Brooklyn Flea

On your way to or fro the Flea at One Hanson next Sunday, swing by Fort Greene Fest for a daylong whirlwind of activities in the park, including bigname musicians with local roots, including your man Common! Keep the vibe goin' later when Soulive and friends play the afterparty at the Irondale theater inside historic Lafayette Presbyterian Church, on S. Oxford and Lafayette. Summer summer summer!

Lionel and Constant, Flea fave brothers from Haiti known as Nenenn155, haven't forgotten their own brothers and sisters back home who remain in dire need of assistance in the wake of the devastating January earthquake.

They just returned to Brooklyn from another trip to Haiti, where they did a show called "Fashion Quake" for a line of dresses they designed. You can see a few of the pics from the show above (click to enlarge)—they're gorgeous and moving.

The idea of the line is to create jobs for folks in their hometown community in and around Port-au-Prince, where they're producing the line of dresses, sandals, and other accessories—all by hand and without electricity. Their tagline for the project speaks to its urgency: "Manufactured on survival instinct. Powered by pure soul energy."

Lionel and Constant will be selling the line only at the Flea, so find them at Fort Greene and One Hanson and support empowering creativity and our neighbors and friends in Haiti.

What: Milkshakes! Bittersweet Chocolate, Vanilla Bean and Malted Ball French Vanilla. All three please! (Also look for the market flavor of the week.)

How much: $5.50 for a big 'ol cup, with a straw.

What else: Keith and crew delight us with a weekly selection of not-yo-mama's grilled cheese sammies—even though it was Keith's mom that inspired the dairy den of iniquity. Try the Classic with the Aged Wisconsin Gruyere, Cultured Butter on Levain Pullman Bread—add an egg and caramelized onions to transform it into the All Day Breakfast, or the (seasonal) Greenmarket made with aged Vermont Cheddar, local Greenmarket tomatoes and arugula pesto on white country bread.

When+Where: Saturdays in Fort Greene, Sundays at One Hanson, and online at milktruckgrilledcheese.com.

What: The moss terrariums of Twig, inspiration behind the recent Times article, "Terrariums Make A Comeback."

Who: Michele and Katy are the brilliant pair behind these easily maintained and contained "small worlds," housed in vintage/found or new glass containers, apothecary jars, science beakers or any odd glass object they find along the way. Their unique Twig twist is to add miniature figurines to create a sort of quiet, curious/creepy voyeur scene: old man on a bench, solitary woman with grocery bags, moose overlooking the hill.

How much: From $10 for small jars to $175 for larger pieces.

When+Where: At Fort Greene this Saturday (booth V7) or online at twigterrariums.com.

Interest appeared high for the Hunt this weekend, lots of looking and peering for the special items. Two first-timers took it home. Don't worry, you'll find it one day.

Saturday: Erin (right) lives in the West Village, heard about the Flea from a pal, checked it out for the first time on Saturday. Like many before her, Erin glanced at the website before heading out, saw this silly scavenger hunt, made a mental note. By noon, she was a winner of said silly hunt with a necklace festooned with an 1890s vintage key!

She's with Judith (of Judith New York), a relative newcomer to the Flea family who's sold all manner of vintage over the years: props, rare bags and luggage, China, books, records, photos, textiles, all kinds of stuff. She's now a regular over in ole V13 in Fort Greene, and #13 at One Hanson. Lucky for us!

Sunday: Jenna's (left) from Ohio, now a Brooklynite. A friend told her how rad the Flea is, so she swung by. She actually saw the mango-wood figure on Saturday, but was (correctly) told she'd have to "find" it on Sunday to be ze winner. By 11am or so her eyes were on the prize.

Lovely Stacey was the generous vendor. She sold her stuff for a longtime at the 4W Circle of Art and Enterprise shop at Fulton and S. Elliot Pl., then started doing the Flea on Day One. Been there ever since—as Amaya Designs—a destination for funky and colorful jewelry, small wooden furniture from Africa and the Caribbean, and beautiful wood-carved paintings and sculptures. She and her crew have the best vibe as vendors too, seek 'em out. C4 in Fort Greene, #70 at One Hanson (on the mezzanine).

Did you miss it or were you captured by the lens? Take a look-see!

Christopher Gray's "Streetscapes" column in the Times Real Estate section this week is about the second lives of the city's many majestic banks, including the Williamsburgh Savings Bank—aka One Hanson. The online version features an awesome video shot at the Sunday Flea, check it out. (At the end Gray tries on a pair of vintage X-Ray Spex.) Good times!

We took the above photo during load-in on the first (freezing) Flea at One Hanson. We've seen the same vantage point on a zillion blogs since—such a good shot. The Times version does it right.

For the sake of the Scavengers, let's hope the weather holds for the Hunt. (Not to worry on Sunday, which is indoors and now air-conditioned!)

Note: The Fort Greene outdoor market happens every Saturday; One Hanson is on Sundays indoors. Both 10am-5pm.

When you find one of the items above, which can be hidden in any vendor booth, it's yours, absolutely free! Then we post your photo with the generous vendor here on the blog on Monday. Only one winner per calendar month. Items posted every Friday around Noon.

