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November 20, 2009
VOTW - Osborn Design Studios
This week we caught up with folks behind Osborn Design Studios to talk about their art and design products. We love the intricate prints handmade by Carla and the fair-trade shoes are perfect for your inner hipster. Check 'em out!
What are your names?
Aaron: My name is Aaron Osborn.
Carla: Carla Venticinque-Osborn.
A: Our business name is Osborn Design Studios.
C: We're married.
Where are you guys from?
A: Philadelphia.
C: Teaneck, New Jersey. Now we live in Greenpoint.
What do you sell?
A: We sell handcrafted shoes and art prints, but our inventory is always changing as we come up with new design ideas. But shoes and prints are the staple. We do bootie slippers, a bunch of puzzles, things for kids, scarves.
And how long have you been selling it for?
C: We have been doing it at the Flea for two years. We were here on the first day. And our business has been branching out ever since.
What's your specialty?
C: Art.
A: Design.
What keeps you coming back to the Flea?
A: It's a great market and community. They do amazing promotion, just great opportunities have come out like magazine features.
C: And being here, everyone who is everyone comes through the Flea so you get people who are scouting major stores and smaller boutiques so there is opportunities for growth. And it's just really well-curated.
A: I really like the community of the Flea. All the vendors are great.
What do you do for fun?
A: Make shoes.
C: Think about our business.
Where can people find you online?
C: We have a website, Osborndesign.com
What else do you want the good people to know about you guys?
A: I am most excited about the business because we employ 28 people full-time who otherwise wouldn't have any work in Guatemala, that's where my family lives. Twenty-one of them are single moms. It gives it a lot more meaning than just selling something "cool."
C: Our shoes are fair-trade and it's a microeconomic project, and it really works!
We'll also be at Gifted with a lot of new prints, more art, more shoes. We are really growing.
I-15 under the Bridge on Sunday.
November 19, 2009
BFF of the Week: Martina + Eric
Go Seek Antiques probably intended for their candelabra to become a nice interior highlight, but Martina and Eric have other ideas. Oh, and let's hope someone else gets a chance at the lobster rolls before these two come again. Meet our BFFs of the week, Martina and Eric!
What do you have here?
Eric: Protection! For walking down the street!
Martina: No! We bought a a candelabra.
E: Yeah, because we are trying to save on energy. Electricity is very expensive. So this is us becoming greener and greener.
Is that true?
M: No. Ha. We need something tall for the table that really sticks out. So it's perfect.
E: But we both like a lot of candlelight.
M: We'll put candles in here—this is not something for just decor.
E: And use it for holiday parties.
M: Yeah, holiday parties.
When's your next holiday party?
M: I'm from Italy so we always have friends coming over in December and January.
E: We are also going to have 120 people over for a Brooklyn Youth Chorus Parent Party.
That's a lot!
M: Yes, we have a lot of people all the time, very informal though.
Do you live in the area?
M: Yes, we live up the hill over there [ed.: the Heights].
Do you come to the Flea often?
M: This is his first time, but I have come several times. I have been to the Fort Greene one too, and when it was inside in DUMBO.
E: We are also friends with the lobster roll people.
Red Hook Lobster Pound?
E: Yes, I had a lobster roll today! They are fabulous. It's all lobster, hardly any mayonnaise, the bread is very light. So you can eat like 3 or 4 of them!
M: I already had 2 today!
Thanks guys!
November 16, 2009
Slideshow Nov. 15: Take A Seat
Stools, benches, lounges, and chairs—we got em'. After hours of shoppin' in the gorgeous fall weather, sometimes you just need to take a seat—from the Flea!
November 12, 2009
Vendor of the Week: Joseph Sipos
We caught up with Joe Sipos over the weekend, a primetime vintage dealer whose milkshake brings all the boys and girls to the yard: his shoes, dresses, sweaters, jackets, and jewelry are fit for co-eds and co-stars alike. Joe also can also spin tales of celebrity gossip til the cows come home. We learned some interesting stuff about what he does on the record, but off the record found out that he recently sold 5 bags to a certain celeb at the Flea—we're surprised the "paparazzi" weren't following her around!
Name?
My name is Joseph Sipos and my company is Estate of Art Vintage Lifestyle.
Hometown?
New York City. Bay Ridge Brooklyn to be exact.
What do you sell and how long have you been selling it for?
I sell vintage clothing and accessories and I have been selling for about 20 years.
What's your specialty?
Vintage accessories.
What's your most memorable sale?
Selling shoes to Debbie Harry.
What keeps you coming back to the Flea?
The image and vibe is really good and high.
What do you do with your time while not Fleaing?
I'm a prop stylist for TV and movies during the week. For fun, I cook and eat.
How can accessory-driven people contact you?
Anyone can find me at the Flea. [Every weekend: B15/Fort Greene; F-11/Bridge.]
Anything else we can expect from Estate of Art Vintage soon?
I'm starting to sell a lot of World War II army surplus—I'l be doing that over the winter [at 81 Front St.]. And vintage accessories for women, shoes especially.
BFF of the Week: Aaron Carambula
Who knows where you'll find inspiration for your art or your coffee table—either way, ze Flea got the goods, as our new BFF Aaron knows.
What do you have there?
It's an old children's block set and you can use these modules to make your own letters. They call it "victory" colors which I guess means faded yellow, blue and grey. The vendor has a whole bunch of antique blocks for kids. [Ed. note: She sure does: Blue Jet Toys has all kinds.]
What are you going to do with your new purchase?
I'm going to use them for some projects. I have a website called Friends of Type where I do a lot of lettering and this is going to become work instead of fun. Haha.
What's the website all about?
It's a blog my friends and I have where we just challenge each other with different lettering and type design, sketches, you know.
So do you come to the Flea to find stuff for your projects?
