April 29, 2008

Closing Bell: BITV Does the Brooklyn Flea

Click To Play

Brooklyn Independent TV's coverage of the opening day of the Brooklyn Flea aired last night but you can catch it Thursday at 1 p.m. and 9 p.m. and Friday at 3 p.m. and 11 p.m. on Time Warner 56 and Cablevision 69. Or check it out above.

Posted by Brownstoner at 4:00 PM | Comments (16)
Categories: Brooklyn Flea, Closing Bell

April 25, 2008

Brooklyn Flea Week 4 on Sunday!

We can't seem to buy any sunshine at The Flea, but there's a ton of things you can buy from the 175-odd vendors who set up every weekend in the 40,000-square-foot school yard at the Bishop Loughlin Memorial High School in Fort Greene. Last weekend saw the arrival of a ton of new furniture dealers (see above); this weekend there's a whole 'nuther wave of vendors (including A&J 20th Century Design, formerly of Lafayette Street in Manhattan!). For more details check out
yesterday's post on the Brooklyn Flea blog. The market is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and is located at 176 Lafayette Avenue. Closet trains are the C and G to Washington/Clinton. Or you can take any of the number of trains that go to Atlantic Station and make the 10-minute stroll up Lafayette Avenue from there.
UPDATE: Despite the morning rain, about 80% of the vendors are set up and open for business today. Come check it out!

Posted by Brownstoner at 3:00 PM | Comments (50)
Categories: Brooklyn Flea

April 18, 2008

See You at The Flea!

As we gear up for the third week of the Brooklyn Flea, here are some images from last week's event. For the uninitiated, the Flea takes place on Sundays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the yard at Bishop Loughlin Memorial High School at 176 Lafayette Avenue between Clermont and Vanderbilt Avenues in Fort Greene. And for those who've been grousing about the vendor mix, get ready for an onslaught of antique and mid-century furniture. Check out the Flea Blog for more details. Pray for sun!

Posted by Brownstoner at 4:00 PM | Comments (4)
Categories: Brooklyn Flea

April 14, 2008

Stylish Times at The Flea

We're not having the best of the luck with the weather at The Flea, but luckily we're more than making up for it with media coverage. (To be fair, it hasn't actually rained yet, but it's come pretty darn close both Sundays to date.) The Sunday Styles section of The Times devoted its cover yesterday to photographs of a number of vendors who were on hand for opening day. (The story was even on the NYT home page for a while.) Here's an except from one of the slideshows narrated by Time scribe Guy Trebay:

The mix of the people you saw at the Brooklyn Flea was really the best part of it. It was very race-mixed, gender-mixed, age-mixed. It was very family, but in the larger sense of the New York family. It just had a very Brooklyn vibe in general.

Another big crowd turned out yesterday, along with a mix of vendors that included a number of new antiques and vintage sellers. Another bunch of vendors who used to be at the Chelsea flea market start next week. Hopefully they'll bring some sunshine with them!
Scavengers on the Urban Savannah [NY Times]
Photos from DJ $mall Change's Flickr Set

Posted by Brownstoner at 10:31 AM | Comments (75)
Categories: Brooklyn Flea

April 11, 2008

Closing Bell: Round 2 of The Flea on Sunday

As we gear up for the second installment of the Brooklyn Flea this Sunday, here's another look back at last week's virgin voyage. The Flea will take place every Sunday—10 a.m. to 5 p.m. rain or shine—at Bishop Loughlin Memorial High School in Fort Greene, Brooklyn, on Lafayette Avenue between Clermont and Vanderbilt Avenues. Vendors change from week to week, selling everything from vintage furniture, clothing and antiques to new designs by local makers of everything from jewelry to textiles. More information about the vendors and directions can be found here.

Posted by sarah ryley at 4:00 PM | Comments (47)
Categories: Brooklyn Flea

April 7, 2008

Flea Links

Here are some links to photo coverage of The Flea:
Inaugural Brooklyn Flea Market [Apartment Therapy]
Browsing the Brooklyn Flea [Gothamist]
Brooklyn Flea Finally Comes Alive [Racked]
The First Brooklyn Flea Attracts Thousands [DumboNYC]
DumboNYC Photo Set [Flickr]
Kristy Rocks New York [Flickr]
Amy Sabha's Photos [Flickr]
Flea Photos [Chaim Jaskoll]
Fort Greene Photography [Flickr]
Photo from DumboNYC

Posted by Brownstoner at 3:02 PM | Comments (28)
Categories: Brooklyn Flea

Brooklyn Flea: Time Lapse

Thanks to all the vendors and visitors who came out to the inaugural Brooklyn Flea yesterday. By some miracle, it didn't rain and the day went off without a hitch. While some of them were double-counts to be sure, the security guard at the door clicked off 20,000 entries into the market throughout the day. Insane. We'll have more candids up later in the day. If you took photos, please put them up on Flickr and tag with "brooklynflea"; if you a post a big Flickr set, please email us with a link. We also want to hear your feedback about vendor mix and other suggestions. Obviously we need more food; unfortunately dealing with the Department of Health isn't exactly a simple and transparent process, but we're working on it. Personally, we want to see more furniture and classic category-killers like antique silver and old watches; maybe a little less new jewelry and arts-and-crafty stuff. This first month will be a gradually tweaking and culling process, so please throw in your two cents.

7:00 a.m.

8:15 a.m.

8:35 a.m.

9:35 a.m.

10:15 a.m.

11:00 a.m.

12:00 p.m.

13:15 p.m.

3:00 p.m.

4:30 p.m.

5 p.m.

5:15 p.m.

5:40 p.m.

6:20 p.m.

Posted by Brownstoner at 9:00 AM | Comments (83)
Categories: Brooklyn Flea

April 4, 2008

See You On Sunday at The Brooklyn Flea

Well, here we are, exactly five months since we announced our intention to launch a flea market at the Bishop Loughlin Memorial High School (above) in Fort Greene. Since then, the Brooklyn Flea has taken on a life of its own, attracting interest from over 800 vendors and a gazillion media outlets. (We got some more ink today on Gothamist.) Luckily, we had the good sense to bring Eric Demby on board early on; his taste, diplomacy and communication skills have been invaluable. We also have had crucial support from day one from City Councilmember Tish James, who recognized from the start what a boost the market could be for neighborhood spirit and economy, and Rob Perris over at Community Board one who proved to be a fountain of knowledge about how to get things done in this town. Marty Markowitz, who will be on hand for the ribbon cutting at 1 p.m. on Sunday, also lent much needed support along the way. And, of course, none of this would have been possible without the co-operation of Brother Dennis at Bishop Loughlin. Lastly, Mrs. B deserves serious kudos for doing double duty as both a curatorial advisor and all-round trooper as we've been saddled with double our regular workload in recent weeks.

With Sunday morning fast approaching, all 200 vendors are in place, we've dotted all the i's and crossed all the t's we can, and now it's time to sit back and pray for sunshine. As with any new venture, there are bound to be some hiccups, but we can honestly say that we couldn't be happier with the incredible mix of vendors that will be on display on Sunday. We're also looking forward to getting a chance to meet as many readers and vendors as possible in person on Sunday, so don't be shy! The Brooklyn Flea takes place this Sunday, and every Sunday thereafter, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at 176 Lafayette Avenue between Clermont and Vanderbilt Avenues in Fort Greene; for directions and a list of vendors please click here. GMAP

Posted by Brownstoner at 3:45 PM | Comments (36)
Categories: Brooklyn Flea