Small Town Antiquing: Visiting Van Zelst’s Market in Chatham, Ontario

Consider this your reminder not to overlook those small-town antique markets and junk shops. Today, I’ll take you with me to Van Zelst’s Market in Chatham, Ontario, and share with you all the treasures that I found.

There’s a little hole-in-the-wall junk/memorabilia store in our town that I’ve never really bothered visiting. I’ve known it was there for quite a few years, but my impression was always that it wasn’t really “for me.” From pictures I had seen, I knew there were vendors selling a lot of old collectibles like vintage toys, license plates, petroliana, and that sort of thing, but this shop didn’t seem to carry much in the way of the home and garden items I like to look for. Still, I had heard people say how much they loved this flea market a few times and I was a bit curious. Over the Christmas break, Kennedy and I decided to check it out, just for fun. I thought it was a tiny store and we’d peek in, see there was nothing there for us, and head over to the used bookstore next door. We were so blown away by what we discovered there that I decided we needed to go back on her most recent visit for another look around. Let me take you on a tour and let this be your reminder not to overlook these little small-town storefronts!

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What Makes Van Zelst’s a Great Antiques Market

The best thing about this vintage market and antique store might be the element of surprise. From the exterior, VanZelst’s looks like a tiny shop, filled to the top with all kinds of collectable items from bygone eras. The moment of surprise for us came when we realized that as you get to the back of the store, you go through a little doorway and discover that the shop just keeps going. And then you go through another opening and the market continues on and on. What looks like one tiny store is actually a very large market that winds its way through several buildings along the street. It’s really such a fun little adventure.

In each section, you’ll find vendors of all kinds, from curated booths with each item carefully displayed, to areas with the treasures piled up high without any kind of organization whatsoever. The experience created really makes for the best kind of treasure hunting, and I was surprised to find that, in fact, most of what the vendors have displayed in the larger back part of the market is exactly what I usually look for.

One of the best parts about small town antique shops is that the prices are almost always quite reasonable compared to what you find with larger markets full of curated and styled booths. If you have a good eye and you know what to look for, there are some really great deals to be found.

Another favorite market for home decoration ideas: Rustic to Refined Antiques in Grand Bend, Ontario

Getting to Van Zelst’s Market in Chatham, ON

Van Zelst’s Market is easy to find, right on the main street in downtown Chatham, Ontario, called King Street. Our downtown is cute, quaint, and cozy, but fairly sleepy, so navigating traffic and parking isn’t an issue at all. There’s a large paid parking lot right across the street from the market, or a smaller free lot located to the right of the building, right next to the used bookstore, called “Book Brothers.” Maybe I’ll need to do a little tour of the bookstore as well one day, because that’s quite a magical place as well. 🙂

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How to Navigate the Shop

If you like to shop for home decor, furnishings, vintage dishes, and baskets like I do, the front section of the store most likely won’t be for you, but there are a few little things tucked into the shelves here and there, so it’s worth a quick look. As you make your way to the back of the shop, you’ll see a little lunch counter set up with a few tables and chairs. If you walk past the lunch counter on either side, you’ll find yourself at the beginning of the back section of the shop, which is where the magic begins, in my opinion.

Keep making your way towards the back of the building until you enter a room that is absolutely stacked with all kinds of treasures: photo frames, cookware, baskets, furniture, signage, fine china, and just about anything you can imagine. Take your time combing through the piles because there is just so much to see. From this room, you can also access a little “garage” area that gets quite chilly in the winter time, but that has even more to look at.

If you move back towards the lunch counter, you’ll find another opening in the wall to the right side of the food service area. I actually laughed the first time we went through this door because I couldn’t believe there was more, but this section is huge and just keeps going and going.

This largest part of the shop is where you’ll find a mix of more curated booths, some booths selling new items, and areas with more treasures that are just piled up to the ceiling. I’ve found great home decor items in all sections, so it’s worth going through every last area while you’re there.

Antiquing inspiration for your next treasure hunt: Top Ten Antiquing Finds You Should Never Leave Behind

What to Shop For

This is one of those flea market-type stores where you can find just about anything. Unlike with other antique dealers, I find it hard to put my finger on exactly what type of thing this market specializes in. There are little pockets where you can find groupings of a lot of different items you might be looking for and I know I always have to control myself to try to come home with only a few special things.

There’s a booth that I look to for beautiful vintage china and pottery pieces, a section full of interesting baskets, an amazing crystal display that I’d like to take advantage of one day, and a few different places I would look for different types of specialty antique glassware like depression glass, jadeite, and uranium glass. I like to look for ironstone and I came across a few really unique pieces while I was there, like mini tureens and even an ironstone toothbrush holder.

If you visit, make sure to always keep your eye open for that one-off, unusual piece, like this delightful candelabra I came across, because you never know what you’ll see!

Here’s a beautiful wicker-wrapped vase that came home with me that I’m so thrilled with.

If you’re in the area and you’re looking for a little antiquing adventure, Van Zelst’s Market is definitely worth a look!

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