All stories about "Brownstoner"

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At some point, the new Brooklyn Flea in Fort Greene will enjoy a warm and sunny spring Sunday afternoon. In the meantime, we stopped for the Round Two under yesterday's overcast sky and found a decent-sized crowd was still around, although it was thinning out as closing time started approaching. (Brooklyn Flea also got some major publicity in the Sunday Times this week.) Some new vendors we on hand selling antiques and vintage goods and there were still a lot of designers and artisans selling everything from t-shirts to art and furniture to stationary. Brownstoner reports that vendors that used to be at the Chelsea flea market will start next week. As for the "no dogs" thing remarked upon last week, signs at the entrance proclaimed that it was the policy of the school in whose yard Flea happens.
· Stylish Times at The Flea [Brownstoner]
· Scavengers on the Urban Savannah [NYT]
· Brooklyn Flea Finally Comes Alive in Fort Greene [Curbed]

Click the image above to view the full photogallery.

With the amount of press that Jonathan Butler and Eric Demby garnered for their Brooklyn Flea, it should have come as no surprise that despite gloomy weather and train issues, the thing was packed to the gills when it debuted yesterday in Fort Greene. The trip over was fun: the closer you drew to the Flea's home on Lafayette Avenue between Clermont and Vanderbilt, the more clogged the sidewalks became with folks heading home from the event. Once inside, the turnout made it a bit hard to shop, but aside from that, there were definite Flea highlights and lowlights.

With less than two weeks to go until opening weekend on April 6th, Jonathan Butler and Eric Demby's Brooklyn Flea is getting a lot of buzz in the local press. Yesterday, New York Magazine devoted a lengthy spread to the Flea, and today, the New York Daily News spills ink on the open-air market. We can't help but be excited as well—this is the largest flea market to ever open in Brooklyn we're talking about (note: according to the NYDN, that is). As launch day draws near, it's clear that Demby and Butler, who runs real estate blog Brownstoner, have done a good job in getting the word out: according to the Daily News piece more than 600 vendors have expressed interest in the Flea; only 200 vendors will fit on the lot, so offerings will rotate from week to week. What's interesting about the market, and what will also probably help it succeed (aside from the massive outpouring of local support and sheer diversity of goods available), are the excellent food vendors Demby and Butler have rounded up. Expect to find treats from businesses like Choice Market, Wafels + Dinges, Kumquat Cupcakery and Salvatore Bklyn Ricotta. Less than two weeks!
· Colossal flea market grabs Fort Greene [NY Daily News]
· Looking Ahead: A Peek at the Brooklyn Flea Vendor List [Racked]
· Worthy Causes: Brooklyn Flea Wants More Vendors [Racked]
· Come Spring, Fort Greene To Be Flea-Ridden [Racked]

Is it way, way too early to start getting excited for the open-air Brooklyn Flea market that's coming to Fort Greene in April? Earlier today, we posted an item about how the market is still looking for vendors; now, we've got our hands on a partial list of the merchants that have already signed on. In addition to the names mentioned a month back, some of the notables are: Denise Carbonell, a quilt, mobile, and crafts artist who for 20 years had a shop at Stanton & Suffolk on the LES (she's opening a new boutique, Metal and Thread, in Red Hook soon); Salvatore Bklyn Ricotta, fresh ricotta made by two women, one a sous chef at Lunetta; and Demolition Depot, a Harlem-based architectural salvage dealer. Space for markets like this is drying up in Manhattan, but Brooklyn's got room to spare. For now, at least.
· Worthy Causes: Brooklyn Flea Wants More Vendors [Racked]
· Come Spring, Fort Greene To Be Flea-Ridden [Racked]

In only a few months, Brownstoner's ambitious Brooklyn Flea will debut, and right now, the market's organizers are looking for more vendors to sign up. From a letter sent out by Brooklynite-about-town Eric Demby: "The Flea is starting to take shape, and I'd love your help putting it over the top. If you know anyone who would want to be a vendor at the market, please send 'em my way. So far we have everything from vintage furniture and clothing dealers to cookie bakers and ricotta makers to record and bicycle sellers and jewelry designers. But we want more." So if you're a crafty type who's jonesing to sell your homemade wares somewhere other than Etsy, perhaps you should drop Eric a line. The much-anticipated flea (locally-sourced ricotta! vintage furniture!) will open in April.
· Come Spring, Fort Greene To Be Flea-Ridden [Racked]

New York is a rough city for flea markets. The large open spaces that fleas require are hard to find in a town that puts such a premium and a high price on real estate, and cold and rainy fall and winter months kill business for a good part of the year. That's a shame, because flea markets are pretty damn awesome. We're still morning the death of the Chelsea Flea, which has never truly been the same since it was forced to move up to Hell's Kitchen. Jonathan Butler, founder of Brooklyn blog Brownstoner, was also nostalgic for the Chelsea flea —that's why he's decided to launch his own market in Fort Greene. The Brooklyn Eagle recently caught up with Butler, who described how Brooklyn Flea will pan out:

“It’s going to be antique, vintage, and one-of-a-kind type-stuff,” everything from furniture to vinyl to jewelry, said Butler...Food stands could line the bleachers, where patrons would take a break before heading back to the maze of 200 to 300 vendors he expects to cram the yard of Bishop Loughlin Memorial High School, on Lafayette and Clermont avenues. Butler said the market would start in April and run every Sunday, at least until Christmas.