Melrose Trading Post, located at Fairfax High School in Los Angeles, Calif., during a Santa Monica College (SMC) fashion department field trip for SMC students on Sunday, Nov. 9, 2025. The artisan flea market is held weekly. Vendors sell vintage and other curated items including tableware, fine art, accessories, and clothing. SMC fashion students were encouraged to browse all sorts of wares, and see firsthand how they might run their own creative businesses in the future. (Elizabeth Bacher | The Corsair)
Every Sunday, the parking lot of Fairfax High School transforms into Melrose Trading Post, a bustling artisan market. However, for Santa Monica College (SMC) fashion students, the marketplace was a lesson in entrepreneurship, sustainability and style during their department field trip on Sunday, Nov. 9.
Founded in 1997, the Melrose Trading Post (MTP) is operated by the Greenway Arts Alliance (GAA) with a mission to champion small businesses, art and community. The market funds Greenway’s arts education programs and provides employment and leadership opportunities for Fairfax High School students.
“Melrose Trading Post is a great segue for students to realistically get into starting a business, if that’s what they want to do,” said SMC fashion professor Susan Kolko, who took part in organizing the field trip. “It directly relates to where I am in terms of my goals for them and our program,” Kolko said. “Resale and flea markets and upcycling connect because our program is so focused on sustainability.”
Students browsed rows of curated vintage pieces, handmade jewelry, and original art while speaking with vendors about their journeys in fashion. For some, it was their first look into Los Angeles’ thriving small-business scene.
“I was surprised at how many small-business owners there were in Los Angeles,” said fashion student Lu Pan. “Talk to the business owners, learn their challenges and then get tips if you want to start a business.”
Pan said he was inspired by the creativity and determination of sellers who turned their passions into livelihoods. “It was very interesting to see vendors take a kind of niche product that they believe in and then turn it into a business,” Pan said.
One vendor Pan met had left the corporate world behind. “He realized that corporate culture is not for him,” Pan said. “To see what it takes to start a business,” he said regarding that vendor, selling at MTP was “a great way to keep the spark.”
The trip also gave students a chance to see where sustainability and style intersect, two values deeply embedded in SMC’s fashion curriculum. “Most of our students look at these second hand items and are thinking either, ‘how can I refigure them or redesign them to be a more updated trend?’” Kolko said. “Or ‘how can I be conscientious about the environment in my business?’ Some students could be looking to start a resale business because there’s already enough clothes being made.”
For fashion student Kryss Hicks, the trip offered a new perspective on the purpose behind the market. “Greenway Arts Alliance used the money from Melrose Trading Post for Fairfax High School [students],” Hicks said. “They help them build a career resume and other skills that help them move into the workforce. I thought that it was really amazing that the money is actually going towards the youth.”
Hicks was personally impacted by GAA’s funding. “They also use it to fund the arts, which I really love, because I feel like that’s the least funded and it’s hard,” she said. “But when you have someone who’s willingly fundraising for that consistently, you’re gonna get some full scale results.”
MTP also employs high school students. “They hire students to actually work there. So they’re giving them experience and they’re actually paying them,” Hicks said. “To have something that’s connected to your high school, and doing something as creative as like, helping with pop ups and doing things in that realm, I thought that was really cool.”
Recognizing how the market directly supports young artists and students left Hicks feeling inspired. “Now understanding what it’s for and where the money’s actually going, that puts me in the space of wanting to support going to the Melrose Trading Post,” Hicks said.
For Hicks, MTP wasn’t just a swap meet but a platform that uplifts Los Angeles artists and directly benefits Fairfax High School students. It made her see the event as both an artistic outlet and a way to give back.
When asked if she felt motivated to start her own booth, she said, “Yes, I do. It’s like, oh, like, we could actually use this as an option.”
Seeing the creativity and sense of community gave Hicks a deeper appreciation for what it represented beyond just a place to shop. She noticed how each booth reflected the individuality and mindfulness of its creator, from the organized displays to the inclusivity of having affordable priced items for students on a fixed income. Hicks described a booth where “everything was $10 or the deal was you get three for 25,” she said, “I got a few pieces and I ended up paying probably like 50 bucks.”
From a merchandising standpoint, Hicks said she gained valuable insights. “I got to look at the different booths from a merchandising perspective,” she said. “There was one booth that had everything color coordinated. One thing that tends to overwhelm me when it comes to thrifting sometimes is not being able to see what’s what. And so the fact that she had everything organized by color was super satisfying. That was one element that I appreciated.”
Among the vendors, Luis Fernando Gutierrez, who sells vintage glassware, shared why he believes craftsmanship still matters. “Back in the day, they used molds, it was a process, and if it was done right, they would make it again,” he said. “A lot of the vintage glass was done by hand, like the etching, was an art. Now it’s made by a machine.”
For Gutierrez, buying vintage is about honoring history. “They’ll be able to use something that was used in the past, and you know, give it a second life,” he said. “It has a little bit of history because of where it was made, and who made it. And you know, the techniques that they used, which they’re not in use now because now it’s done differently.”
Another longtime vendor, Nancy Fares, owner of the brand Vellvet, has been selling apparel at the market since 1998. “I had a store at the corner at that time, and they opened the flea market and we came almost from the start,” she said, pointing to an area where the market used to end, “it was small – just only here,” she said. MTP was only about a third of its current size.
Kolko believes the trading post is a “launching ground” for students ready to test their entrepreneurial skills. “It really gives them perspective,” she said. “It’s just a really good segue into business. If you’re looking to have something that’s a brick-and-mortar. And even if you aren’t, even if you’re just thinking about doing an online business, it still is worth it and worth the time.”
The field trip, she said, represents the department’s broader commitment to experiential learning. “It’s kind of like our energy flows into our work, which is what the students get, you know, and it’s not just four walls in the classroom,” Kolko said. “They’re excited to go because they want to learn. They want to make connections.”
The SMC Fashion Department has long emphasized sustainability, a mission Kolko said continues to grow. “We really have had amazing things happening in our department, and we are continuing to grow exponentially,” she said. One lasting project includes a “huge mural made out of all recycled fabrics” installed permanently at SeaWorld. “For weeks, we were in the workroom designing this huge mural, made out of throwaway clothes,” Kolko said. The mural symbolizes a lasting imprint from the fashion department. “It’s there to stay,” she said. “It is permanent.”
From small business tips to the quality behind vintage goods, students left Melrose Trading Post with a deeper appreciation for artistry, sustainability and community. As Hicks said, “It definitely gave me just, like, a new perspective on that flea market just in general. I also got to find some cool stuff.”
