Add Trenton Punk Rock Flea market’s smaller secondary year-round home to your Black Friday shopping at Trenton Farmers Market as TPRFM Organizer Joseph Kuzemka and his Partner Meaghan Singletary welcome shoppers to their year-round shop Out of Step.
Out of Step hosts a slew of different vendors from the TPRFM, from specific foods to coffee mugs, vegan candy, books, records, and holiday decorations. “I think each shopper was finding…a unique gift but also finding something that they couldn’t deny themselves,” Singletary said. “So that’s kind of how we were envisioning the sales going.
The project has been in the making for a little over a year. Since the pandemic, the two have worked tirelessly to bring to life this new adventure. “It has been a whirlwind but in the best way,” Kuzemka said. When they opened their doors, a line was already waiting for them to come into a shop at the new store. This set the tone for the busy, hectic, and fulfilling weekend in all the best ways. “You know, this has been in the works, and we’ve been scheming this for roughly a year. So to see it come to life, I think, has been very fulfilling, and the feedback that we’ve received has been inspirational,” Kuzemka said.
There are different sections for people to explore throughout the store, including a vintage refrigerator that opens to a winter wonderland, a wallpaper mural, and a vintage phone booth with a speaker system soon hosting local musicians and artists. “We wanted people to have certain spots throughout the store where they could discover little things,” Singletary said, “everything in here is highly curated, all of our signage and write-ups for the artists, we wanted people to get to know the items that they’re buying and the makers they are buying from.”
According to customers, they have achieved that. “We go to the Trenton (Punk Rock) Flea Market all the time, and that is how we saw this. We had a free weekend and thought why not check it out,” Taylor Murphy, a shopper, said. “It’s cool. I like it… a lot. It’s like my bedroom aesthetic.”
As the holiday season approaches, there is a new thing to look to at Out of Step. “We’ll also be bringing in makers to vend here as well,” Kuzemka said. Starting the first weekend of December, they are hosting a Meet the Maker event in their shop. “Folks can come out and meet the person that is here. That we’re also carrying their items in the shop, you’ll be able to buy items from them on site.”
Though do not worry. This isn’t taking the place of the TPRFM, only adding to it. Kuzemka will be pulling double duty within the next couple of weeks as the November 27 for Small Biz Saturday Shop Small Spectacular and the December 11 and 12th Wreck the Halls event at the Cure Insurance Arena.
“So Meaghan and I will be splitting duties,” Kuzemka said. “Where Megan will have some help for her manning the shop during what are going to be very busy holiday shopping weekends. And then all the rest of our team and I will be managing the flea markets, but when all is said and done, we’re dealing with a lot of flea market vendors here, so there is a lot of overlap.”
Out of Step is open Wednesday through Sunday every week from 10 to 6 at the Trenton Farmers Market. For more information, check out their Facebook and Instagram at TrentonPunkRockFleaMarket and @Trentonprfm.