From left (click to enlarge):

1. Saturday: Patina clock key on mesh metal chain, circa 1890s. Vintage

2. Sunday: Yogi statue handcarved from mango wood in the central region of Bali. New/handmade

We haven't hepped you to new things at the Flea in awhile. (Turns out organizing the food concession at SummerStage is yeoman's work.) Without further ado, as there is much to report. (Those numbers refer to the vendor layout we post on the website every Friday at noon.)

The big news this weekend is that One Hanson is now fully and awesomely air-conditioned! Vendors are literally whooping with glee, and if you were there last Sunday for Camera Obscura you know this is welcome news. Many of our new vendors are at One Hanson, so if you haven't visited yet or lately, this Sunday's a good one to go. Chill out, you're soaking in it.

This fella Jim who freelances for the Martha Stewart Crafts Dept. by day has created the alter ego Professor Figgy, which sells educational/experiential science kits for kids (above). The first two kits are "Flubber"—a "gak" substance made from borax, water, and Elmer's—and another that grows and teaches about crystals. (Making sidewalk chalk, watercolors, and crystal geodes are up next.) The Professor will be expounding and demonstrating at his booth in the lefthand gallery on Sunday. Go Figger! #46/Hanson, Sun

Slipcover Your Life is the intriguing name of upstart stitcher Erin's modern spin on classic craft. Her patterns include '70s Polaroid cameras, barcodes, owls (and owlets), and the Queen of England (right). She sells finished pieces and kits too. Really rad. #36/Hanson, Sun

Laidman Fabrication is John's Bushwick wood-furniture and architectural-metal firm. He did a Flea last fall, back for more with prototypes, samples, and other minimal stuff at great prices. Look for him on the center aisle. #26/Hanson, Sun

Kuriouser & Kurioser is Kelly's jewelry and curiosities foray into the "wild, wicked, wonderful, and weird." Her stuffis part goth part ren-faire, like baroque keys (right) and rings. She'll take over a room of her own, toward the back left corner of the bank. #57/Hanson, Sun

A self-described "lapsed home-stager," Connie has a bunch of china, lamps, furniture (including a daybed), and tchotchkes that she'll be availing herself of at the Flea this weekend. She's dubbed her booth "Wink Studio Design & Decoration." Come and git it! B10+11/FG, Sat; #5/Hanson, Sun

Manny is a furniture builder who started with (now-renowned) Uhuru Designs, and his own new biz is Mi Mesita. So far Manny's focus is coffee and end tables (right)—Mi Mesita=my little table—using local and reclaimed woods and traditional joinery and building techniques. Sleek, but affordable too. B18/FG, Sat

LAYERxlayer is the collaborative studio founded by industrial/furniture designers and architects Patrick and Leah. For starters at the Flea they'll have these cool canvas bags and backpacks and small "concept" furniture pieces, adding more stuff soon. Geometric, technological, soft are all words their work conjures. W25/FG, Sat

Saved the foodies for last:

In a trial run (while Good Fork Dave's knee heals), special guest Eton (of Cobble Hill dumplings fame) is debuting his insane Korean-style fried chicken at the Flea on Saturday. Need we say more? He'll be slingin' wings over by the backstop. S6/FG, Sat

MILKimchi is lovely Lauryn's, well, kimchi biz. (Mother In Law's Kimchi is the acronym.) Based on a traditional recipe from her mom's SoCal restaurant, Lauryn's pickled tastiness is more complicated than garden-variety kimchi. She'll explain it all to you at her booth, it's fascinating stuff. Oh, she'll also be debuting her Korean gazpacho, served in a Mason jar, naturally. E6/FG, Sat

We Facebook'd it last-minute last week, but we're super-psyched that Bedford Cheese Shop is onboard. They're finding their whey (oy vey!) at the Flea, so check out their booth to see what they have in store. We're excited about this one. E10/FG, Sat

The fine folks of Fine + Raw have launched a new flavor of raw ice cream, coconut, to complement their velvety rich choco-version. Raw coconut butter, raw blue agave nectar, and F+R secret goodness combine in this little cup of frozen yummy. Um, yum. E2/FG, Sat

Once again no Saturday winner (that bottle was so cool!), but Sunday the (Siegfried) Wagner record was found and enjoyed by a friendly Fleaster-cum-concertgoer.

Sunday: It was Devin's first time at the Flea, which she learned about when reading the Brooklyn Vegan post about Sunday's free Camera Obscura show downstairs in the vault at One Hanson. She found the vintage LP a little after noon and was excited as all heck about it. Also, Devin loves Camera Obscura!

Here she is with Constant, half of the Nenenn155 booth with Lionel—known marketwide (and beyond) as "the brothers from Haiti." You may recall that Lionel and Constant survived the January earthquake in Haiti, then returned miraculously and heroically that weekend to a tearful, joyous welcome at what they call their home away from home at the Flea. It was a special moment, Flea as family.

As vendors, the brothers pick vintage clothing and accessories for the stylishly advanced Brooklyn lady, of which our borough is home to more than a few. Their stuff has a bit of Caribbean/Haitian influence, but really it's just great stuff at very fair prices, plus better customer service than most boutiques. Check 'em out, feel the energy, they're the best. W23 in Fort Greene, #15 at One Hanson, weekly.