August 27, 2008
Wafels Are Back
Our fine friends from Wafels + Dinges make their long-awaited return to ze Flea this Sunday. Summer heat + Wafels wasn't a good combo, but now that fall appears to be upon us, let those irons be unshackled and let doughy, syrupy, creamy goodness reign over the Bishop Loughlin yard!
Follow your nose to that yummy wafel scent, or just head to the yellow tent in the back row by the school. Monsieur and Madame Wafel have promised an olfactorily stupendous new dough in the coming weeks--so keep those tastebuds standing at attention.
Power to the People's
Word to our brothers Joel and David from People's Popsicle, the Flea's biweekly purveyor of yummy/healthy pops and shaved ices made only with Greenmarket ingredients, for receiving a shiny spotlight in today's Daily Candy.
Twas the Candy that shifted the pre-Flea buzz into high gear, so here's hoping the People's stay cool as their rep heats up.
We couldn't resist sharing this pic (right) of our little pal Jones preparing to devour a strawberry pop.
August 26, 2008
Flea On!
Fear not! The Flea is open as usual this Sunday, Aug. 31, over Labor Day weekend.
The only date we won't be open is Sunday, November 2, when the NYC Marathon goes directly past the Flea making access impossible for both vendors and customers.
As of now, the tentative last date for this year is Sunday, December 21--but that date is subject to change and we may be open deeper into the winter depending on weather and how many folks show up. We'll be back in mid-March/early April, date TBD.
This Sunday's shaping up nicely already, see ya there!
August 25, 2008
Finders/Keepers Week 7
A slightly stealthier approach by this week's Hunt vendors finally pushed scavengers past the noon mark--a new record!
Smiles all around, as per usual.
Check back Friday at noon for this week's items.
Here are this week's finder/keepers:
At 11:49a, Matt Malvezzi from the East Village spotted the movie-camera tote bag from Charlie and Sarah's booth on the Clermont fence. Here's Matt with his gal-pal and the eponymous Sarah (right). (They're around C10 or so every week.) Top left
Amy Bzdak of South Slope finally found the vintage plaid blanket in the Tutek booth at 3:12p. (The vendor is camera shy, despite his dashing good looks (and locks).) Here's Amy with her friend Michael Bender. Stay warm! Top right
Lesley Wheeler finally found the awesome salt-and-pepper shakers that Kyle from Sit and Read Furniture had hidden with such aplomb at 3:34p--our latest winner ever! Kyle sells about once a month, and when he does it's a doozy. Bottom right
August 22, 2008
Scavenger Hunt Items: August 24
Some great items this week, for which we send out a note of appreciation to our lovely vendors for their generous donations every week. (Remember: only one winner per calendar month.)
Happy hunting!
From left:
1. Plaid blanket, pure wool. Exact providence unknown. Pulled from a collapsed shot gun shack 50 miles outside of Duluth. (Quirky description is this quirky vendor's own.) Vintage
2. Canvas tote with hand-silkscreened vintage-camera image. New
3. A set of 2 un-used hardwood salt-and-pepper shakers, in the original box. Vintage
Green Flea
Just a quick note that Liz Pulver is back in W1 this week with her really cool array of house plants (left), including succulents, perennials, and of course black-eyed susans in martini shakers.
Senor and Senora Flea picked out a nice array for their back deck (right), and Liz has plenty of affordable plants and flowers in converted coffee cans and the like.
We love the floras and the faunas at the Flea, let's keep 'em comin'!
August 21, 2008
Cake Truffles for Cancer
This Sunday Christina Ha debuts her Lemonade Stand baked-goods booth (E7), featuring her trailblazing "cupcake truffles." Their base is chocolate bark and their top is candy melt (like M&Ms), with a cake middle. Yummers.
We do have a stellar mini-cupcaker already with Kumquat Cupcakery, it's true. But Lemonade Stand sends 25% of its profits to the Alex's Lemonade Stand fund to fight childhood cancer, which is pretty rad.
Oh, and Christina is bringing her 2007 Miss Teen New Jersey younger sister Catherine (right), in full pageant regalia. That's marketing.
Eat a cake truffle, save lives, do more good.
What's New?
This Sunday is shaping up as a stellar Flea mix, and there are actually too many awesome new vendors this week to highlight them all. Our apologies to those we didn't mention.
