HUNTSVILLE — Strolling through open-air booths hunting for treasure that was once one man's trash – this is the essence of the trade day.

Kate Garrett, owner of Kate's Gilded Lily on Highway 190, looked out over her eight acres of land recently and immediately thought of Canton. Canton is a town of about 5,000 in northeast Texas that has capitalized on the business model of trade days. Once a month, the small town's population grows exponentially with an influx of shoppers. The town's name has become synonymous in Texas with the idea of an open-air flea market.

“I've got a lot of property out there,” Garrett said. “I hope five acres of it turns into Trade Days.”

The first Trade Days at Kate's will be this weekend, Friday to Sunday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and on the first weekend of each month.

Garrett said she started a Trade Days in Salado, Texas, more than 15 years ago that has become a successful addition to the town. The camaraderie, she said, is what she's most looking forward to.

“The people who come kind of get to be family,” she said. “You look forward to seeing them every month.  This could be a thing that could keep going.”

Garrett said she has been able to attract interest in her Trade Days through a $10 dealer booth fee. So far, she has eight dealers scheduled for May and several more on a waiting list for June.

“One selling plants, one doing birdhouses and bird feeders, one lady coming to sell Avon – I even have an emu oil booth that sells skin products and bath gels,” she said. “Several booths that are setting up that will have antiques. A lot of them have checked out of malls, so they have all this overflow and it's a good opportunity for them to come and sell it and get rid of it.”

Inside Kate's Gilded Lily, Garrett has tried to create a business that's clean, orderly and features friendly service – these are the same qualities she wants for the Trade Days.

“I go out of my way to be as nice as I can and accommodate everyone I can,” she said. “I'm genuinely a people person. I like people. I've been there for a year and business has steadily increased over the year – and it's worth the drive.”

Artisans and craftspeople are asked to contact Garrett because she wants her Trade Days to feature handmade goods.

“That's what Canton is,” she said. “There are a lot of people up there who do gorgeous stuff. It's not something you can go to Wal­–Mart or Target to buy.”

Garrett said she decided to forge ahead with the Trade Days idea after business became slow for Kate's Gilded Lily.

“I'm not doing Trade Days for the money. I'm doing it for people. I want people,” she said. “There were a few days I sat at the shop and didn't have any customers. I think it's because people don't really know what I have.”

Kate's Gilded Lily carries a line of pottery, iron garden items, Western décor and furniture. She said downtown antique shops have been generous with helping get the word out about Trade Days.

“We need to support people who aren't right downtown because this helps the whole economy around here,” she said. “I try to keep my prices very reasonable. I know the income level here in Huntsville is blue collar.”

Kate's Trade Days will run Friday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at 2299 Highway 190, which is eight miles out of town. For more information, call Garrett at (936) 439-9156.