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October 2008« September 2008 - November 2008 »October 28, 2008NO FLEA THIS SUNDAY
We've known since Day One that Fleasters would go Flealess on November 2, and now that fateful day is nearly upon us. To be clear: Because of the NYC Marathon, the Flea will not be open this Sunday, November 2. The Flea will return Sunday, November 9, and continue every Sunday from 10am to 5pm until at least December 21. In lieu of the Flea, definitely check out the Bishop Loughlin HS Band (above), which has made an awesome tradition of playing the theme song from Rocky for runners coming up Lafayette Ave. during Mile 8. Never ceases to inspire. October 27, 2008Scenes from Sunday
Clockwise from top left: Click on the photos above to expand. October 24, 2008Scavenger Hunt Items: October 26
For newcomers, when you find the item, which can be hidden in any vendor booth, it's yours, absolutely free! Then we post your photo here on the blog on Monday. Only one winner per calendar month. Items posted every Friday at Noon. Happy hunting! From left: 2. "Palin Institute of Abstinence" T-shirt. New/Handmade Brooklyn Flea Wins "Best Of" from amNY
What's New?
Starting us off in the leftfield category (Senor's personal fave), Toronto's Becky and Rev. Aitor are in the midst of a 6-month tour of America, selling her Sweetie Pie Press prints and buttons and his Unflattering Portraits (above), which he'll be composing live for any interested Fleasters on Sunday. Handlebar mustachioed Aitor's Misanthrope Specialty Co. was recently featured on the CBS Early Show, and we have a feeling these folks will be a hoot. W1 Back on Flea terra firma, Norristown, PA, antiques shop Ah's Garage Sale debuts at the Flea this week, as the owners' son, Bo, lives in Clinton Hill. Bo's bringing a recently discovered trove of vintage clothing as well as an assortment of furniture and collectibles from the shop. B3
Isabel Roxas is an illustrator, designer, and Fulbright Scholar, and after 4 years working in the Philipines, she's back living in Astoria--and the first thing she wants to do is get her work out there, via the Flea of course. She'll be selling prints, silkscreened notebooks and other paper goods (right, below), and her booth will definitely be worth checking out. E28 Jewelry designer Page Sargisson will be holding a one-time sample sale Sunday. She does everything from charm necklaces to refined gold and diamond rings--really classy stuff. B21
Similarly, Lars Engstrom and his photo stylist/costume designer wife are shedding years of inventory, in the form of: clothing (mostly 60's), some furniture (40's-70's, some deco and mid-century modern), household appliances (30's-50s), seasonal decor (50's-60's) and collectibles such as globes (50's), license plates (50's-70's) and records. Senor wisely accepted their application. W32 Clotheshorsies be warned!: Lisa Wong is another one who had to clean out her stylist stuff. In her words: "'70s sheepskin jackets, old-school sunglasses, '50s cocktail dresses, plus a cool collection of one-off, runway, and sample items, and retro sneakers, T-shirts, and accessories. I also have a vast collection of vintage shoes and boots which *sniff sniff* have got to go, lots of '50s and '60s stilettos, mukluks, etc." No way to say no to that. B5 Fort Greene locals Michael Shane Bridal are moving a few racks of one-of-a-kind evening dresses and cocktail dresses that are certainly with a saunter/perusal. E26 October 23, 2008We Got Props
Just a friendly reminder to stop by the Flea for all your Halloween costume needs--our vendors will have costumes, accessories, and tasty treats for your spooky needs. Jewelry, knick-knacks, milk pails, wigs, skull necklaces (above--thanks Birdhouse Jewelry!), Monster Mash LPs, cape fabric, broomsticks--you get the picture. (Birdhouse is in C5 or C6 every Sunday btw.) Note: Unfortunately, we couldn't pull off the pumpkin-painting stand in time for this Sunday. Don't trick us please! See What Happens When You Flea?
To wit: Revival Vintage Boutique
Old Hollywood
Tria In the discovery file, Megan and Eddie of the all-natural body products line Australian Scent are now the first and only skin-care company sold at RICO, the longtime Atlantic Ave. design shop (and early, awesome Flea vendor). Rico is a regular Fleaster, and he came across the couple's lovely soaps and balms at the Flea and a business friendship was born. How scentsible.
