Brooklyn Flea

Boo! You never know around which corner the Hunt item doth hide. Scavenge like a scarecrow!

Note: The Fort Greene market happens every Saturday outdoors, 10am-5pm; One Hanson is on Sundays indoors on 3 floors (with food downstairs), 10am-6pm.

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 or Tuesday. Only one winner per calendar month. Items posted every Friday around Noon.

From left (click to enlarge):

1. Saturday: Moroccan Berber necklace. New/Handmade

2. Sunday: Lonely creepy bearded hippie doll! Vintage

Four more weeks of Fort Greene, Halloween at Skylight One Hanson. New blood everywhere—bwahahaha.

Hudson Valley Seed Library sells seeds that they grow and save by hand on their upstate farm. Ken and co. focus on New York State heirlooms, and all their seeds are open-pollinated and come in these awesome packets designed by NYS artists of every stripe, like the Dragon's Tongue Beans with artwork by Arik Roper above. They're launching 16 new designs in November, and hope to make the Flea a longtime home. Metaphorically water them! G-4/1H, Sun

A cursory glance at Tim Lee's Satisfind Etsy page reveals milk-bottle carriers (right), wooden building blocks, an English picnic set, and a black top hat. Looks stellar, selective, sophisticated. Get thee to Lee. V8/FG, Sat

Mara succs. Her succulents feature dinosaurs and lizards poking out from the thick, green botanical life-scenes, and mysterious descriptions like "skeleton buried below," and "buried reclaimed micro-car below." Dig deeper and get your hands dirty. E25/FG, Sat

Lastly, the Brooklyn Historical Society (everyone should visit their spectacular home in Brooklyn Heights) will be selling its new neighborhood and architectural history of Fort Greene/Clinton Hill, authored by eminent Brooklyn historian Francis Morrone, with cool photos by Etienne Frossard. It's sort of a walking tour, architectural guidebook, and pocket history rolled into one, and it even features a couple of humbling pages on your favorite Flea! They'll be set up outside the Lafayette gate starting around noon. (Special bonus: On Sun., Dec. 12, Mr. Morrone will be giving a free FG/CH history talk at One Hanson! Stay tuned for details.)

What: Cheese. Glorious cheese. It's mighty inviting. (We're referring to this 1987 pro-cheese campaign.) The glorious Bedford Cheese Shop is at the Flea every Saturday, so first of all you should know that. Second, they also sell sausage. Spicy pork sausage. They bring different varieties every week, but you can usually count on one sweet and one spicy, flirting with notes of cayenne, or fennel, with a perfect texture for slicing and serving. Also, sausage goes well with cheese. Duh.

How much: Varies by flavor, but usually $5-$10/sausage.

What else: Back to the matter at hand: cheese. From cows milk to goat, soft to hard, stinky to mild, the Bedford folks—they're sharp as Grafton—will show you what's right about everyone's favorite source of calcium. The camembert we brought home last week was literally parfait, and they haven't steered us wrong yet. And if you're nice, they'll give you a sample!

When and Where: Every Saturday in Fort Greene in the backstop (where People's Pops were), at their Williamsburg shop (229 Bedford Ave. + N. 4 St.), or online at bedfordcheeseshop.com.

Two new eyewear vendors join the Flea fruckus this weekend, we think you'll like what you see (or vice-versa). Maxwell's Extinct Optics focuses on dead-stock vintage sunglasses and regular frames, but the designs he spies are anything about typical (see groovy clear Cazals above). It might not be summer, but with the sun at its lower fall/winter angle you still need to protect ya retina.

Andrew's Classic Specs is based in Greenpoint, and they go in the direction of vintage styles that they manufacture themselves, with the innovative business model of all frames at a $105 cost, which includes lenses, UV coatings, shipping, and a 5% donation from every sale to Global Vision 2020, a global charity that helps people without access to doctors obtain vision-correction services. Should be pretty easy to read the bottom line now!

