Brooklyn Flea

(Significantly late) news flash!

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!

A sunny Sunday makes for splendid scavenging--come one come all!

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:

1. "Japanese divided dish," circa 1930's. Stamped "Barker Bros. Ltd. England" on back. Vintage

2. Vintage postage stamp with Philladelphia postmark, brass frame & heart charm on vintage chain. New/Handmade

So many awesome antiques and vintage vendors at the Flea lately--we're really coming into our own, right as prime Flea season hits. Thanks to all the vendors and customers who have made our first 6 months so memorable and downright wonderful.

A couple quick notes that we'll be repeating in coming weeks:

The Flea will not be open Sunday, Nov. 2, due to the NYC Marathon, which goes right past the market and makes city travel virtually impossible.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Fall Furniture Festival curated by Greenjeans is back for its third go-round Sunday, with 6 very cool and varied designers on the Astroturf under the white tents when you walk in. All these folks emphasize eco-conscious materials, hands-on craftsmanship, and a little bit of Brooklyn pride.

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.

Aswoon: DUMBO sculptural outfit that does eye-popping designs in everything from coffee tables to room dividers (top).

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.

Nightwood: Flea staples Myriah and Nadia "salvage" wood out and about, then re-fashion and upholster it to make urban-country cabinets, tables, and chairs (middle) that you need in your home. Such cool taste.

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.

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.

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!

The Flea tries to support local do-gooders of every stripe--we do what we can.

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.

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?

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!

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.

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.

A banner Flea day (6000+ attendance!) meant early Hunters caught the Scavenger worm.

Check back Friday at noon for this week's items.

From left:

Noah Sanders (left) from Prospect Lefferts Gardens found the beautiful bird print at 10:15am at Carla from Heartisans' booth. Carla makes all the prints herself for Heartisans, the business that works with and benefits artisans around the world. She and hubby Aaron run a tight, cute ship around E35 every Sunday.

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!

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.