July 21, 2008
Finders/Keepers Week 2
The second Scavenger Hunt lasted slightly longer than the first, but we broke our record for earliest find: 10:02am! (The snazzy blue tote bag was a serious find. Thanks to Areta from Papushka Vintage for hookin' it up.)
Here are this week's lucky winners:
Travis (our crack Flea staff didn't get his last name or neighborhood--or any of the other winners for that matter!) was clearly psyched to snag the blue Monarch flight bag from Papushka Vintage. Unfortunately, Papushker Areta didn't make it into this glamorous cell-phone photo--she's a cutey!
Lovely Jena scored the owl from Doug Anson, who's not big on photos. He's got great stuff in W12 though! (Please note Jena's owl pendant, which proves she was on the prowl for this bad boy.)
This fine fella (Brownstoner failed to even get his name!) was surprised to learn he won Mr. Robot, even though he had seen him on the blog last week. He's here with Futaba Sunderland from Futopiaco, who's in W38 or so every week. Cute!
Check back Friday morning for this Sunday's treasures.
Robot winner Barry Grossman of Flatlands dropped us a line to say that's him in the photo. Congrats Barry!
July 18, 2008
Scavenger Hunt Items: July 20
The Flea's illustrious Scavenger Hunt screams into Week 2 with a lovely assortment of treasures for Fleasters to scour the yard for. And wouldn't you know it--there's another cute owl among the Huntees! And we thought they were endangered or something. Luckily, owls are still very hip.
Happy scavenging!
From left:
1. Little Robot Guy--battery-operated, wheels around, flashing eyes and ears. Reproduction.
2. 1970's "Monarch" baby blue vinyl travel bag--great for guys or gals. Vintage
3. Ceramic owl on pedestal. Looks more serious than last week's winking owl. Vintage
July 17, 2008
Weekly Blogwrap
Another new feature! Every Thursday (or thereabouts), we'll round up the various Flea posts from around the World Wide Web.
Coldwell Banker Property Listing (touting proximity to ze Flea) 7/13/08
Malia 7/13/08
Urbania.us 7/13/08
Stacey Snacks 7/14/08
July 16, 2008
In the Mix
Last week's Flea was packed with vendors and "regular" people, one of our finest days yet. (In case you're wondering the crowd approached 7000 for the day.)
Look out for more quickie, visual posts like this one as we try to convey the breadth of all ze Flea has to offer.
John Bal, an excellent chap who's a Senor Flea dream: you never know what he's gonna show up with, but you can tell he's searched far and wide for it--plus he's got that gruff exterior but friendly-under-the-surface thing that some of us go to markets to experience. Last week he had an insane amount of weathered leather belts (top left), a clump of mismatched silver, a heavy old rotary phone and so much more. John calls his biz eBuy/Sell (for unexplained reasons), you gotta check him out.
Across the Clermont aisle from John is Frank and Diego's colorful array of mid-century furniture, which they call Grandma's Attic. They have desks, dressers, storage units, you name it--most of it in bright primary colors and a little bit of '50s/'60s flair to boot (right. They had a great lamp last week that was gone before we could go back and snap it--turns out our friends bought it for their new baby's room!
July 14, 2008
Finders/Keepers
The first Flea Scavenger Hunt was practically over before it started. By 10:30am we had two winners (the bowl and the owl) and by 11:15 all 3 items had been discovered. Keen eye, Fleasters!
So without further ado, here's who took home the goods:
Anna Gordon from Windsor Terrace plucked the porcelain bowl from the Greenjeans booth at 10:10am. She saw it on the blog and snatched it right up with a smile. Here she is with Greenjeans groovy gal Amy Shaw. (Greenjeans is relocating from its Park Slope shop probably in early fall--stay tuned for news.)
Sarah Schumann of Prospect Heights had been wanting the winking owl cookie jar for weeks now, then her friend emailed to say it was in the Hunt. She promptly snatched it from Amy Heath of Jellyroll Vintage as she was unwrapping it for display--at 10:30am. Wink wink, nudge nudge!
