Brokelyn

Photos by Christine Herskovits.

By now you’ve heard of the Dekalb Market, where local artisans and foodists peddle their wares in shipping containers parked on the corner of Flatbush Avenue and Willoughby Street. But are there deals lurking in those the steel-encased shops? Here’s what we found on a Brokelyn-style scout… Read the rest of this entry »

Imagine the BK Flea meets A Night at the Opera: everyone dressed to the 8.5s, tons of used stuff for sale and classy live music wafting through the air. That’s what we imagine anyway, for Saturday’s Super Summer Rummage Sale being held by Brooklyn’s One World Symphony. The big sale, happening Saturday from 10 to 3 in Brooklyn Heights, promises tuxes, 2-piece suits, dress shirts, neck ties, dresses, gowns, jewelry, leather jackets, jeans, CDs, musical scores and “much much more!!!!” Maybe you’re not quite sure what to wear for those last few night-time weddings coming up? This might be a good place to look. Read the rest of this entry »

Dancers from the Cynthia King Studio and their vegan slippers (and a sheep).

We’re actually being told to “be there or be square” for the Greenwood Playground Spring Flea Market and Tag Sale on Saturday, and we’re inclined to believe it. This is no ordinary flea the Friends of Greenwood Playground have put together, but a MEGA-Flea, with live music, live dance from the Cynthia King Studio, discounts for local restaurants, prizes, a book-swap and even worm-composting lessons from the Botanic Garden. And, oh yeah, probably a ton of stuff to buy from the vendors selling “treasures, joyous junk, and everything in between!” All this, from 9 to 5 at the playground. We’ll be seeing all you non-squares there.

Greenwood Playground, Fort Hamilton Pkwy at E. 5th St., F or G trains to Ft. Hamilton Pkwy.

The Flea in One Hanson Place, photo courtesy of Racked.com

Holy letterpress cocktail coasters! Racked, the essential NYC retail blog, has some choice photos from the Brooklyn Flea’s debut in One Hanson Place in Saturday, in all of its landmarked art-deco glory. Vendors in teller windows, pupusas in the vault—it’s all too too Brooklyn-fabulous. Izzy Greenspan of Racked (love her, btw) writes:

“The mix of vendors isn’t much different from other Flea locations—there’s the usual vintage coats, grandmotherly furniture, and pressed-tin mirrors, plus a sprinkling of young artisans with homemade bags and clothes. But all of it looks a hundred times fancier under the soaring ceiling.”

The photos from inside the 1895 building, former home to the Williamsburg Savings bank, certainly suggest as much. As Racked points out, it’s a “perfect marriage of market and location.” To us, it’s looking like the perfect place to lose your kids on a freezing Saturday. See more photos on Racked.

We get excited just looking at this photo of One Hanson Place.

Maybe  you’ve been to this building for a root canal or orthodonture. But put those painful memories aside, because starting tomorrow (Jan. 9), One Hanson Place—the dentistry capital of Brooklyn for reasons we don’t really know—will be hosting the Brooklyn Flea for 12 weeks, and the setup sounds totally whack, in a good way. From 10 to 5 Saturdays and Sundays, the flea will take over the ground floor and basement of the former Williamsburg Savings Bank building, where  “vendors will present their merchandise at teller windows, banking kiosks, secret rooms, and even the former vault located within the landmark space,” according to the press release. How cool is that? If you’ve never been, the Art Deco building, with 63-foot vaulted ceilings, giant stained-glass windows, and 40-foot mosaic of New York as a Dutch colony (OK, we took that from the press release too) is worth a gander, even without nitrous.

The Brooklyn Lyceum Holiday Craft Fair.

On the list of life’s pleasures, holiday shopping in your average mall ranks alongside going to the tow pound. But who doesn’t love a craft fair? Cupcakes, live music, onesies printed with curse words… There are so many to choose from this Festivus season that you can find a hand-quilted potholder for everyone on your list without ever leaving the BK. Aside from wading through the piles of beaded earrings and papaya-chocolate-cranberry scented soap, you can also gorge yourself on pie or learn how to make your own textiles. It’s a Christmas/Hannukah/Kwanzaa/non-denominational holiday miracle! And as always, if we missed your school, church or vegan commune’s annual shopfest, please let us know in the comments. Read the rest of this entry »

Zack Fisher and Alex Nelson totally scored.

Over a thousand people attended the massively fun Score! Pop-up Swap at 3rd Ward on Saturday, where our photographer Eric Reichbaum snapped portraits of participants and their finds—like Zack Fisher and Alex Nelson (left) who proudly display a conveniently-sized dry-erase board and a train-shapped sippy cup. A Score indeed! Eric’s photos are awesome, if we say so ourselves. Check out the first few in our Flickr pool—more on the way—where you can also add your own shots from the event.

Brooklyn's Tracie Howarth, an Etsy success story. Photo by Patrick Fagan.

Maybe you knit or throw pottery. Or make jewelry out of Phillips screw heads. Or crochet hamster huts (that makes three of you). Maybe all you ever wanted was to sell your handiwork and never work for anyone else, ever.

You may have heard that all you have to do is open your own shop on Etsy.com, the online marketplace that aims to provide artists with the technology they need to “make a living, making things.” You simply upload product shots, tack on prices, write cute captions, then wait for those millions of members to start placing orders.

It sounds perfect. And easy. But it’s not. Read the rest of this entry »