Flea Market Art – New Life for Old Photos

Have you ever been thrifting and discovered old photos for sale?

Flea markets and yard sales can be a great place to find old photos with stories just waiting to be told! It may not be your story, but a story from a time long ago is fascinating.  Use your imagination: anonymous can be extraordinary!

old photographs
(Photo via Flickr)

Vintage photographs as art can give a room character! But they’re often very brittle and too small to make a wall hanging statement as wall art statement piece.

old photos from flea market
(Photo via CountryLiving.com)

Photo Resurrection for old photos!

Photo resurrection goes a step beyond photo restoration. First, the images are professional photographed. They are then brought back to their original beauty through image editing techniques, but without losing the effect of time. Images are then printed in larger scale on archival paper – perfect for giving a room a bit of character.

For those who don’t have the time or access to scourge the flea markets for compelling vintage images, the fancy camera equipment to resurrect photos, or the access to a fine art printer, no worries – three art and design veterans figured it out! The group is called PROJECT B.

After years of searching flea markets and yard sales, they decided to get together and find a way to resurrect vintage photos to keep their stories going into the next generation as amazing art pieces. They recently revealed some of their collections – available for sale as limited edition archival prints in a variety of sizes (11” x 14” to 30” x 40”), and reasonably priced, starting at $95.

Here are two of my favorite photos from Project B’s Americana Collection.

Waitress at Diner Vintage Photograph
(Photo via ProjectB.com)
EAT signage Vintage Photograph
(Photo via ProjectB.com)

So next time you are browsing at your favorite flea market, yard sale or local thrift store, keep an eye out for old photos with a story to tell. How would you caption the waitress at the diner, or the “EAT” sign? Surly there are fascinating stories behind each!

6 comments
  1. I don’t think it will disappear, but rather just be a little different. On the flip side, digital images are more readily shared, which will either dilute their impact due to sensory overload, or simply communicate with a larger audience.

  2. I know what you mean. Maybe there’s some tipping point at which the connection of past and future comes into focus. That’s certainly one of the things which draws me to vintage photography. But I wonder about digital images and if the sense of connection will disappear…

  3. Kinda like me making lunches in the morning. Auto pilot. I love the Fiesta too – in fact, that’s all we use. Have a mix of colors that seem to tell a story.

  4. I find that the older I get, the more I understand the connection between the past and the future.

  5. What a great idea. Funny how so many of us are drawn to images of the past. Even these seemingly unsentimental shots send us to another place in time that seems more simple.

  6. The Diner Waitress isn’t looking at what she’s doing but I get the sense that she’s filled up those coffee cups so many times before she simply knows when to stop! Love the blue Fiesta pitcher too. Would look great in my kitchen.

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