Krrb is a fun, new and, dare we say, addictive new online venue for buying, selling and swapping stuff with your neighbors, and they’re kicking off the holidays with  a 12 Days of Gifting Give Away.

Krrb, a sponsor of ours, is an all-in-one garage sale, flea market and local classifieds where second-handers, crafters, collectors, artists, designers, artisanal food-makers and buyers can connect. 

It’s a site and an app with a neat slide rule that lets you set your search to just your block – to anywhere in the world. Now selling in Brooklyn: homemade hummus in Park Slope for $5, a vintage makeup case in East Flatbush for $35, and kids’ bunk beds in Windsor Terrace ($250). That’s just for instance.

You can enter the 12 Days of Gifting Give Away by finding something around your home, studio or office that would make a super gift for someone else, and posting it to Krrb.com between now and Monday, December 5. From December 6–22, Krrb will select one winner per day to win one fabulous prize each. On the final day, one contestant will win $250 in cash.

Prizes include An 11×14 polaroid transfer of “Girl With Plane” by Matt Schwartz of She Hit Pause Studios, a gift pack from Sprout Wellness, vintage hotness from Antoinette Vintage, the new Sewing Handbook from BurdaStyle, a private shopping party with credit to Stache Vintage in Brooklyn, specially-made long black leather gloves with silver snaps from Lamia Design, a gift pack of handmade letterpress holiday cards from Ideachic, choice of an upcycled or repurposed lamp with a personalize a Dog Tag from Dog Tag Designs, a handmade brooch from vintage pieces by The Moth in Paris, The Coignet Lime Board along with Board Wax & Oil by Gowanus Furniture and a print from Municipal Print Company.

Enter as many items as you’d like. Post something you’d like to get rid of, something you’ve made or even a service you could offer. Write something nice about each item. (It’s all in the story.) Once you’re done, make your submission by posting it in a link here. All posts must be real and available to your neighbors, both near and far.

The deadline for submissions is Monday, December 5 at 11:59pm EST. Krrb will start announcing the winners on December 6 via Twitter. Follow Krrb at @krrbsale.

Nuit Blanche in Paris.

Ah, Brooklyn: City of Romance, City of Light. Or at least, it will be this weekend (The second part. The first part totally depends how excited about contemporary art you are). For NYC’s contribution to the Nuit Blanche project — which started as an art all-nighter in Paris 10 years ago and now takes places in cities across the world — our little Greenpoint will be transformed into a free nighttime marathon of public art set against the Manhattan skyline. From 6pm Saturday through 1am Sunday, “Bring to Light” will feature a menagerie of site-specific installations by emerging and established artists. The 50+ participants will “re-imagine public space and civic life” through light, sound, performance, and projection, giving you a glimpse at the city like you haven’t seen it before. Bonus: the festival’s arranged to keep the East River Ferry running every 15 minutes ‘till around midnight for a much-appreciated alternative to the G. Have you taken that thing yet? Do it! Waterways are the future.

Cat-hair necklace, $220.

Move over alpaca scarves and sheepskin sock… here comes cat hair jewelry!

In the most impressive recycling feat we’ve seen since the dryer lint Last Supper, a San Francisco artist is turning her cat’s fur into a jewelry line. Flora Davis is selling a (surprisingly beautiful) line of necklaces on Etsy – all made of a cat-hair “felt” she created by rolling the fur between her hands.  As she tells Wired:

“Ordinarily I would have thrown the hair into the compost, but it felt so soft in my hands, I couldn’t bring myself to throw it away.”

Collecting enough fur from Gaia, a flame-point Ragamuffin in case you were wondering, can take two to three months per piece. The crafty cat lady gets $95 to $280 for a single piece, which got us wondering how our readers could make some change from their floor scuzz. No pets other than dust bunnies? You’re in luck.

Gaia the cash cat.