Smiley Emil Andresen from Aarhus, Denmark, didn't even know about the Scavenger Hunt until he tried to purchase Blondie's Parallel Lines, which he had been searching for, from Tequila Sunrise Records. Then owner Anthony Vogdes let him know he was a winner and Emil was, as pictured, all smiles. Congrats!
July 13, 2008
Sun, Sweet Sun!
Thanks to all the vendors and visitors who came out today. It's great when it all comes together!
July 11, 2008
Fun Alert: Sunday Scavenger Hunt @ Ze Flea!
Beginning this Sunday Fleasters will have yet another reason to visit the yard every week: our new weekly Scavenger Hunt.
Every Friday, we'll post photos of 3 items donated by our generous (and wonderful) vendors here on the blog, and will also have photos of the items at the entrance to the Flea. If you're lucky enough to find one of the items among the treasures inside the market, it's yours absolutely free!
Then we'll snap your photo with the winning item and its friendly vendor and post it here on the blog that Monday or Tuesday. You can only win/find one item per week, and the Hunt starts when the Flea opens at 10am.
So without further ado, here are this week's Scavenger Hunt at Ze Flea items. Happy hunting!
From left:
1. Awesome winking owl cookie jar--vintage
2. Pretty porcelain bowl by a ceramicist from upstate New York--new.
3. Collectible Picture Disc vinyl edition of Blondie's 1978 classic Parallel Lines, featuring such smash hits as "Heart of Glass"--vintage/unopened.
Scrumdiddlyumptious
It's gonna be a banner Flea this Sunday: great new vendors, gorgeous weather (jinx!), the launch of "The Stoop," and the capper: tasty new treats.
We were waiting for our pal Tessa from Chida (Mexican kid slang for "cool") to perfect her amazing Mexican-style ices before going public with her Fleadom, and that time is now! With insanely awesome and unique flavors like goat's milk dulce de leche (cajeta), wild strawberry, and hibiscus with chili peppers, Chida is based on Mexican street and market vendors who twirl ice or milk in spinning metal canisters inside large wooden barrels (right) surrounded by a mixture of ice and rock salt until they form "nieves" (snow) of light airy frozen goodness. Rather than explain it away, just go try one and it'll all make sense. Andale! (She'll be in W1 near the lavender folks.)
In a similar vein (of ice?), the upstart People's Popsicle guys will make their Flea debut Sunday, serving up frozen pops made with fresh, organic fruits and herbs from NYC Green Markets. Strawberries and cream, rhubarb, blueberry, and yogurt and honey (yum!) are some of the sweets to slurp. Say hi to Joel and David in E4.
As the Wafels folks take a summer hiatus, we'll be rotating in some new hot-food vendors in coming weeks. PaPa Lima, the Williamsburg sandwich shop (Bedford + S. 4 St.) that nymag.com succinctly says "bridges the gap between the once great but now rare old-school Italian hero style and the more modern raised-pinkie panini parlor." They'll also be rocking a Mexican fruit salad with spicy spices, mini ice-cream sandwiches (banana ice cream betwixt peanut butter cookies hello!), and fresh basil lemonade. Good peeps, and owner Pete is a Red Sox fan to boot. F5, near Blue Marble.
To top it all off, the fine folks from The Brooklyn Kitchen will be back with their sizzling array of vintage kitchen cookware, tools, and gadgets, like the enamel number at right. They have good stuff, check 'em out. L14, to the left of the Lafayette entrance.
July 10, 2008
Perch!
Before we launched, Senor Flea made the rounds of top Brooklyn handmadens like Lotta Jansdotter, Lena Corwin, and Alyssa Ettinger, begging them to join the nascent Flea. They obliged--thanks gals!--but we remained sad that Red Hook's Perch! couldn't also join us.
Boomerang!
We're psyched to have Amy and Perch! in the mix this Sunday, as her design pieces for the garden, tabletop, fridge, and wall strike such a pleasing balance between warm/soft, tactile, modern, functional, and, well, cute. Check out the cool canister and planters at right for a couple of examples.
