Put the kettle on, pull up a pew – and let us tell you a story...
The year is 2004.
The soundtrack? Gwen Stefani. The jeans? Impractically baggy. TV stylist and former personal shopper Judy Berger returns to her hometown of Leeds after a whirlwind few years in London. It was there, over endless local dos and proper brews, that Judy’s began to take shape.
“I’d always found the high street pretty homogeneous,” she says. “No matter how savvy you shopped, you always ended up looking like everyone else.”
An idea rooted in her earlier online swap-shop business that created the term swishing and had every journalist talking about sustainability in fashion (What’s Mine Is Yours), Judy had always seen vintage as an antidote to sameness – a way to tell stories through style. “Each piece had lived a life already – and I wanted that saga to carry on. Reworking, reusing, reframing… vintage gave things a second chance.”
Back then, 'vintage' meant something very different.
You were more likely to come away with war memorabilia than something you’d wear out to a club. Judy wanted to change that. She set out to create a market that she and her mates would want to go to – fun, affordable, style-focused and full of brilliant characters.
And so, in 2005, Judy’s Vintage Fair held its first ever event at Leeds University Union. The music was loud, the rails were packed, and people loved it.
We never were ones to sit still…
By 2010, Judy’s had grown to over 45 cities across the UK, and we were curating everything from uni fairs to national festivals. That same year, we were invited to curate the marketplace at Vintage at Goodwood, placing 150 traders into a one-off event that drew over 50,000 visitors.
We also launched some big ideas that would reshape the vintage scene:
- The Vintage Kilo Sale (2009) – selling vintage by weight before anyone else was doing it
- The Vintage Furniture Flea (2010) – showcasing mid-century homewares long before they were all over your Instagram feed
As the movement grew, so did the buzz. We were featured in Vogue, Elle, The Telegraph, The Times, and became a favourite of the likes of Florence Welch and Jennifer Saunders (be still our beating hearts).
Then came 2020.
The world stopped, and so did we. Covid forced us to close our doors – and for a while, things went quiet.
But not for long.
In true Judy’s fashion, we came back swinging.
- 2023 saw the launch of The Big Flea – enormous warehouse-style vintage markets from Cardiff to Edinburgh.
- In 2024, we joined forces with The Vintage Furniture Flea to launch a new design-led market at London’s historic Leadenhall Market.
- We made our Chelsea debut, and partnered with The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea to launch The Kensington Big Flea.
- By 2025, The Furniture Flea had expanded to seven London locations and counting.
Today, we continue to curate vibrant, design-forward vintage markets in Manchester, Cardiff, London, Leeds, York, and Bristol.
What hasn’t changed?
We’re still a female-founded, female-led business.
We still believe that style is eternal, that kindness never goes out of fashion, and that vintage is one of the most joyful, sustainable, and inclusive ways to shop.
We believe in championing small businesses, supporting young creatives, and making space for everyone in this industry.
We believe in good chat at the door, value for money, and bringing great people together.
We’re still based in West Yorkshire – and proud of it.
So whether you’re buying your first vintage piece or your fiftieth, you're very welcome here.
Because we’re still telling stories – one market, one jacket, one brilliant stallholder at a time.