[Via Wired]

You may know 3rd Ward as the place to learn Photoshop, welding or chicken-raising techniques in a matter of weeks. But did you know you can also set up your office there? 3rd Ward has a vibrant co-working center where you can enjoy the camaraderie of other creative souls along with brand-new Macs fully loaded with all the design, editing and animation software you could ever want.

Members can access their unparalleled spectrum of creative facilities, over 800 classes a year, and an inspiring ecosystem of dreamers, makers and doers. And now’s the best time ever to join this amazing Brooklyn institution.

In celebration of its 5^th birthday, 3rd Ward is offering Brokelyn readers an exclusive deal not available to the general public. Click here to join at their 2006 opening-day prices — the lowest member rates ever. You can save more than $1,000 and lock in these rock-bottom prices. This is strictly a friends-and-family deal, so make sure you send this opportunity to all the creative people in your life!

You only have a couple days left. This deal expires at 11:59pm, Monday, May 23rd. You know you want to join. Now’s the best time: http://www.3rdward.com/membershipthrowback/brokelyn

From NYC with LOVE, by Ciro Miguel

Our friends over at the wonderful Brooklyn photo blog For the Love of Brooklyn (bookmark it, kids) are selling a print  that shows a view of Manhattan from the Standard Hotel rooftop. Japan’s iconic Mount Fuji rises in the background, representing “a symbolic image of strength, support, and love.” The 8 x 12 prints, by Brazilian photographer Ciro Miguel, are $25, and all net proceeds benefit the Red Cross. Buy one here.

CEPT, Courtesy Arch402 Gallery, featured in Verge Art Brooklyn

Art lovers in the city are going balls-to-the-wall crazy right now for Armory Arts Week and the Armory Show, starting Thursday. The Upper West Side-based Armory Show boasts the finest in 20th and 21st century modern and contemporary art. It also boasts a big price tag: $30. Lucky for you, you don’t have to travel to Manhattan to get your art on this year. To coincide with the Armory Show, Verge (of Art Basel and Miami satellite fair fame) started it’s own hubbub, made it free, and shifted focus to artists living today. Verge Art Brooklyn runs Thursday to Sunday, featuring nine locations in DUMBO, 70 gallery exhibitors, 40 art project spaces, and 50 finalists in the Tomorrow Stars open call exhibition. Did I mention that it’s all free? Event details and map, below to help you maximize the free artness.

The events are open to the public from noon until 10pm Thursday until Saturday, and noon until 6pm on Sunday.

Gallery exhibitors
81 Front St., and One Main St. (Ground Floors)
The gallery exhibitors spaces are the main attraction of Art Brooklyn. Galleries representing artists from New York, London, Tokyo, Chicago and Seoul, hand picked their best work for your viewing pleasure. Being that it is in such a large space, the works will be displayed like a gallery, unlike the Manhattan booth format.

Artist’s project spaces
55 Washington St., Fourth Floor
These are the spaces the artists rented for themselves. If you are actually looking to buy some art, you will most likely find the most affordable work here. Since the artist is renting the space and is selling their work directly to you, you will avoid any agent or gallery fees.

Artist’s open call exhibition: The best of Brooklyn
20 Jay St., Third Floor
This exhibit features finalists that were selected from the Tomorrow Stars open call by a panel of judges. Each finalist will show one piece from their submission to “represents the brightest and best Brooklyn has to offer.” Latch on to the one you like, make posters in support, and cry when they get kicked off.

Brooklyn Art Now: Survey Exhibition
111 Front Street, Second Floor
Curated by Loren J. Munk/James Kalm, this exhibit showcases 40 local artisits represented by Brooklyn galleries. Loren Munk/James Kalm is a painter/vlogger/art scene historian that bikes around New York City with his camera in hand, to document gallery openings. Local artists, vlogging and bike enthusiasm!