Sometimes that. Sometimes just to see what's going on. As an alternative to a bar or something.
Are you a local Brooklynite?
Yeah, we aren't too far from here. We've been in Prospect Heights for the last 5 years.
Michigan before that. We are graphic designers and there are more opportunities for us in New York.
Thanks Aaron!
November 9, 2009
Jess Bites Flea: Nunu Chocolates
This week we sampled the Hand Dipped Salt Caramels over at Nunu Chocolates, which called out our name, but we'll be back for the Organic Raspberry, Espresso Brandy, Prosecco Ganache, and the Chocolate Covered Grahams. Yum!
What's it like? Smoky and smooth soft caramel, covered in rich dark chocolate, lightly flecked with sea salt. The taste is layered and complex and oh so decadent.
Meal/snack/drink: Snack.
Tasty with: A cold glass of milk or a frothy coffee.
Where else can this be found: Nunu has a shop at 529 Atlantic Avenue (btw. 3+4 Ave.) in Brooklyn where all the chocolate is made! (Fellow Fleasters Nightwood are tricking out the interior of the space, which will also have a groovy wine bar—ganache with panache!)
Eat now/eat later: Grab for a quick snack or buy a box for a gift.
Cost: $7 for 4, $15 for 9, $20 for 12.
November 5, 2009
BFF of the Week: Rebecca Bliss
Amidst the ghouls and goblins at the Flea on Halloween, a scarved lass by the name of Rebecca appeared prancing through Rue St. Denis, rummaging through a huge bin of pretty things.
Is this your first time at the Flea?
No, it is not.
Do you come often?
Yeah, I live in the neighborhood so I try to check it out when I can.
What did you buy today?
I bought many scarves.
For?
I use them when I dance. I'm in a dance company and I use them to tie my hair back.
What kind of dance do you do?
Ballet and modern.
So you you're not going to use them in your Halloween costume tonight?
Unfortunately, I have to work for Halloween—so no costume.
Where are you working?
I also wait tables because I dance in a dance company. Haha.
You can't dress up while you wait tables? Not even as a dancer? I bet your customers would love that.
I wish!
Alright, thanks for talking to us, Rebecca! Happy Halloween.
November 4, 2009
Vendor of the Week: Carter Anderson
Carter Anderson is always full of tall tales—the way you want a Flea vendor to be. Jess learned about the time he sold baby bottles filled with lead paint to 90 cynical, design-hungry New Yorkers, among other tidbits. Dig the new VOTW format?
Name
My name is Carter Wilson Anderson. Goodness gracious, business names. I have gone under Anderson's Audacious Antiques, Big Time Antiques, Demolicious Antiques when I was in L.A., West of Eden, now I'm going under Artifactual. I just got in bed with some friends and we're doing a new website and a new enterprise together and we're here to clock it deep.
Hometown?
Washington, D.C., the city that kills people.
Where do you live?
I live in Alexandria, which is just outside of D.C. and I have a showroom and warehouse in D.C. as well.
How long does it take to get here?
It's about 3 and a half hours if no one wants to go to the bathroom. Three hours 40 minutes maybe, that's doing 75/80 miles per hour.
What do you sell and how long have you been selling it for?
I have been selling for 22 years. Anything from trash to decorative arts. We like to call the good stuff "eye candy." We like to call the stuff that pays for the good stuff "clutter." We try to bring a mix of both up here, make it accessible and bring a little power—you know, get their attention, rock their world.
What's your specialty?
Industrial and Victorian Garden. I like to sell Garden because it attracts beautiful women. And I like to sell Industrial because it attracts gay men and they pay the most for everything.
What's been your most memorable sale?
That's totally easy. In my early 20s I used to sell at the Chelsea flea market on 26th Street. I would leave the nightclub around 1am and get up to Chelsea around 5am. I used to sell a lot of Architectural and pull down a lot of buildings. One time we pulled all the ceiling tin down from this old supermarket and put it on a box truck. When you buy 2-3000 square feet of ceiling tin and you pull it off, you are left with a pile of lead paint chips. That very same week I bought 94 baby bottles from the '20s. So we are sitting around smoking pot (I did that then), trying to figure out what to do with these baby bottles. And we started putting the lead paint chips in the baby bottles, and I thought, You can always sell cynicism and sarcasm in New York. We were selling those paper weights for 40 bucks each. All 90 of them.
What keeps you coming back to the Flea?
Pretty women and I love Eric and it's just a great Flea with a good vibe. We are trying to get our name out here because New York is the best marketplace in America. It's the center of the world, the only city in America.
What do you do for fun?
I skate board—42 years old and I still skate. And I have a beautiful, wonderful kid and I spend as much time with her as I can.
Got a website?
Artifactural is the website [ed.: we're working on this]. We try to come up every couple of weeks, try to keep it fresh and try not to bring up anything more than twice.
November 3, 2009
NEW! Jess Bites Flea
A new feature here on ze blog: Jess Bites Flea, wherein Miss J samples and surmises the legends and secret stars of the Flea food scene. We launch with the lobster grits from Red Hook Lobster Pound, known of course for their deelish lobster rolls. Must be a claws in their contract about finding new products...
What's it like? Warm and comforting grits with a parmesan bite, topped with big ole chunks of buttery lobster and a dabble of shaved scallion.
Meal, snack or drink: Snack/light meal.
Eat with: Spoon.
Goes with: Peanut butter brownies, free with purchase.
Local? Lobstahs carted down fresh from Maine every week, made in Red Hook, Brooklyn.
Now or later? Eat on the go!
Other uses: Warms and fills belly while perusing the Flea.
How much? $8.
November 2, 2009
Slideshow October 31
In case you were making mischief and didn't make it to the Flea on All Hallows Eve, check out what you missed. Trick or treat!