This spring, I’ve set up shop twice at the famous Brooklyn Flea in Fort Greene. The first time I did it, it rained, so I only got in half a day’s worth of selling. Though that day was cold and dreary, the die hards still came out–people with a good eye, looking to see if I knew my stuff. I was excited to see that people had sophisticated tastes. I sold a few things and then packed up when it started to drizzle.
Two weeks later I set up again. This time, I could not have asked for more perfect weather. I sold a lot of $15-$20 items, a few $60-$80 items, and two $400 items–an original LCM Eames chair and an action painting by artist D. Aron. It was definitely worth the effort.
The following day I went to the same Brooklyn Flea in Williamsburg (they do Fort Greene on Saturdays and Williamsburg on Sundays), but this time, I was a buyer and not a vendor. I spent money from my flea sales on a vintage Panasonic Tourist for my son Axel, who is leaving for college soon. I’d been looking for the perfect collegiate style bike for several months, and I finally found it. Thanks, Brooklyn Flea!
I’ll be back as a vendor before the summer is over. Stay tuned!
More about the Brooklyn Flea:Brooklyn Flea operates New York City’s best markets, every weekend of the year, featuring hundreds of top vendors of antique and repurposed furniture, vintage clothing, collectibles and antiques, as well as a tightly curated selection of jewelry, art, and crafts by local artisans and designers, plus delicious fresh food. The New York Times called the Flea “One of the great urban experiences in New York”; Country Living, Budget Travel, and Delta Sky ranked the Flea one of the best markets or antiques shows in the U.S.; andTime Out NY named the Flea one of New York’s Essential Pick-Up Spots.
Since April 2008, Jonathan Butler, founder of Brownstoner.com, Brooklyn’s biggest blog, and Eric Demby, former communications director for Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz, have operated the Brooklyn Flea, a weekly outdoor market in Fort Greene and other “pop-up” locations that features 150 local and regional vendors of antiques, vintage clothing, handmade items, jewelry, food, bicycles, records, and more. In its first three years, the Flea has grown into a New York City institution, garnering local, national, and international press for its diversity of vendors, for the quality of food and merchandise, for the inclusive community aspects of the market’s atmosphere, and for the economic stimulus the market provides to both vendors/entrepreneurs and local businesses.