Nice gal Deb got a well-deserved shout-out from gossip guru Michael Musto for her awesome Sarah Palin T-shirt (right). Deb and her Miss Wit Designs will be back at the Flea this Sunday--check the layout for her spot.
Tria photo courtesy of Racked.com/Will Femia. October 22, 2008Greenjeans Fall Furniture Festival: Final Week Lineup
The Fest has been great for the designers, who get quality time with customers and some nice media attention as well. (Very awesomely, Apartment Therapy has been reporting on each week's cast of characters.) And Fleasters love the focus on the BK's creative, local talent, which is clearly world-class when you check out the work. Sofa so good! Quick shout-out to Amy and Jae from Greenjeans for putting the whole thing together and making it feel so professional and easygoing at the same time. That's the Flea way! Here's who's onboard this week:
Bergman Furniture's Scott has also done the Flea before, trekking down from northern Vermont with his modern take on classic country forms and pieces, like the nightstand at right (middle). MINE Metal/Art is Kriztina Kozak's Williamsburg shop and store, which focuses on expressive, almost floral designs for utilitarian items like window grills (bottom) and bed frames.
SMC Furnishings' style ranges from elegant to minimal, from rough to textured, and most of the pieces they make in their Fingers Lakes studio feature wood from reclaimed building timbers or locally sourced trees downed by storms, disease or nuisance issues. SMC is in its 10th year, which is old-school among the Furn Fest crowd--check 'em out.
Todd McCollister holds an MFA in sculpture, and his one-man shop creates pieces that defy categorization but hew to a sense of story and history--like the rocking chair fashioned from a walnut tree on his grandmother's farm. Wonk is a fast-growing DUMBO and Willamsburg maker whose modern, colorful pieces make sense in the home or office. They were a big hit last week, back for more. October 21, 2008Scenes From Last Sunday
October 20, 2008Finders/Keepers Week 15
Check back Friday at noon for this week's items. From left: Chris found the groovy vintage divided dish at 11:30am, and she was pretty psyched about it, naturally. Ruth of Ruthie's Antiques isn't a publicity hound like most of our vendors, and preferred to leave the spotlight to Chris and her newborn smush, Cooper. Ruthie's in W5 or thereabouts most Sundays. October 18, 2008Best of '08 Opinions Voiced
The Village Voice Best of NYC 2008 issue came out this week, with some pretty good news for the Flea. We snared the Readers Poll choice for Best Flea Market (thank you to all who voted!), only to have the Voice's pick go to the fabled 25th St. Garage. Given, their pick felt like a sympathy move in deference to the Garage's planned closing next month. But in the end it was a doubly ill-informed choice, as the Garage is rumored to have been granted a stay (for a year or more) until the building planned for its location secures financing. (Economy downturns, it turns out, spell "up" for fleas.) The Flea is honored to have its own category in this year's poll, for best Brooklyn Flea booth. That accolade went, smartly and justifiably, to John Murphy, whose brilliant bird photos in hand-painted frames (above) have been a Flea destination since Day One. (John is in B19 most every Sunday.) For whatever reason, the Voice website doesn't add that Unbreakable Records, the vinyl-lovers hideout, garnered Readers Poll honors in the category, also well-deserved. Alex holds it down in E31 most Sundays, and he's bringing extra-special treats this week for all the newbies. Congrats to all! October 17, 2008Scavenger Hunt Items: October 19
For newcomers, when you find the item, which can be hidden in any vendor booth, it's yours, absolutely free! Then we post your photo here on the blog on Monday. Only one winner per calendar month. Items posted every Friday at Noon. Happy hunting! From top: 2. Vintage postage stamp with Philladelphia postmark, brass frame & heart charm on vintage chain. New/Handmade What's New?