If that’s not enough art for you, you can check out Armory Week’s Brooklyn Night all over Williamsburg. After that, you can go back to doodling stick figures and that middle school “S” in the margins of your notebook.

map via Verge art Brooklyn

Photo from FunnyChill.com

You’re only a little more than halfway through the workweek and feeling full-on postal. We understand. So we’re telling you this because, frankly, we’re tired of reading about Steven the JetBlue flight attendant and Jenny the HOPA girl. Take out your frustration Saturday, at Greenpoint Open Studios‘ dodgeball-style water-balloon-fight fundraiser for their big event (Oct. 1-3). It’s $10 to play, which gets you hurling water balloons for a good cause and a sweet raffle ticket to boot. If you’re on the winning team and your number’s drawn, you’ll win half the entire amount raised.

And if the opportunity to de-stress by reverting to your ornery, indiscreet seven-year-old self isn’t enough to get you there, consider the fact that the day’s all for the Studios—an event that supports local artists and businesses, and turns Greenpoint into one gigantic art exhibit for your enjoyment.

So whether you’re imagining that the water-logged projectile you’re chucking is your boss’s face, or you’re attempting to recreate the pre-carnage spring break scene from Piranha 3D, you can participate with gusto knowing your karma is intact. Saturday, Aug. 28, 3 p.m., in front of the India Street Mural Project (on India St. between West St. and the East River).

via Greenpointers

Camel Art Space will be home to 37+ BOS artists.

If art-gazing’s your thing—even a little—then this weekend’s your Christmas, New Year’s and July 4 rolled into one. Today through Sunday, the Atlantic Avenue Artwalk and Bushwick Open Studios, two of Brooklyn’s biggest displays of its thriving creativity, are taking over their necks of the woods. Whether you’re part of the scene, have a friend who’s part of the scene, or you met someone at a loft party once who dressed like he was part of the scene, get out there. Your art cred is about to go through the roof.

Today marks the beginning of Bushwick Open Studios 2010, a huge celebration of the area’s enormous artistic community. Founded in 2007, BOS has blossomed, and this year features over 300 registered shows. As you tour building after building of artists’ lofts, you really never know what you’ll find—a David-esque sculpture, paintings entwined with the intangibility of identity and authenticity, a provocative dance or just a plain ol’ dance party. Oh, yeah, and free drinks at 115 venues.

BOS is happening throughout Bushwick and even into Williamsburg. Check out the map and directory to pinpoint exactly where you want to start, but any of the L/G/J/M/Z trains will get you there. Friday, Jun. 4 to Sunday, Jun. 6.

Starting Saturday, the Atlantic Avenue Artwalk is a showcase of art “along the cultural corridor of Atlantic Avenue through the historic neighborhoods of Brooklyn Heights, Cobble Hill, Boerum Hill, Gowanus, and Downtown Brooklyn.” While most of walk is a self-guided tour down Atlantic Ave. through galleries and studios, you can also take one of several tours curated by local artists and historians. Exhibits include public art, participatory projects, music, film screenings, workshops and more. Visit the events page for a full picture of what’s going on, including a fair glut of neighborhood specials and deals.  Expect your right brain to get a workout.

Your best bet is to take the 2/3/4/5/B/D/M/N/Q/R  Trains (one of them, anyway) to the Atlantic Ave-Pacific St. stop and walk west. While most featured studios are on Atlantic Ave., download the tour map to find those that aren’t. Saturday, Jun. 5 to Sunday, Jun. 6.

"No Mustard" by Ryan Higgins

In an homage to yard flamingos everywhere, a Ditmas Park basement-turned-art-haven is launching “The Lawn Show”—an afternoon-long Brooklyn version of a sculpture garden. The show’s organized by the Dirty Dirty, an alternative studio space for artists to branch out a bit from their everyday work. You may not find many garden gnomes on the lawn Saturday, but you will be treated to a variety of weird and wonky works from Brooklyn sculptors like Sarah Granett, Ryan Higgins, Elisa Lendvay and a bunch of others. The announcement on Ditmas Park Blog says BYOB, so apparently, the B is a welcome part of the show. Saturday, May 8, 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.

672 Westminster Road, between Glenwood Rd. and Foster Ave. Q train to Newkirk Ave.