After eight years working together, most people would probably be sick of their business partner — but that’s not the case for Boey Lu and Phoenix Lee.

The pair of Des Moines natives founded DSM Flea, a monthly pop-up flea market that highlights local vendors, in mid-2024, but they have been working together in some capacity since 2017. Both men have fostered an interest in the vintage scene, which stemmed from childhood when buying second-hand was the only option.

“I grew up not knowing that thrift clothes were thrift clothes,” Lu said. “My dad would literally just come home with bags of clothes, like, ‘oh, here's new clothes,’ you know?”

But once he started middle school, Lu vividly recalls thinking: “I don’t look good.”

For Lu, this realization sent him into a place of insecurity an

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