Brokelyn

Safak Aydemir's hand-beaded necklaces.

Stroll down Bedford Avenue on a nice day and the life of a street-vendor can look pretty appealing. So free, so independent, seem those hawkers of books and sellers of handmade mobiles you pass on the sidewalk. You start to wonder what it takes to make a living like this—whether street-vending just might be a viable career path. We’ve certainly wondered all this, and now, after badgering a few street vendors and hard-working public servants, the idea doesn’t seem so far-fetched. For all the enterprising New Yorkers out there with a folding table and dream, the many strings attached and city regulations are no barrier to engaging in this barely tolerated form of commerce. Read the rest of this entry »

Photos by Eric Reichbaum.

How cool is this? To demonstrate the many things that can be made from a plain old t-shirt (in this case, an exceptionally attractive one), Park Slope-based writer and craftmistress Megan Nicolay has made a tote bag from one of our Brokelyn 1.0 t-shirts, and we’re going to give it away to a lucky reader.

But first, more about Megan, the author of two books—Generation T, 108 Ways to Transform a T-shirt, and Generation T, Beyond Fashion: 120 New Ways to Transform a T-shirt (both from Workman Publishing)—that show how to fashion everyone’s favorite wardrobe staple into items ranging from quick, no-sew tops to an elaborately construct wedding dresses. With a few quick snips and stitches she can turn a humble top into something ready for a night out. Read the rest of this entry »

File this under ideas we mused about over beers but never actually pulled off: a new meme blog of the crazy, kooky, sometimes terrifying things people sell on Etsy. (Even weirder than this Michael Jackson memorabilia.) In today’s Thrillist email blast comes a link to the cleverly titled Regretsy blog, a catalogue of treasures like amputated pigeon feet, soap that looks like a corn-doodie, a cuddly plush teddy bear with lady business (um, what for?) and this “birth education” crochet pattern. We’ll spare you the masturbating dinosaur wall plaque, but a pink leopard goat poncho (after the jump) was too festive to resist, even if the goat isn’t convinced. Do your own browsing here. Read the rest of this entry »

We must be in the mood to shop today. Maybe that’s because this weekend is The Renegade Craft Fair—Art Basel for the Etsy crowd—where you could fill a whole Airstream with the DIY cloth purses, agro onesies and vintage-print aprons that will be filling the 250-plus foldup tables at McCarren Park. But what’s the really good stuff? We asked our design-editor friend Mary Kate for a highly opinionated preview. Read the rest of this entry »