A couple quick notes that we'll be repeating in coming weeks: The Flea will be open every Sunday--except Nov. 2--through at least December 21. A final closing date for the year will be posted in early December. What else is new? This: Cool timely project alert! Elenore Simotas, an 8th grader at Grace Church School, wanted to raise money for the Obama campaign. Together with her mother, Pamela Bell (one of the four original partners of Kate Spade), and her babysitter, artist Christina Freeman, they created VOTE Totes (above). Elenore, inspired by a sticker she saw on the street, asked Christina to create a design. Mom ordered the totes and she and Elenore taught themselves to silkscreen using a screen they ordered from Pearl Paint. Following Elenore's 14th birthday party on Saturday night, she and a few of her friends will be at the Flea selling the totes for a minimum purchase price of $20 each. Everyone is encouraged to donate more if they like. This Sunday and next only! E11 Old-school vendor Mark Kaplan (aka M+M Antiques) has made a name as a top vintage-lighting dealer at Chelsea, the Garage, the Pier Shows, all over the region, and he also sells to several current Flea sellers. Mark promised a few chandeliers, a bunch of mirrors, and some other treats this Sunday for his debut--we'll be verifying his claim early in the a.m.! C14 Karen Keller's son Aaron sells with his wife Carla in the Heartisans booth every week, and Karen's been threatening to unleash her collection of designer bags and clothes, "REAL" collectibles, mid-century furniture, jewelry, and handmade ethnic items, assembled from years of collecting and running a 15,000sf thrift shop. Now she's trying to dispense with her material possessions--whittling them down to 100 items, thus her biz name, Countdown 100--and she needs your help. Assist her starting Sunday in W43. Kraftwerks Atelier are coming up from Buckingham, PA, to show off their "heirloom-quality" handmade furniture, which is elegant, curvy, and inlaid with all kinds of interesting designs using innovative methods. A nice satellite of Furniture Fest. E29
Veteran vinyl dealers Richard and James come highly recommended by Doug from EAT Records (who had amazing stuff last week). Look for rock, jazz, soul, funk and early R&B--i.e., a cratediggers' dream. W11 Jean Betancourt is a classic Flea character--she wears more jewelry and accessories than most vendors have for sale in total. A real hoot. She finally converts from customer to seller this Sunday, and we have no idea what to expect from her jewelry and tchotchke collection--except fabulousness. E35
Bunky + Barney is the brand-new perfume and oils venture of Andrea Rosen, who moonlights as a stand-up comic and actress. (She's on the first episode of the new Flight of the Conchords season, as mentioned earlier this week.) Who nose? Yours. E33 Temah DeFranco and pals will be selling a mix of new and vintage shoes and accessories, including shoes designed by well-loved Brooklynite Lisa Nading and hand-painted Swedish clogs (below). E27
Kibibi Oyo sells natural bath and beauty products when she's not acting as editor of Blacks and Computers newspaper out of Bed-Stuy. E14 October 16, 2008Furniture Festival: Week 3 Lineup
Here's who's onboard this week: 4 Korners: Scott showed his gorgeous "earth smart" credenza and tables at the Flea a couple of times over the summer; minimal, clean lines.
Benton Custom: Roger Benton hand-makes every piece in his 3rd Ward Bushwick shop, emphasizing longevity and timelessness, as well as painstaking attention to detail. Counter Evolution NYC: Regular Fleaster Jim constructs everything from butcher blocks to wine racks from discarded bowling-lane wood. So rad.
Uhuru: Back again with clean, contemporary classics like the "Stoolen Oval" round table (bottom). Wonk: Fast-growing DUMBO and Willamsburg maker's modern, colorful pieces make sense in the home or office. October 15, 2008Enhancin' Hanson
This time out expect loads of little people winter gear at stoop-sale prices--and plenty of parent-child mingling. They'll also have a face-painting station (from 10am to 1pm, $2), which is always a hit at the Flea. They even made a snazzy minimal flyer--good stuff! Cupcakes for A Cause
Our latest social entrepreneurs are Nichelle, Rachel, and Allison of Cupcakes Take the Cake, a serious cupcake blog (5,000 posts and counting) that's linked up with the national Cupcakes for a Cause effort to raise money for CancerCare for Kids. Apparently National Cupcake Week takes place Oct. 20-26, and what better way to kick it off than devouring a cupcake at the Flea. In addition to homemade cupcakes, the gals have snared donated goodies from Baked and Crumbs. Just look for the Cupcakes banner near the other food vendors in the E1-10 section. Boo!
