Today I went to Bel Air to spend time with a friend and visit consignment and thrift stores in Harford County. Two of the stores we had visited before were no longer in business. The most interesting place we visited was The Big Tarp. It is in the old C-Mart building and from news accounts I read, owned by the family that ran the successful C-Mart for so many years. Part of the building is a flea market which is only open on weekends (I plan to go on a weekend to visit the vendors there), another part is used for auctions and about 1/3 is used for the sale of deeply discounted items from (frequently high end) retailers – the old C-Mart formula. Today they had lots of painted furniture – mostly small chests and tables, wonderful prices on some good shoes – if they have your size. The staff was unpacking a pallet of Clarks shoes and Birkenstocks covered a couple of tables. The web site is advertising stock from a ‘Comfort Shoe’ store as well as designer items from “BLOO - – - GDALES“.
If you are in the area it is worth stopping to see what they have. This is definitely one of the hit or miss places, but when you ‘hit’ it will a great find. Check the website for information.
