At first blush, the Pittsburgh Flea sounds like something you'd want to avoid. But Janis Surman is hoping a lot of people will get the itch.

Rather than some annoying insect, the Pittsburgh Flea is the name of the new flea market Ms. Surman will be starting in the Strip District on Sunday April 18.

While there may be smaller flea markets in some city neighborhoods, Ms. Surman said the Pittsburgh Flea will be the first targeted to the city as a whole in quite some time.

"Most cities have large flea markets. Even though Pittsburgh neighborhoods have their own niche flea markets, we don't have a big city centric flea market," she said.

For the April 18 debut, Ms. Surman expects to have more than 100 vendors set up in a lot at 21st and Railroad streets. There will be vendors selling antiques, collectibles, jewelry, vintage clothes and toys, plants, produce, recycled goods, furniture, and "garage clean out" fare.

There also will be a pawn shop and a gold-for-cash dealer. Food vendors will hawk everything from kielbasa and pierogies to vegan baked goods. The flea market will be open on Sundays, 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., from April 18 through Nov. 14, and will be free to the public.

"I think it's going to be an interesting mix of quirky stuff and flea stuff. I think it's going to be like a fun mix for people to come to and not just a lot of flea market crud," Ms. Surman said.

Both she and Becky Rodgers, executive director of Neighbors in the Strip, believe the Sunday flea market will blend in with the eclectic mix of wholesalers, retailers, street vendors, restaurants and nightclubs that already populate the neighborhood.

"I definitely think it fits in with the unique offerings or opportunities in the Strip District," Ms. Rodgers said. "[The Strip's] a place to gather. We're getting more and more people living Downtown. It just adds an option to our already unique neighborhood."

Ms. Surman said she settled on the Strip because it was one of the few places in the city with enough open space available to accommodate a large flea market.

The fact it already is a popular destination for Pittsburghers and out-of-town visitors made it all the more enticing.

"The whole atmosphere just lends itself to filling that void with one more thing and that would be a flea market," she said.

Ms. Surman of Highland Park got the idea to create a flea market after she was laid off by AT&T at the end of 2008 after 17 years with the company.

When she had no luck finding a new job, she began to think about starting a business herself, with one prerequisite: "Something as far away from corporate life as possible." She also wanted a venture that was "reasonable to do with a low revenue input from me" and one that filled a void.

From that hatched the Pittsburgh Flea.

"I thought, well, you know, we don't have a city flea market. I thought maybe I could start a flea market in the city. The more I thought about it, I thought, this is doable," she said.

Ms. Rodgers said there hasn't been a flea market in the Strip in 17 years. She sees the proposed venture meshing nicely with plans by Neighbors in the Strip to open a public market in the produce terminal on Smallman Street this spring.

Vendors who don't quite fit in with what the group is planning for the public market could be referred to the Pittsburgh Flea, she said.

While the Pittsburgh Flea may be a new concept, flea markets are by no means new territory for Ms. Surman, who has enjoyed spending time at them in the past.

"I think flea markets are interesting. I think there's a lot of junk there but I think there are some interesting, quirky things that surface at flea markets," she said. "There are good flea markets and bad flea markets and I'm determined to create a good flea market."

She also sees flea markets as their own "little revenue engines."

"For some people it's their livelihood. For others, it's a second job or extra cash. It really provides revenues for different people in different ways. For shoppers, it's free entertainment and an enjoyable way to kill a Sunday," she said.

More information is available at www.pittsburghflea.com.

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