Senor adores Halloween, thinks we should dress up more often, likes scary stuff. So for the next two Sundays (Oct. 19 + 26), consider the Flea when contemplating your costume. Our vendors are on notice to bring out their dead (stock), wacky outfits, ghoulish accessories--all the pieces and parts that make a great get-up. It's cheaper than a Halloween mega-shop, your costume will be totally original, and you can eat a quesadilla afterward. Also, next Sunday (Oct. 26) we're working on having a pumpkin-painting station at the Flea for youngsters of all ages to paint the town orange. More news as it happens! October 14, 2008Flea of the Conchords
But because their second season is about to start, and because a vendor last Sunday had a professional connection, we wanted to post this cute photo of Jemaine Clement from Flight of the Conchords, who made the market rounds on Sunday. Turns out that comedian Andrea Rosen, who was selling her new line of perfume, Bunky and Barney, at the Flea for the first time, has a role on the first episode of Conchords' new season, so Jemaine dropped by to wish her well and check out the scene. Cool. Have you seen anyone of note at the Flea? We're just curious, won't make a big deal out of it. It's just a flea market blog! Thanks to Dirty Loves Clean soap purveyor Michelle Stasha for playing paparazzi for us. October 13, 2008Finders/Keepers Week 14
Check back Friday at noon for this week's items. From left: At 11:05am, Val Fox (right) of Cambridge, Mass. (go Sox!), found the snazzy necklace hanging in the Treasures + Pleasures double-booth (L8/9 every week). Here's smiling Val with fashion-forward Rafael. Turns out Val is working on her own little designers market up in Beantown: the Design Hive Market in Cambridge on Mass. Ave. between Harvard and Porter Square, from Nov. 1 to Dec. 20. Go homegrown markets! Getcha Turkeys Heah!
The fine folks from Greene Grape Provisions on Fulton St. will be taking pre-orders for their Tom Terrific Thanksgiving birds: heritage and free-range turkeys, geese, and capons. Just like in ye town squares of olde, stop by your local market (the Flea) and chat with the bird expert, who can tell you how big a fowl to buy, how to know when your goose is cooked, and just what exactly a capon is. (The expert is from top turkeys D'Artagnan.) They'll also have samples of the delish deep-fried that Myrtle Ave.'s Jive Turkey churns out. Now, Jive Turkey's birds are first come-first served for Thanksgiving--which is why the lines go around the block this time of year. Greene Grape has magically scored a few Jive boids for pre-order, and they're reserving some of those just for Fleasters like you. Come quick before those Toms are gobbled up! Also! Empire State cheese galore. Try an Old Chatham Camembert from, er, Old Chatham; Cave-Aged Tilset from Harpersfield; and Kunik Triple Cream and honey lavender fromage blanc from Nettle Meadow Farm in Warrensburg. Try some/buy some. October 10, 2008What's New?Tons of great new stuff at the Flea this Sunday--have we mentioned it's gonna be a banner day? (Yes.) We've gotten the balance just right now, with about 80% vintage and antiques (with the clothing ranging from bargain basement to Dior/couture), a really stylized and strong stable of jewelers, the coolest crafties in town, and food for every palette. We're 6 months old, what took us so long? Vince Brnicevic and his wife have been selling at NYC fleas for a decade, and now they're ready for the bigtime. Their stuff ranges from Art Deco to Mod, including small furniture, housewares, art, records and books. B20
Doug from EAT Records, the Greenpoint shop/cafe, did so well at the Superstar DJ Record Fair that he's comin' back for more. He had awesome staples for less than 10 bucks--stuff like U2, Depeche Mode, Nirvana, all the best albums priced to move. EAT up. E31 Raquel Griffin has the Flea spirit, we can just tell. Last year she did a pop-up vintage clothing store in her friend's LES apartment. Now she's re-creating Super Fox Vintage at the Flea starting this Sunday. She's a stylist by day, and a clothes-hunter 24/7. Check it. E25 Arline Dunlop is a pal of Clyde Gatlin's, the old salt who comes down from Connecticut now and then. Arline's got bric-a-brac, country finds, and a nice mix of antiques. W14 Fort Greener Matthew Burnett graduated from Pratt, then launched Steel Cake Watch Co., his classy timepiece outfit. He designs and manufactures all the stainless-steel watches himself. Good guy too. E34 Plexifilm, the DVD label and film production company, is holding a sort of underground/music/indie film stoop sale at the Flea on Sunday, which will include flicks like Helvetica (about the snazzy font) and Moog. Right next to pals A Public Space in E26. Delish, Brooklyn-made Mast Bros. Chocolate comes back for more sweetness Sunday. So much great chocolate at the Flea! E6 Tony Proto makes classic, affordable furniture out on Long Island, and he'll be putting it on display for the first time at the Flea. He also does historical restorations, and has years of experience under his belt. Worth a chat with Tony. W4 Jessica DeCarlo has taken over Miss Master's Closet's spot, and her handmade jewelry is a lovely addition to our regular stable of makers. E23 Scavenger Hunt Items: October 12
It's gonna be a big day at the Flea this week--literally full of vendors, gorgeous sunny day, tons of great antiques, furniture, clothes, food, music--don't miss it. And come early if you wanna Scavenger! For newcomers, when you find the item, which can be hidden in any vendor booth, it's yours, absolutely free! Then we post your photo here on the blog on Monday. Only one winner per calendar month. Items posted every Friday at Noon. Happy hunting! Clockwise from top left: 2. Archival print, 5x7. New/Handmade October 9, 2008Furniture Festival Returns for Week 2
Here's who's onboard this week: Scott S. Behr Soup's On!