What: Cutesy couple Neala and Pete of Farfalla will outfit your kitchen, living room, and parts of your bedroom with the very best vintage gems, and this Danish Modern Ping-Pong Paddle '60s Dansk Cheese Board is no exception. Made from gorgeous Thai teak, its about 5 inches wide and 2 inches tall—sturdy enough for even the triplest creme brie. That handle sticking out of the side? It's a cheese-cutter and/or smear-er handily stored within the board itself. Sacre bleu!

How much: 40 solid dollars.

What else: Heavy Danish ceramic pots, large ceramic bowls, vintage tea towels, decorative signage, and stylish objects to pepper the cutest of apartments. Neala and Pete light up their booth with technicolor ensembles, travel to Scandinavia to pick stuff for you, and have a story to tell for every item, which they're dying to share. Talk rock 'n' roll with them and you've made fast friends.

Where: Most Saturdays in Fort Greene, check the layout for location/schedule.

Winners from Norway and New Zealand this week—Flea-flung!

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

From left (click to enlarge):

Saturday: Emma (right, she pronounces it "Imma") was visiting from Auckland, New Zealand, and read about the Flea in a Kiwi mag. She found the cool '70s lamp within about 15 seconds of entering the Flea at the Lafayette gate, honed in on it right quick. Emma's a doctor back home, and judging by her grin we bet her pulse quickened upon winning the hunt. She's no piker!

Delightful Doris sells super-cool/mod/'60s household items, art, and furniture as Hippie Danish, which is one of the Flea's best vendor names. She lives in Prospect Heights and brings all manner of interesting bric-a-brac: cameras, hubcaps, lamps and chairs, art, dolls—truly a picker's dream. Doris holds court in L13 most Saturdays.

Sunday: Gisle (left) is a financial analyst from Oslo, Norway, in town for business, as he is from time to time. He was perusing his copy of Time Out, came across something on the Flea, and bam!, he was a Hunt winner. Takk Gisle!

He's with dashing John Murphy, a national treasure if the Flea could have such a thing (it can't). John's a Philly longtimer, now lives outside town with his lovely family. He joined the Flea on Day One as part of the short-lived but nonetheless awesome Design*Sponge Collective—John, Foxy+Winston, Moontree Letterpress, and Mollie Dash all still do the Flea—and has barely missed a market since, save for a spell to heal his bad back. Anyway, John is a fine (meaning snazzy) artist, and his intricate, dreamy, brilliant (as in color) prints and photographs are always a big hit. He's a hoot too, and will be at Gifted as well. Find Smurphy in V4 on Saturdays and G-21 on Sundays, every weekend.

Monster sammies, cheeky pooches, yummy bake sales. Another typical Flea.

Two pretty classy Hunt items this week. Both would brighten up a room for sure.

Note: The Fort Greene market happens every Saturday outdoors; One Hanson is on Sundays indoors on 3 floors. Both are open 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 or Tuesday. Only one winner per calendar month. Items posted every Friday around Noon.

From left (click to enlarge):

1. Saturday: Table/desk lamp, circa '70s. Vintage

2. Sunday: "Bird of Paradise" archival pigment print, limited ed., 5"x7". Handmade/New

Wow: Dries van Noten, the renowned Belgian fashion designer (he rules), loves the Flea! We had no idea, but we're flabbergasted and flattered. He picks his 5 fave NYC spots on the Details mag blog, alongside the Chelsea Flower District, the new "Abstract Expressionists" show at MoMA, the Strand, and a tour of the UN. Predictably excellent taste, M. van Noten. "More than a destination, the Brooklyn Flea has become an epicenter for the artisanal movement," says Dries. "Pick up vintage finds and small-batch eats." Well get out there and do what he says!

Nate Berkus, who made his name as "Oprah's design guy," visited the Flea two weeks ago, and today—voila!—there's a segment airing on his "Extreme Downsizing" episode. Lots of great decorating ideas, frame-shopping, and Nate reveals pretty snazzy taste in antiques. Check it.