April » 2010 » Markets of New York

“To Market, To Market” with Your Markets of New York City Tote!

Well, you can’t very well go to the fabulous markets of New York City without a designer market tote, now, can you?

To help celebrate the launch of Markets of New York City: A Guide to the Best Artisan, Farmer, Food and Flea Markets, a team of highly skilled artisans and designers helped me produce this limited edition market tote. You can pick up an advance copy of the guidebook and a tote bag at the Brooklyn Lyceum Spring Food and Craft Market this weekend!

The guidebook uses little icons as a key to tell the reader what kind of market each one is – artisan, farmer, food, or flea. The icons were originally designed by Lauren Ruggeri, the brilliant graphic designer who created the entire book, including the cover that makes me so happy. We paid a lot of attention to the flea because my dad was a biologist who would have insisted on its having six legs, being an insect and all.

Using the original icons, the ever talented Miss Wit, Deb Goldstein of Miss Wit Designs, created the design for the market bag, which was then hand-printed in Red Hook, Brooklyn. The totes are 100% organic cotton, procured from Eco Bags, a NY-based company that “exist(s) to provide products, information and inspiration that help people reduce, re-use and recycle. Starting with the simple step of bringing your own reusable cloth bag to shop may seem trivial, but it creates a “mindset.” Like anything, the more people who take this simple step, the more it becomes the natural and right thing to do.”

I couldn’t agree more.

“Totes may come and totes may go, but this May, make sure to take your tote wherever you go.” ~Miss Wit

Pre-Publication Book Launch at the Brooklyn Lyceum This Weekend!

I will be at the Brooklyn Lyceum’s Spring Food and Craft Market with The Little Bookroom this weekend! Please stop by, say hi, and pick up your advance copy of the guidebook!

Many of the wonderful vendors featured in the guidebook and blog are also going to be at the Lyceum, and they are offering awesome special discounts with your book purchase:

•Alison Tauber: $5 off one shirt

•Bacon Marmalade: Discount on Jars or Baked Goods

•Fine and Raw Chocolates: Chunky Bonbon 2 for $10 (regular price $7 each)

•KnitKnit Knits: 10% off one item

•Lovely Day Designs/LuCrafts: 20% on total purchase

•McFlashpants : 10% discount on total purchase

•Meow Meow Tweet: $1.00 off total purchase

•Miss Wit Tees for Good Times: 15% on total purchase

•Nordea Soaperie: Free 1.5 oz Body Polish with $45 total purchase

•Off the Mat: 20% discount on total purchase

•Pumpkin and Honey Bunny/P&H Soda and Syrup Inc.: $.50 off purchase of sodas and greeting cards

•Rocks and Salt Design: 10% discount on hats

•Sour Puss Pickles: $1.50 off a jar of Green Tomato Relish

•Take Me Homeware: 20% discount on total purchase

•Virginia Kraljevic Illustrations and Cards: 20% discount on total purchase

•Yona’s Gourmet Delights: $1.00 off your purchase of any two combos

Citybitz – Mini Tributes to New York City

Artisan of the Week for the Brooklyn Lyceum’s Spring Food and Craft Market!

If ever there was a great idea for a New York City artisan, it’s Citybitz’ “photographic creations,” featuring the details and culture of the city.

Artist and designer Joan Huggard creates functional art, such as jewelry, mirrors, card cases, money clips, pillboxes, and compacts, all featuring photographic images. She does her own photography of iconic sites, both macro and micro. She takes beautiful angles of the Flatiron Building, the Brooklyn Bridge, and the Empire State Building. But she also admires the smallest details, like the subway tiles in the Chinatown station, the crosswalk guy, and signs in Coney Island. Images you love and images you’ve never even noticed before show up in Joan’s work.

These items appeal to both New Yorkers and to visitors alike. Joan’s reversible Uptown/Downtown pendant is perfect for those New Yorkers who never go below 14^th Street as well as those who never venture above Houston. The cardholder with the word “Drama,” from a theater façade, is the perfect gift for the drama queens in our lives. For visitors to New York, it is often so hard to find unique, quality souvenirs to take home to friends and family. How many people actually appreciate receiving a foam Statue of Liberty crown (I mean, besides me)? But a money clip with an Empire State Building image, or a necklace with the Coney Island parachute jump on it are beautiful, handmade, and very special souvenirs.

Joan also does custom work. If you are commemorating a special occasion, such as a wedding, a birth, a favorite pet, or anything at all, she can take your images and create a wall mirror or other special items just for you.

