favorite places: barberton, ohio’s fabric and freight mart

Tucked up in sleepy downtown Barberton, Ohio is the ultimate trash-to-treasure hotspot, the Fabric and Freight Mart. My mom’s been going to this store since the days of her youth, and I always remembered it fondly from family trips to Ohio. We’d stop by, dig through the fabric, and my mom would laugh because, more often than not, they’d still have a few bolts left of prints that she had purchased 15 years ago.

I was always intrigued by the unique, naturally vintage fabrics to be found at what we called “the Barberton store”, but it wasn’t until my last semester of school in Cleveland that I discovered the glory to behold in the unclaimed freight half of the store. Bins upon bins of, well, everything.

As you can see, it’s a complete mess. A glorious mess. They have wooden handles for any tool you can imagine. Door knobs and drawer knobs, odd nuts and bolts for any occasion. Casters, light bulbs, lamps, ropes, and chains. You can’t enter the store with a particular project in mind, but you will leave with a million brand new projects once you walk out the door with your goodie bag.

The fabric side isn’t lacking in surprises, either. They have bolts of funky home-dec weights, zippers and buttons galore, and strange trims and patterned elastics.

It’s a magical place, and it’s different every time. One of my favorite treasure-hunting locations, and well-worth a quick stop if you’re ever passing through northeast Ohio. Just make sure you save some treasure for me!

This is the prime treasure from my latest trip: super kitschy vintage faceplates. Made by GE in 1977, only the Barberton store would have a full stock of unopened 37-year-old faceplates waiting to be claimed! And claim them I did, at $1.25 apiece. They look absolutely fantastic on my wall.