Amy will be over in B1 on Sunday with lots of stuff to peruse and ogle. Enjoy!
Because of the holiday, we were remiss in welcoming new Boerum Hill shop Fact & Fancy to the Flea last week. Danielle and Christine cut through the crafty clutter with a super-sharp eye for clean lines, inventive imagery, and unique useful stuff. Their spanking new shop is at 75B Hoyt St. between Atlantic and State. Great for gifts! We hope they'll be back soon.
July 9, 2008
The New Old
Lest we lose sight of the big picture, ze Flea is first and foremost a destination for vintage and antiques goods/stuff/items of all kinds: fancy and cheap, rejuvenated and raw, primitive and modern. We're building a good crowd of collectors to be sure, and the more folks who appreciate objects, collectibles, furniture, farm instruments, pottery, porcelain, housewares, horsies--you get the idea--the merrier. (We're just trying to live up to our new slogan: "An Acre of Treasures, Tchotchkes, Chocolate, and Cheer!" Whaddyathink?)
Summer has brought a refreshing turnover in vendors, so we figured it would be a good time to play a little catch-up.
Don and Chuck of Red Barn Antiques (right) hold it down in W31 every Sunday, bringing a fresh trove of painted fireplace inserts, lamps, wicker, knick-knacks--the full gamut of classic fleadom. They're sweeties to boot.
Brian of Metro Orange Art plies his trade in artwork of all kinds, with a Flea specialty in old Brooklyn pics like the Fort Green [sic] fishmonger photo below at right. He'll be in W3 this week.
After a too-long hiatus, our pal Adam Forgash--he of the venerable vintage-camera and -photo collection--returns to his spot by the handball wall (B15) to work his magic (and pleasant sarcasm) this Sunday.
Cuties Nam and Amy from Deco Haus are back after a brief respite as well, with their really cool and totally affordable collection of well-restored dining sets, lamps, vanities, and the like. Clermont fence, in the double-booth that looks like the coolest apartment you've ever seen.
Just down the fence from Deco Haus you'll find Frank and Diego from Grandma's Attic, who specialize in mid-century furniture of all kinds that's tied together by its blasts of color, affordability, and Frank and Diego's eye for offbeat larger pieces. Nothin' like 'em in the market.
We are grateful to tall guy Bayo for bringing in a rotating crop of antiques vendors from across the region every Sunday: books, art, planters, lots of green things--you never what to expect in what we're now calling "Bayo's Corner." B21 and B24, by the Vanderbilt-side handball wall.
Doug Anson is a friendly rocker-type whose dazzling array of pins, medals, flags, pennants and ephemera of all kinds always warrants the once-over. Think '70s Stones concert tours, war memorabilia, owl clocks, that kinda stuff. W12 on the midway, weekly.
For the sake of space, here are some other folks to seek out:
Pals Sam Hotchner and John Bal (aka "eBuy/Sell") have side-by-side double-booths in W4 and W5 this week, check 'em out and be ready to dig.
A fellow known to us only as "Long Island Eddie" is back with 2 spots this week, and we feel good about his stuff.
Michael of Accentiques, the longtime shop on Flatbush Ave. in the Slope, has been parlaying his old stock into a well-curated booth most Sundays for awhile now. Look for Michael in his shades and straw hat around W28/29.
Sweet Phyllis from Reclaimed Home has been a reliable Flea fixture since Day One in C4, and she's paring down to a monthly schedule for summer. She always has the coolest mix of stuff: painted baby bed frames, cinema seats, mantels, what have you. She's a hoot to chat with too.
Friendly Sydney of Baxter's Bazaar holds it down in W24 with a classic eclectic mix, and we like his eye a lot.
Local guy Tadd pulls together clothes, clocks, canisters, cookie boxes, basically all manner of collectibles--even if they don't start with "C." Check the map for his location on Sunday.
Nothing New (cool name!) is Valerie's mix of furniture, porcelain, glasswork, and art, and she's one of a few vendors that have made their way to the Flea via the Summit Antiques Center in Summit, NJ. She's in V12, go say hi.