My red pickup, bought in March 2017 at the Roseville flea market

I had no idea until today that these vintage-looking red pickup trucks were such a hot decor item — just try googling “old red pickup decor” and see how many pop up from places like Etsy, Amazon, and Hobby Lobby.

I bought mine almost a year ago while wandering around Denio’s one Saturday; it stood alone among the other items on the shelf, unique in its rough yet realistic design. It’s 12 inches long, made of cast iron, and missing one front fender, and it has no identifying marks of any kind so I have no idea where it originally came from. I carried my truck around with me as I continued exploring the stalls, and it did get a few second looks and smiles from people who passed me. But I was still surprised when I went back to the flea market the following weekend and one of the vendors greeted me with, “Oh, you’re the one with the red truck!”

Spotted at Raley’s supermarket

Now they’re showing up in my local supermarket… but I think mine is way, way cooler than these mass produced imitations. What do you think?