As a quasi-veggie, Senor Flea sometimes yearns for more healthy options at the Flea. So he went out and rectified the situation starting now. Donna and Shauna, who have years of restaurant experience between them, are literally debuting their long-simmering new venture at the Flea on Sunday: Artisanal Soups will feature 4 vegetarian (vegan, actually) soups, all made with ingredients that are either organic or sourced from local sustainable farms, and all featuring a base, garnish, and "drizzle." How can you not warm your belly with a sweet potato bisque flavored with ancho chiles, maple syrup, and pralines? The other 3 are equally enticing: fire-roasted bell pepper puree with lemon oil and toasted pine nuts; shiitake + cremini mushroom barley with sweet sherry reduction, truffle sea salt and crispy garlic; and corn chowder with Hawaiian volcanic sea salt (!) and chive oil. Dayamn! Throw in recycled-paper serving products and corn/compostable spoons and I think we have a winner. Slurp! Soup's on in back by the bleachers near the wafels, ice cream, Latino food, sandwiches, and pastries. A couple other food notes: Rafael's fellow Red Hook Food Vendors at the Vaquero elote (grilled cheesy corn) and fruit-juice stand are on hiatus for the rest of the fall season. Don't worry! The Martinez taco/huarache stand and the pupusas are going nowhere 'til the Flea closes for winter. October 8, 2008Flea Fall Fashion
Vendors work incredible utilitarian chic outfits that do both stress and impress, and our customers aren't just looking for the original next thing, they're also putting it on display for all to see every Sunday. (If you're going to the Manhattan Vintage Show this week, the Flea better be on your Sunday schedule!) In turn, we're getting some serious quality when it comes to both new and vintage clothing sellers. (We'll be doing a post on the Flea's stable of clotheshorses soon.) We're especially psyched that Pascale Gatzen, a talented avant-garde Dutch designer, is debuting her latest work (above) at the Flea this Sunday. In addition to her own work, Pascale is developing a cool new cutting-edge program at Parsons School of Design called the Integrated Fashion Curriculum. Pascale, of course, is just one of many Fleasters challenging the notion of a conventional market every Sunday. The more things change, the less they stay the same! (Pascale's in W41 by the way.) October 7, 2008(Country) Living Large
You can scroll through oodles of snazzy photos featuring Flea vendors of every stripe (plus a bleachers shot of Senor and Mr. B looking awkward) on the website. We haven't gotten our hands on the print version yet, unlike the multi-million-strong CL subscriber base. See what all the buzz is about this Sunday--we're full-up with awesome stuff yet again. And if you haven't visited in awhile, check out how we've, like, matured! Finders/Keepers Week 13
Check back Friday at noon for this week's items. From left: Adan Maldonado (left) comes to the Flea every Sunday, having moved to Fort Greene from Denver recently. Here he is with his new travel binoculars, which Adele had been hiding (too well?) for the last 2 Sundays until Adan found them at 4:45pm. Outta sight. October 6, 2008Village Voice Best of NYC--Flea Questions!Thank you to Alex of Unbreakable Records (he of the zillions of dollar records) for pointing out that the Village Voice 2008 Readers Poll features 3 Flea-related questions. Not only can you pick NYC's Best Flea Market (duh!), but there's a specific question for "Best Booth at the Brooklyn Flea." How friggin' cool. (The third question is about Best Bargain Spots, which is also a no-brainer for ze Flea. Objectivity who?) So head on over to the site and enter your answers by this Wednesday, Oct. 8. (You have to enter your name and email address to access the poll, and the Flea-related questions are on the third page of entries.) This just might be the second most important vote you make all year! October 3, 2008What's New?
