Brooklyn Flea

Such a fun weekend! Thanks to all for comin' on down to Dumbo.

Chocolate is reaching some sort of tipping point in our fair city of late--quantity and variety has gone sky-high, with quality keeping pace nicely.

Chocolate Fleasters, naturally, abound. We want to shout-out Flea smurf (i.e., Fort Greene staffer) Jessica, whose new line of chocolates (above) are starting to get noticed. Serious Eats blogged her today, and if you're not reading Jess' own Go Meat Yourself food blog, you should be. (You can also purchase her chocolates there, and Valentine's Day orders are still available.) Her flavors range from instantly yum like honey nut and cinnamon and pretzel to deliciously intriguing, like cayenne, ginger, and spicy bacon. Go Jess.

Three Flea vendors are included in New York mag's "Cocoa Locals" feature this week: Nunu, Fine + Raw, and the Mast Brothers. Kudos to all!

The Hunt was fierce this weekend, likely due to the 8000+ visitors we had over the 2 days! Good lord was the market glorious.

Things were so hectic that we missed taking a pic of the Day 2 winner, who found the pretty porcelain mug at Lois Aronow's table. Thanks Lois!

The funky tabletop clock was hidden amongst Jaron's awesome mid-Century finds. Donna Testino from Bricktown, NJ, snagged it at 1:20p.m. on Saturday. A first-time Fleaster, Donna said her grandma had a clock just like it, and she and Jaron agreed to go conceptual for their Hunt photo (above). It's about time people! (Check Jaron's snazzy new Jarontiques banner too.)

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

Again this week, one vintage and one handmade item.

For newcomers, when you find the item, which can be hidden in any vendor booth in either market (76 or 81 Front St.) on either day (Saturday or Sunday), 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:

1. Groovy "Big Ben" Westclox tabletop clock. Vintage

2. Hand-thrown porcelain mug. Purple inside with black and blue glaze outside. New/Handmade

We've been courting Consider Bardwell Farm (left), a divine Vermont purveyor of goat and cow cheeses that's been around for 140 years, for some time now. In fact, CB was the first cheesemaking co-op in Vermont, founded in 1864.

This Sunday, they make their Flea/Dumbo debut, and we're basically going crackers with expectation. Now we just need some of the farm's yummy cheese (right).

All the good stuff you want: rotational grazing on pesticide-free and fertilizer-free pastures; made by hand in small batches of only all natural ingredients from milk that is antibiotic and hormone free.

You can find Consider Bardwell at fancypants spots like Per Se, Gramercy Tavern, Jean-Georges, Marlowe & Sons, and Stonehome Wine Bar. And now Dumbo and the Flea.

Moo.

This weekend is gonna be a doozy in Dumbo.

The aforementioned Times lovefest will (hopefully) mean new folks checking us out from all over the region.

Supposed to be warm and sunny all weekend, maybe hitting 50 on Sunday.

And our pals at DailyCandy.com will be the first guest curator this weekend, taking over the front window space at 81 Front St. Stop by their "carnival corner" to play games (cornhole!) for free prizes--including some of their favorite winter products (Armour lip gloss, Orla Kiely notebooks, boot warmers, Fresh face wash, miniature cupcakes, wooden mustaches on sticks, etc). They'll also be giving away their new pocket guides to NYC. The space will be decked out by Domestic Construction, and Jellio (who makes gigantic candy décor, like gummi bear lights and cupcake side tables). So super-cool!

Oh, and of course the Halcyon DJs (with Senor taking a spin too!), the pupusas, the jewelry, the furniture, the clothes, the antiques, the cheese (info in next post), and the wonderful 60+ vendors who are the bedrock, the foundation, the heart and soul of our little weekend gathering. They like you, and want to hang out with you.

The Paper of Record hits the nail on the head in a truly stellar walk-through of the Dumbo markets. Beauty picture on the cover of the Styles section today of Areta's Papushka Vintage booth.

See ya this weekend!

We were psyched when Matt and his wonderfully mysterious Polaroid-based prints returned to the Flea fold at the new 81 Front market space last week, and we're proud to host him for the rest of the winter.

Apparently we're not alone in loving his She Hit Pause Studios work, as New York magazine roped him into its new Valentine's Day gift guide. Get your paws on the Pause any weekend at the Flea's Dumbo spots. Meow.

Our inaugural DUMBO Hunt was a demi-success, with just one of the items being found over the weekend.

The lovely Movious wool scarf from Hortensia Handmade was found in 81 Front on Sunday by Maura, who did a nice job of highlighting Michelle's other handwoven goodies. Note how Maura has already wrapped her scarf around her now-cozy neck.

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