Jamal Ait Hamou, a Moroccan guy from Boston, debuts with his Atlas Fossils, showcasing gorgeous ammonite, trilobite, and other minerals from his home country's High Atlas Mountains. L7
Just Ask Shirley is Shirley's mish-mash of wicker baskets and antique fans, phones, table lamps, books and records--all kinds of stuff, as she describes at. For all you pickers. B4
Harry Cooker had an antiques store in Queens for a long time, and now he mostly does the Chelsea markets on Saturdays. This Sunday he tries out our Flea, with a nice mix of costume jewelry, small furniture, bric-a-brac, and paintings. See what's cookin' with Harry! V4
Ex-Brooklynites Pinecone + Chickadee make the trek down from Maine (Senor Flea's home state!) with their hand-silkscreened greeting cards (right), journals, and T's. We like their aesthetic a lot, and have our eyes on their sasquatch T-shirt! V5
Also, tons of vintage furniture this week, including new and returning vendors:
Tony from Barntiques down in PA unleashes his finely crafted furniture made from discarded wood of all sorts. He's done custom work for lots of celebs and for snazzy restaurants around the city. Tony often does the 17th St./6th Ave. Flea, so welcome him warmly to the BK. W1
Right nearby you'll find Aaron Aardvark & Son, a top-notch shop in New Brunswick, NJ, that covers every variety of mid-century furniture and collectibles. They'll be crossing two rivers to join us, so say hi to Lamar and crew. W5
Kyle from Sit and Read Furniture is back with his nicely priced mid-century wares, including the two chairs at right. L11
The bearded fella known to Senor Flea only as Long Island Eddie seems to have made Brooklyn his Sunday home, and his 2 spots along the Clermont fence are chock-a-block with deals on desks, chairs, tables, all of it enticing. C5/6
Antiques + Collectibles, who spread out bigtime with a huge range of furniture the first couple months of the market, mark their return this Sunday. W3
My Little India, the former Fulton St. Fort Greene spot, has become a fixture on the Vanderbilt fence, with all kinds of gorgeous home furnishings from the subcontinent. V14/15/16
August 19, 2008
Flea's Crafty!
Among our most popular attractions week in-week out is the constantly rotating crew of 4-6 craft/handmade vendors who inhabit The {New New} double booth on the Clermont fence. (C10/11 or so, every Sunday.) Felt monkeys, mini-cupcakes, cool affordable jewelry, pretty letterpress stationery, handprinted totes and T's, you name it they got it. And judging by our "Brooklyn Flea" Google Alert, no one promotes their presence at the Flea like The {New New}, who are affiliated with Etsy. (They already got their stoop sale blogged by Newsday.)
This Sunday, the {Newbies} will be taking a booth in the Stoop--our one-time $20 clean-out/discount area, in/around W25 every week--to unload crafting supplies of every imaginable variety: sewing, beading, jewelry, paper-crafting, scrap-booking, candle-making--you get the picture. And right next store in the Stoop, Charlie and Sarah, the friendly folks who set up next store to The {New New} every week, will also be doing a craft-supply blowout of their own, including loads of baby clothes and furniture. Craft on, dudes!
(Today's subject line is a Beasties reference btw.)
August 18, 2008
Finders/Keepers Week 6
We had some seriously psyched Scavengers at this week's Hunt, including a 10:02am winner of pickles and pickled pears. When Sherryl found the candlesticks at 11:38, the whole bloomin' thing was over already. You Fleasters totally have an eagle eye!
Here are this week's lucky ducks:
Charlie from Fort Greene (top) was an early bird catching the (Brooklyn-made) Wheelhouse Pickles pickles and pears from Jean at Local Labels. They're a very cool org, over in V6 or so every other week. (Charlie, if you're out there, send us your last name!)
This lovely, unnamed redhead from who know's here (middle) honed in on the pink-gold earrings from Erica Weiner Jewelry around 10:10am. We're sure they'll suit this gal nicely. (If you're out there, let us know who you are and where you live!) Erica (on the right) and crew are in W32 pretty much every Sunday, check 'em out!
This just in! Becky Williamson is the lovely redhead, and her husband is Charlie Williamson (above). They're devout Flea regulars from Fort Greene. Thanks for writing in!
Sherryl Sanders of Prospect-Lefferts Gardens scored the classic brass candlesticks from Don and Chuck of Red Barn Antiques (bottom, Don pictured), and she was so aglow it was as if her discoveries were already filled with their namesake. It was 11:38am, and all was right at the Flea. Nice guys Don and Chuck hold it down every week with an awesome mish-mash in W31.
As always, check back Friday morning for this Sunday's treasures.