Joan will be selling her creations on May 1 and 2 at the Brooklyn Lyceum’s Spring Food and Craft Market. Citybitz is a regular at the Brooklyn Flea on Saturdays and Sundays, and you can check the Citibitz website for other market dates as well. Citybitz is also a member of the NewNew Etsy Artisans Group, and she sells her work in her Etsy shop online.

Opening Day of the Hester Street Fair

Today was Opening Day of the Hester Street Fair! I got there a little bit after it opened at 10 AM, and things were already in full swing. Everyone was commenting on the great vibe of the market and the lovely setting under a canopy of London Plane trees. By the end of the day, the total tally was over 11,000 visitors!

Vintage and flea market type vendors are there selling furniture, clothing, posters, decorative items, and much more. I saw a set of four Arts & Crafts style dining table chairs for $40. A wide array of artisans are also selling beautiful handmade items, from throw pillows and greeting cards to jewelery and clothing. The talented and diverse NewNew Etsy artisans group will have different members participating each weekend day. The Hester Street Fair has a balanced mix of vendors, and the quality level is outstanding.

The Hester Street Fair also has a delectable assortment of wonderful food, including breads, pastries, and other delicious things prepared on the spot, following the excellent example of the Brooklyn Flea. There will also be fresh produce vendors at the market each weekend. There was a lot of buzz around the omelettes from toogood Traders. I watched them fry up a huge toogood Greens omelet with “3 eggs, spring onions, kale, spinach, asparagus, fiddlehead ferns, and stinging nettles.” The line for Luke’s Lobster Rolls was impressive for 11 AM, although what could be better than a buttery lobster brunch? For me, the most amazing discovery was a S’Mores mini pie from First Prize Pies, with its graham cracker crust, delicious layer of chocolate, and golden brown top coating of marshmallow. A sweet mini slice of heaven.

One of my favorite aspects of the Hester Street Fair is its focus on the community. The founders of the market live right nearby, and they are committed not only to providing a great resource for the neighborhood, but also to bringing visitors and revenue to the area as well. Among their partners is the Lower East Side Ecology Center, which “works toward a more sustainable New York City by providing community-based recycling and composting programs, developing local stewardship of green space, and increasing community awareness, involvement and youth development through environmental education programs.”

So go check out the Hester Street Fair, and make sure you bring your market bag — and your appetite!

Book Launch Events Schedule and Information!

Please check here for book launch events, offers, and updates!

Announcing The Book Launch Events!!!

Markets of New York City (Little Bookroom, 2010)

I am so excited for the launch of Markets of New York City: A Guide to the Best Artisan, Farmer, Food and Flea Markets (Little Bookroom, 2010), I can barely stand it! It has been such an incredibly rewarding experience to explore, shop, eat, and get to know the wonderful, dedicated, and talented entrepreneurs at the amazing markets throughout the boroughs. Please come out, have some fun, and show your support for these fantastic institutions that give so much character to our fair city!

Weekend of May 1 & 2 – Pre-Publication Launch at Brooklyn Lyceum’s Spring Food & Craft Market

Get an advance copy of the guidebook! Many of the vendors featured in the book are offering generous deals and discounts with your book purchase! Book signing from 11 am – 4 pm on Saturday & Sunday
Brooklyn Lyceum, 227 4th Avenue, Park Slope, Brooklyn (R Train to Union Street)

Many of the wonderful vendors featured in the guidebook and blog are also going to be at the Lyceum, and they are offering awesome special discounts with your book purchase:

•Alison Tauber: $5 off one shirt

•Bacon Marmalade: Discount on Jars or Baked Goods

•Fine and Raw Chocolates: Chunky Bonbon 2 for $10 (regular price $7 each)

•Lovely Day Designs: 20% on total purchase

•McFlashpants : 10% discount on total purchase

•Meow Meow Tweet: $1.00 off total purchase

•Miss Wit Tees for Good Times: 15% on total purchase

•Nordea Soaperie: Free 1.5 oz Body Polish with $45 total purchase

•Off the Mat: 20% discount on total purchase

•Pumpkin and Honey Bunny/P&H Soda and Syrup Inc.: $.50 off purchase of sodas and greeting cards

•Rocks and Salt Design: 10% discount on hats

•Sour Puss Pickles: $1.50 off a jar of Green Tomato Relish

•Take Me Homeware: 20% discount on total purchase

•Virginia Kraljevic Illustrations and Cards: 20% discount on total purchase

•Yona’s Gourmet Delights: $1.00 off your purchase of any two combos

Thursday, May 20 – Publication Party! You’re Invited!