Broadway Vintage is Dan's name for his collection of textiles, bark cloth, blankets, quilts, and the like. He's an old hand at fleas, but he's new to the Flea. We've needed a solid vendor like this for awhile, so show him some love! E35 Numbi and her sister feature all sorts of vintage clothes at good prices in their Vintage Boulevard venture. Definitely worth a gander. W26 Pierre and Martine are cleaning out their stylish home before they move, and when they stopped by the market to get a spot recently we got the feeling this was a "no junk" situation--and perhaps ripe with finds. Find out! V13 Stylist (and likely stylish too) Courtney Fuglein thought about starting a vintage business, then got busy and back-burnered the idea so she could do stuff like style Elvis Costello for his new talk show, Spectacle. The stylists always bring the goods--as you fashionistas know! B5
Clinton Hiller Juan-Manuel had a pet-fashion company (beds, carriers, etc.) that is no more, but he's still got stylish pooch perches and pillows galore. Get by on his supply starting Sunday. W45 (Also check out pet-suppliers Rocco + Jezebel, who are over in W14 most weekends.) Scavenger Hunt Items: October 5
A couple of really cool items to look for this week as you peruse on a lovely October day. For newcomers, when you find the item, which can be hidden in any vendor booth, it's yours, absolutely free! Then we post your photo here on the blog on Monday. Only one winner per calendar month. Items posted every Friday at Noon. Happy hunting! Clockwise from top left: 2. Fort Greene, Brooklyn, black-and-white photograph, 1961. Vintage October 2, 2008Furniture Festival Is Here!
The designers themselves will be on-hand to talk about their craftspersonship (and whatever else you wanna talk about, like the Red Sox or Cubs or Palin or debt), which is a nice intimate setting for meeting some of the brightest members of Brooklyn's creative class. Our little furniture scene is hot poop across the nation, so don't miss the opportunity to check it out up close and personal. Of course, feel free to also purchase a locally made, environmentally happy, unique piece of furniture while you're at it. (Affordable and one-of-a-kind prototypes and samples will be sprinkled among the bounty--every piece tells a story!) We'll be posting photos and updates each week, so check back for the latest. Here's who's onboard this week: And here's the complete lineup for October at the Furn Fest: 4Korners Showing on 10/19 October 1, 2008Hot StuffIt may not feel like fall just yet, but that doesn't mean we can't eat like it is. A few of our food vendors will be dipping their toes (figuratively, of course) into the cool-weather beverage zone starting this Sunday. Foliage, knit caps, sweaters, rocking chair, wafels, hot cocoa--all available at your friendly autumn Flea.
Cutey Justine from Nunu Chocolates will be serving her new "hot spicy dark chocolate drink" this week, with subtle flavors of cumin, cinnamon and maybe a little smoky chipotle. Damn! Can't think of a better way to warm the cockles. (Justine's another awesome Flea success story by the way, and she's getting ready to go full-time with Nunu soon!) You can also purchase the powdered-cocoa mix. She's in E2 every single Sunday. Speaking of hot cocoa, the lovely Whimsy + Spice folks will be rocking a white chocolate hot cocoa with coconut, lemongrass, ginger, cardamom, and star anise when they're back at the Flea on Oct. 12. Throw in one of their insane espresso + dulce de leche brownies and you're fueled for hours of shopping! They're in E6 or so every other Sunday. And look out for our fab new soup vendor in the coming weeks--super-yum! Finders/Keepers Week 12
This lovely lass (right)--who shall go unidentified, unless you know who she is--got wise to the ceramic owl from Jaron of--what else?--Jarontiques on Sunday, and she was simply wide-eyed with wonder. Jaron keeps it real around V6 most Sundays. That purple E.T. pendant was also found, but we couldn't get the cell-phone photo up on the site. (We're Flea marketeers, not IT dudes!) It was in Tracie Howarth's booth in L12, where she sells great vintage pendants and jewelry-making supplies every Sunday. Check back Friday at noon for this week's items. Help Wanted
Matta, the awesome Soho clothing shop, has started a new venture at ABC Carpet + Home that's made it hard for them to also do the Flea. But they love the Flea (we [heart] them), and if they had the right person they'd keep doing it. Might you want to join the Matta team and work their booth every Sunday? It's a great group of gals. Laura and Lorin from brand-new Hot Blondies Bakery are sprucing up their online look, and are looking for a talented web designer. Got the knack? Big things in store for these bright blondes. If you're interested in either of these opportunities, drop us a line. |
Bob Glickstein is our other favorite kind of Flea vendor: appears out of nowhere, appears to have amazing/random stuff, and appears at the Flea as scheduled a week later. Bob's a contractor who's accumulated an array of lighting fixtures as well as some antiques and a 1979 Wurlitzer jukebox. Get 'em before they dis-appear! E11
Also on the store front, OG Fleaster Tiffany has turned her 
Lovely Val has done so well with her always eye-catching array of vintage jewelry in E12 every week that she's going pro. Her 
RICO
Finally, our pals at 
A sunny Sunday makes for splendid scavenging--come one come all!
