By Anjali Krishna 

Under twinkling fairy lights at Tweedy's, air from a whirring fan moves through the long dress Laura Flores is wearing. At her neck sits a cross necklace, black, like most of her clothes.

As we speak, Flores's eyes flit behind me to the bustling market. Tweedy's wasn't her preferred space for Subculture Swap, the market she organizes bi-weekly, but the bar's compactness allows her to keep watch from our table sticky with beer.

Since the pandemic, open-air markets in Austin have exploded in number and popularity. But Flores is one of the originals — she has been involved in the Austin vintage scene for nine years.

"It feels like there's a million markets now and that makes it a little harder to exist, it's more competitive in that sense," Flores said. "That this market is a subculture swap market makes it stand apart. There is a huge wave of thrifting and markets, but I can survive it by finding my own niche. I love it because I've attracted these vendors, and I can help them make sales where they may have struggled at another market."

Fores started off as a vendor, running a vintage clothing booth with her friend Caitlin. While Caitlin sold girly Y2K, Flores vended mostly punk and goth. After oversaturation made her work frustrating. Caitlin and Flores decided to make the fad work for themselves. Considering how difficult it was to get a vending spot, they shifted their energy toward coordinating, realizing they could start their own market. Luck did the rest of the work. While Caitlin and Flores were vending at a market at the Ballroom, the music venue next to Tweedy's, the owner asked if they might be interested in starting a recurring market in the space.

"I was like, oh you're kidding," Flores said.

So began Flores's work as an organizer. After running the Ballroom Block Party for years, though, Flores and Caitlin didn't feel its name fit its vendors and

"It was more identified with the Ballroom and not our own market," Flores said. "We wanted to reclaim it. We had already curated a certain style with our vendors and attracted a certain kind of customer. Eventually, we landed on Subculture Swap."

Indeed, subculture is a guiding theme of the market. Horror DVDs, bone jewelry, and apothecary goods sit alongside hand-beaded earrings and houseware - each item at the Swap is unique, and so are its vendors. Subculture is nothing new to Flores, who frequents Terror Tuesdays at the Alamo Drafthouse. The market reflects these interests, making it a space for alternative culture.

"Whenever I was growing up, I was very introverted and independent and that nature in myself led me to seck out alternative cultures where other people were misfits. I was very into fantasy and the occult and horror movies. As I got older, I started to explore punk and goth cultures."

The market is only one facet of Flores's interest in material culture and vintage. With her psychology counseling masters degree in hand, she is starting a second degree in Audio Technology and Industry, continuing her work in creative spaces. Indeed, her interests in film and music are incorporated into the markets: Tweedys has live music and Double Trouble plays movies, from Jennifer's Body to Fantastic Mr. Fox. Many of these creative interests manifest in material culture for Flores. She spends weekends renting videos from We Luv Radio, a local Austin business.

"I have a huge DVD and VHS collection," Flores said. "I'm a physical media hoarder and this dehnitely feeds into it. I just bought a tape, Bride of Chucky. Whenever I'm picking the vendors, I'm also selfishly picking what i want to shop.

And shop they do. Tweedy's is a busy space, with customers milling around and chatting casually with vendors. There's a casual energy in the air compared to the usual rush of Austin markets.

Even after Caitlin decided to leave vintage markets behind, Flores continued to coordinate the market herself. The Ballroom venue changed hands, and the Subculture Swap moved into two new locations: Tweedy's and Double Trouble. While the Double Trouble space is larger, the accessibility of Tweedy's makes it a popular secondary location for the biweekly markets.

*At first 1 was apprehensive about Tweedy's, because it's not very spacious," Flores said. "I've had to get creative here, a lot of the vendors are using the picnic tables rather than opening a tent and bringing their own setup. I'm so glad we went for it, because Tweedy's is cool. People are here, people are shopping and that's what 1 like to see. Both of the new venues really match our vibe, both our customers and our vendor's customers."

These days, Flores is less worried about competing with other potential markets, having carved out her niche in the Austin vintage scene. She is more interested in keeping the cost of vending at the Subculture Swap low, continuing its alternative theme, and supporting the vendors who inspire her as talented artists or tasteful curators.

"Markets should be about supporting your local artists and small businesses," Flores said. "A lot of the vendors here with us tonight have been with us for years. Those are the ones I've been grateful to build a relationship with, that's the beauty of the market." ■