market. It also appears that display companies donate items, as we saw a number of mannequins as well as giant fruit sculptures.
Obviously, they accept donations. So in addition to reusing items that would have ended up in a landfill, you can also make sure the stuff you’re getting rid of stays out of a landfill. There’s a list of accepted donation items, which will also give you a better idea of the kinds of things they normally carry.
Making and finding props for theatre, film, and hobbies