1. "Japanese divided dish," circa 1930's. Stamped "Barker Bros. Ltd. England" on back. Vintage
Sue Harmon has been selling at fleas and shows for a minute now, and she brings something for everyone: high-end dresses, smalls, jewelry of all kinds (right). We hope she's a keeper. W33
Folks loved Belle Amitie's friendship jewelry and lockets (right) the first time Jessica did the Flea, but that was pre-"What's New?," so we're plugging her this time. W37
Barbara Johnson has a nice case full of glass, silver, and other collectible items at the Montclair Antiques Center in NJ (where Senor Flea happened to be last Saturday), and she'll be shuffling across the rivers to join us this Sunday. B6
The Fall Furniture Festival curated by 
While we're on the topic of community, the Hanson Place Child Development Center is back for its second go at a rummage sale fundraiser this Sunday, to benefit its music and dance program. The local daycare center (55 Hanson, near Atlantic Center) brought in a pretty penny in the spring, unloading a village's worth of kinder-clothes, toys, and other kids' stuff. 
The Halloween costume options are infinite in the bizarre year of '08: The Karl Marx Brothers? A Sarah Palindrome? Lindsay and Samantha sitting in a tree? 
We never do this. It's not our style. Sure, some known folks have perused the Flea in our 6 months of existence, but Senor Flea is just too shy to take their pics. OK OK: That we remember, we've seen: Michelle Williams, Keri Russell, Jeffrey Wright, Ted Allen, MIA + Pelle Almqvist from the Hives, Maulik Pancholy from "30 Rock" and "Weeds," Kyra Sedgwick, and maybe some others. 
Katie and Ryan from WoodShopShop are--like so many cool young businesses--basically launching at the Flea this week. Their motto is "All Things Wood and Fibre. Sustainable, Salvaged, Reclaimed," which means they're surefire new members of "The Rejuvenators" at the Flea. (Nice timing with Furniture Fest too.) Their first pieces are painted and spruced-up found items like the blue nightstand at right, with plans for salvaged-wood original pieces on the horizon. Should be good wood! E30
Speaking of rejuvenators, we dig 
Like last week (above), the work on display is all created by Brooklyn minds and made by Brooklyn hands. But its appeal goes beyond the local thing; it's the unique takes on modern, Scandinavian, primitive, Arts + Crafts--you name it, it's in there. And every designer incorporates an element of revitalization or earth/tree consciousness--Flea vet Counter Evolution's reclaimed bowling alleys (right), Palo Samko's Rockaway Driftwood Bench (his Sunset Chair is below), December Box's found-metal bases and slab-wood benches. 
The designers themselves are all hanging out and chatting informally about their work, which is a nice opportunity if you're thinking about adding a nice new piece to your home or office. (The weather looks perfect for Sunday, too.)
You can eat your way through the Flea and be full for days, so we figured, Why not add more amazing yumminess? 
Cassy Gleason takes vivid Brooklyn photos that are ironic and evocative (right), and also makes snazzy pillow-covers. Your classic local Fleaster making a go of her talents! E33
From time to time vendors ask Senor Flea (remember him?) for leads for work of various sorts they need done. We figured, what with our ailing economy and all, why not open up the job board to our fair (and handsome, and talented) readers?