October 06, 2008

Finally fleaing to Brooklyn.

Extracurricular activity (a fancy hootenanny for one of the man’s clients) kept us away from the shore most of the weekend, which meant I was finally able to hop on the subway and over to the much ballyhooed Brooklyn Flea on Sunday. Woo hoo!

The weather was not particularly cooperative, which I would have bet on since the weather gods likely got wind of my borough-hopping outdoor shopping plans. But miraculously the rains held off (unfortunately, so did some of the vendors) and by the time I finally got to the flea (darn subway rerouting. Grrr.) the sun actually poked out.

My first booth visit was with fellow-blogger-old-home-fixer-upper Phyllis at
Reclaimed Home. I’ve already bought a fantastic vintage chair from her, and a light fixture which I’m sorry to say is still sitting in a box in our basement (so it hasn’t made its blog debut yet. Some day…). She had some awesome vintage stuff on hand, like this ACME adjustable dress form in amazing shape which sold for $120 while I was chitchatting.

I’m only sorry that I didn’t manage to take a photo of the form being manhandled, and dare I say violated, buy the two who bought it. They were (quite innocently) stretching her out (the dress form; not Phyllis) out to get an idea of how adjustable she was. A spirited string of one-liners followed, and I’ll just leave it at that. ;-)

Artist Emilia DeVitis, helper o’ Reclaimed Home, has started selling some of her paintings at the booth. The oil water based poly paintings are done on thick pieces of reclaimed wood, and have great texture and movement. And, you’re saying I can own an original painting by a local artist for $30? Sold! Here’s the piece I bought:


Check out some of Emilia’s paintings on
Reclaimed Home, or on her own site, wooloo.

My camera battery was dying so I didn’t get many pictures, but there’s lots and lots of vintage clothing and some fun old kitsch like the stuff at Mad Men Artifacts’ booth:

I loved the canisters.

And some handmade furniture at other booths, like these gorgeous tables:


I almost added to my Statue of Liberty collection, but decided to pass on the couple I spotted. It’s funny…now that I was shopping for my Libby collection in NYC proper, the prices of local memorabilia were adjusted (re: raised!) accordingly. I did buy a fabulous pair of earrings as a gift, but can't show them here just yet in case the soon-to-be-gifted-one checks in. But do visit Birdhouse Jewelry's Etsy store. Amy has cool jewels at great prices.

The Brooklyn Flea runs Sundays through December 21.

17 comments:

heidi said...

i love that they have a "Mad Men" section! Gotta get over there some sunday.

Elle Jay Bee said...

Oh, I am sooo jealous!! I have wanted a dressmaking form forever, and that one was a great price!!

Please stop by my blog and check out the give-away I have going on. I'd love for you to take part. The prizes are great, and the odds are, too!

Linda
xo

Mrs. Limestone said...

Glad you made it my fine borough. Ive been to the Flea a few times and Ive found the selection to be a little bit limited (lots of hipster things, not so much in the real deals category) but its still a fun place to browse. And its still very new. I think it will be a better Flea once the Antiques Garage in NYC closes and some of the vendors make their way over the bridge.

Rhoda @ Southern Hospitality said...

Oh, that looks like fun, Laura! I know I would love browsing there too. and guess what...we are coming to NYC in November for a short visit. Can't wait! I've only been there one time, very briefly so I'm really excited.

Jean Martha said...

Love the painting!

And...you won my Nie benefit Auction too!

Lemme know if you want to meet me for lunch at Grand Central one day and I'll drag it along - or happy to ship it if that's easier.

--Jean

Anonymous said...

I would love to go to a flea market like that!

Melissa @ The Inspired Room said...

Oh, fun stuff, Laura!!

xo

beachy in the burbs said...

This looks like so much fun! :) I love those canisters and all the wooden tables.

j.cro said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
j.cro said...

My friend Lamar had a spot at the Flea on Sunday! How funny. I hope you walked by his booth. He always has great furniture. He usually keeps it at Aaron Aardvark's in New Brunswick, but that store is closing soon so he's trying to get rid of what he's been storing there at the flea....
Get over there if you can before they're gone. Not only is everything on sale, but it's a New Brunswick institution that will go by the wayside at the end of the month.

please sir said...

Oh yay - love your finds! I have the same body form!

Anonymous said...

Hey, thanks for the shout out! It was great chatting with you. I didn't see you taking a picture of the form!

FYI, Emilia's painting isn't oil. She ripped me a new one for saying it was. It's water based poly on top of the paint.

Mrs. Limestone, there's a reason the market has lots of hipster things. That's what sells. I have Victorian items that would look great in any brownstone (or limestone) but when I bring them, I end up schlepping them home. So, hipster stuff it is.

-Phyllis

Mrs. Limestone said...

rh - thats a total bummer because whenver I go, I leave empty handed. I don't have the hipster gene ;)

Thrifty Cents said...

Thanks for your sweet comments on my blog! I am feeling MUCH better now and actually have a voice! Well, I sure do wish we had this kind of "flea" around here! I'm always seeing these great shows and fleas on other blogs and wonder why we don't have the good stuff around here. I guess I shouldn't complain though, as I DO do very well at our Goodwills (although they ARE raising the prices...some things are more than you would find them in the original store). And the Lilly Pulitzer is going up too...but who can complain when you get a pair of $150 pants for $8?! And I've trained my 9 yr. old to look for Lilly in Goodwill so she's a help.
I have to say that the squirrel post is hilarious! Have a great week!

Jean Martha said...

Glad you liked your Nie Auction goodies. I'm always up for "asian fusion" lunch at Cafe Spice (hah!) so feel free to send me an email.

I gotta go get that dress...

Pat @ Mille Fiori Favoriti said...

I would have to be away in Florida when this flea was held --duh! Got to catch the next one!

Diane said...

I miss NY -- I want to go to the flea market