The unemployment in Trumbull County is around 13.5 percent, slightly higher than Ashtabula County.

For a week or so, Jason Halverson was included in the numerator used to calculate that percentage. A GM Lordstown employee, Halverson was on layoff for a week, during which time he and his wife Darlene started gathering up unused items around the house and selling them to raise cash.

They peddle their books, toys, knick-knacks, baseball cards and stereo gear at a new flea market that opened three weeks ago on Route 87. Owner Linda Newcomb says her business all about the economy.

“We got the idea because of the stress in the economy now and the need of the community to make some money and the need of the community to save some money,” she says.

Newcomb’s primary business is building and repairing equipment for the lumber industry. She operates out of three manufacturing locations, including a 4,000-square-foot building at 6152 Route 87, about a mile west of Kinsman. With business down, the other two locations are adequate for handling the volume of work, so she decided to transform the industrial building into an indoor flea market for the holidays.

“This is a test to see if the community will support it,” Newcomb says.

So far, the response has been good, with 15 to 20 vendors showing up every week to peddle their wares for a flat $20 fee for a three-day run. Newcomb says she priced her vendor spaces low, just enough to cover advertising.

“We want to see if this is something the vendors and community wants,” she says.

She also wants to attract a variety of vendors to the market so shoppers will keep coming back.

“I want different vendors every week so the intrigue is there,” she says.

Newcomb says she’s bringing a precious metals to the market this coming week (Thursday through Saturday) so people can make a little money selling their silver coins and old gold jewelry, then spend it at other vendors.

She welcomes vendors with both new and used, antique and unusual, items to sell. On Friday, vendors were selling everything from rabbits to puppies, stuffed animals to antique machinery.

Ashtabula resident Doug Taylor, who helped Newcomb set up the market, was selling porcelain dolls, jewelry and compact discs at his table. “I’m doing it to help Linda and make a little bit of money on the side for Christmas,” he said.

The Halversons say they’ve raised about $400 in two weekends of selling.

“We cleaned out the barns, trying to rid of some stuff,” Jason says.

“We don’t miss any of the stuff we’ve sold, because it was just sitting around,” Darlene says.

Linda Rankin of Kinsman set up a display of soy-wax candles, scented room sprays, massage oils and canned pickled vegetables. She plans to open a store next year and is using the market as a way to test the waters without investing a lot of money.

Newcomb is also testing the waters here. While the flea market will close when the Christmas-shopping season is done, she hopes the response will be strong enough to merit making some renovations to the building so she can have a year-around bargains store.

“It will be called Treeman Bargain Shop,” she says. “It will be a place in the community to save money. They can buy many useful items here for a fraction of the cost new. We’re going to be in step with the economic stress that everyone is experiencing.”

Newcomb says that to help alleviate some of that stress, she will provide free gift wrapping of purchases made Dec. 10, 11 and 12 and on the market’s last day of business before Christmas, Dec. 23.

The flea market is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursdays and Fridays and 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturdays now through Dec. 19, but never on Sunday.

“I’m not going to do that,” she says. “I feel God made that day to rest and that’s what we’re going to do.”