EVERYWHERE—Staid suit-maker Hickey Freeman plans to piggyback on this year's election frenzy with the launch of their Presidential Collection. Sadly, these suits won't actually be styled after specific presidents, though that might make for a punchier marketing campaign. Instead, the line is simply "inspired" by previous heads of state. Dwight D. Eisenhower, LBJ and George H.W. Bush have all worn Hickey Freeman suits, as have Hubert Humphrey, Walter Mondale, and Al Gore, which is a pretty bipartisan list. All of this raises the question: Had Hillary become the Democratic candidate, would they start making suits for women? [RackedWire]
NATIONAL—A rep for Pinkberry just e-mailed us to say that the frozen-yogurt chain will no longer carry Italian design company Alessi's Mandarin Juicer, which offended customers as an Asian caricature. "We started removing them awhile ago," writes the rep. "They were part of an eclectic collection and we in no way ever intended to offend anyone by displaying them." [RackedWire]
Brooklyn Flea honcho Jonathan Butler on week one in Fort Greene: "Agree completely that the vendor mix needs to skew a little more towards the old-school. We have 4 or 5 new antiques/furniture vendors starting next week plus a whole bunch of other vintage dealers in the pipeline from all the press of the past couple of weeks. Re: the dog policy, we know it's a bummer for a lot of people, but for some reason the school doesn't want dog piss and crap on their running track. Go figure!" [Racked Comments]
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 Newsspills 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]
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EVERYWHERE—Staid suit-maker Hickey Freeman plans to piggyback on this year's election frenzy with the launch of their Presidential Collection. Sadly, these suits won't actually be styled after specific presidents, though that might make for a punchier marketing campaign. Instead, the line is simply "inspired" by previous heads of state. Dwight D. Eisenhower, LBJ and George H.W. Bush have all worn Hickey Freeman suits, as have Hubert Humphrey, Walter Mondale, and Al Gore, which is a pretty bipartisan list. All of this raises the question: Had Hillary become the Democratic candidate, would they start making suits for women? [RackedWire]
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