By Crystal McGough, Editor
PINSON – The businesses of Pinson’s historic district are set to kick off the new year with the first Pinson Trade Days of 2024 happening this Saturday, Jan. 6.
Pinson Trade Days was founded in 2021 by Patti, of Patti’s on Main Street Flea Market and Consignment Shop, as a way to help the small businesses of the historic district bounce back after the 2020 pandemic. While there have been several changes made throughout the years as the businesses have figured out the best way to promote this community event, Trade Days has now officially become a monthly tradition, hosting streetside vendors and entertainment on Main Street the first Saturday of every month.
“The pandemic just killed us, but not anymore!” Patti said to The Tribune. “We want to help as many people as we can and have fun at the same time. Pinson Trade Days, we hope, also helps all our small businesses on Main Street in Downtown Pinson. … We can’t thank the city of Pinson enough for letting us do Pinson Trade Days every month.”
Patti and her husband, Tom, moved to Pinson from New York in 2000 and it wasn’t long before they opened their flea market and consignment shop on Main Street. The couple has been selling on Main Street for nearly 20 years now, and they worked in the consignment business many years before in New York. Patti’s lifetime of experience and knowledge, combined with her passion to help others, has led to the ongoing success of Pinson Trade Days.
“Sometimes when you start something new, it takes a while to get going,” she said. “But because I pride myself on knowing a little bit about this business – because I’ve only done it 55 years – I put all antique dealers out there: flea market dealers, collectable dealers, farmers market dealers. We have vintage cars come here. We have the Hometown Bank bring an ATM machine here. … And then, we give out free rent. It’s all free rent out there.”
Vendors continue to express their excitement and gratitude each month, Patti said, as Trade Days’ roots grow in the heart of the city.
“People tell us all the time, ‘We love Pinson Trade Days,’” she said. “‘It’s something we look forward to,’ they tell me.”
In addition to the street vendors, several local mom-and-pop shops line Pinson Main Street and will have their doors open to the public offering everything from food and beverages to clothing, jewelry and self-care items.
The merchants of Pinson Main Street include: Price’s restaurant, which offers a selection of hamburgers, hotdogs, ice cream and more in a ‘50’s diner setting; Barking Bee Coffee; Celina’s Boutique; Down on Main Street Hair and Nails; Pinson Valley Arts Council; Comfort Grooming and Daycare LLC; Todd’s Computer Repair; Styles N’ Smiles Family Hair Salon; Love Life Naturals; Neixy Jewelry; Patti’s on Main Street Flea Market/Consignment Shop and more.
“(Trade Days’ success) is mainly because of Patti,” vendor Steve Jett said at a previous Trade Days. “She’s done a good job at promoting it; she’s encouraged people all along to come and try to help Pinson, the old community of Pinson down through here. She’s always had that attitude of helping out the city itself. She tries harder than anybody I know. She puts out a hard effort of trying to make the community grow.”
Trade Days 2024 will kick off this Saturday, Jan. 6, at 9 a.m., and last until 2 p.m. Rain or shine, the public is invited to come down and enjoy the day while supporting the small businesses of Pinson’s historic district.
For more information or to sign up for a free booth at Pinson Trade Days, visit Patti’s on Main Street Flea Market/Consignment Shop, located at 4281 Main Street, Pinson.
“It’s 2024,” Patti said, “and I want this to be one of the best years for all of us!”