Book signing and reception from 6 pm – 8 pm (Bonus – Meet my mom, Haydee, to whom the book is dedicated.)
Refreshments will be provided by Chelsea Market shops, including Manhattan Fruit Exchange, Chelsea Wine Vault, Buon Italia, Amy’s Bread, and more!
Posmans Books at Chelsea Market
75 9th Avenue at 15th Street, Manhattan (A, C, E, 2, & 3 Trains to 14th Street)

Saturday, May 22 – Markets of New York City Celebrates Handmade Brooklyn!

Meet many of the vendors featured in the guidebook at this full-day event especially for Brooklyn! Book signing from 11 am – 5 pm
Brooklyn Indie Market, Details on Yelp.com
Smith Street & Union Street, Brooklyn (F & G Trains to Carrol Street)

[On a sober note, I wanted to do something to honor a colleague who died in the earthquake in Haiti, Gerardo Le Chevalier. So, with permission of his family, we will be collecting donations for Doctors Without Borders at "Celebrate Handmade Brooklyn" in Gerardo's memory for their ongoing work in helping Haiti recover from the disastrous effects of the earthquake earlier this year.]

I’m only going to have one first book launch in my life, so please come out and help me make the most of it!

Big Weekend for Markets in New York City!

Handmade Cavalcade, April 24, 2010 at Berry Park in Williamsburg

Market Season is definitely upon us! Here are some great events to help make this a spectacular weekend:

Saturday, April 24:

Spring Handmade Cavalcade – Sponsored by the NewNew Artists Group, featuring over 25 vendors selling their wonderful handmade designs. Berry Park in Williamsburg, 10am – 5pm

Saturday and Sunday, April 24 & 25:

Brooklyn Flea Annual Plant Sale – In partnership with GrowNYC, Greenmarket vendors will be selling “annuals, bulbs, herbs, perennials, vegetable starters, you name it.” Don’t miss this once a year event! Saturday at Ft. Greene location and Sunday at One Hanson.
Crafts on Columbus – The American Arts and Crafts Alliance, Inc. hosts this long-standing craft fair over three weekends through May 9. Make it a day by visiting the Greenflea and the Greenmarket on Sunday too! Columbus Avenue between 77th & 81st Streets.
Hester Street Fair - The Hester Street Fair launches this weekend. Loaded with artisans, farmers, food vendors, and flea vendors, Hester Street Fair brings the traditional markets of the Lower East Side back to life. Hester & Essex Streets, 10 – 6 pm

Also launching on Friday, April 23:

Homemade Brooklyn - Homemade Brooklyn opens a week-long pop-up store featuring artists, artisans, a film screening and more. 522 Metropolitan between Union and Lorimer, 12 – 8 pm

See you on the streets and lots in the city. Rain or shine, it’s all good!

Photo of the Day – April 21, 2010: Belle de Nuit NYC

Tiny and Dainty Silk Floral Designs by Belle de Nuit NYC

It was late afternoon at the Greenflea on Sunday when I came upon the colorful floral arrangements by Laura Zeitlin of Belle de Nuit NYC. I was a floral designer with Dragonfly Floral for several wonderful years, but I couldn’t tell if these ones were fresh or silk, especially the peonies. It turns out that they are some of the nicest silks I’ve seen, and some of the roses are actually preserved natural flowers. Belle de Nuit’s colors, composition, and containers are just delightful, and they’ll stay that way in your home forever! (The one in the photo is actually now happily ensconced on my desk.)

People’s Pops Opened at Chelsea Market!

I can’t tell you how excited I was to see the People’s Pops open their counter at Chelsea Market. Their natural popsicles, made from fresh ingredients from the local farmers markets, have been a mainstay at the Brooklyn Flea and the New Amsterdam Market. The flavors are innovative and amazing. Yesterday I had a Sour Cherry Blackberry, and James had a Blackberry Lemon Verbena, both refreshing and guilt-free because they’re made from real, fresh fruit!

They will still be participating at the outdoor markets, but if you can’t wait for the weekend for a frozen treat, go see them at Chelsea Market in the newest area near Jacques Torres Chocolates and Lucy’s Whey American Artisanal Cheeses. And don’t forget to admire their counter tops, to which the People’s Pops people (Nathalie, David, and Joel) painstakingly glued thousands of popsicle sticks!

(Photos by James Wesolowski)