Antiques Garage » Markets of New York

Revving up for 2012 Plus Market Picks For A Cold Wet Weekend!!

Pantera Azul - Not Your Average Mouse Pad

Hi Everyone!

It was an incredible holiday season at the markets! There were almost 50 market events throughout the city, and they were all filled with festive shoppers. I took a little hiatus to rest a bit, catch up on business, and write a couple of book proposals (more on that coming soon). The photo is my co-author Pantera Azul. Not your usual mouse pad, but much warmer and fuzzier.

I want to thank every single person who bought their holiday gifts in the markets. You have supported local artisan entrepreneurs and helped make sure that the creative community that is so important to the culture of New York City can continue to thrive for another year. And I’d be prepared to wager that your gifts were the best ones under the tree this year! Mine always are.

And I want to thank all the markets and market sellers who make my weekends so incredibly fun and inspiring! I’ve been visiting markets almost every weekend for the last three years, and I still find things that blow me away all the time. I can’t wait to see what 2012 has in store for this blogger!

This weekend there are several great market events going on:

Indoors:

Antiques Garage (Saturday & Sunday)
Artists & Fleas (Saturday & Sunday)
Brooklyn Flea (Saturday & Sunday)
The Market NYC (Saturday & Sunday)
Smorgasbrewery (Sunday only )
SUPER!market (Saturday only)

Outdoors (watch the weather and check the sites for updates):

Hell’s Kitchen Flea (Saturday & Sunday)
West 25th Street Market (Saturday & Sunday)

And of course, your year-round food markets:

Even though the weather looks bad this weekend, there are plenty of wonderful things to do in the Markets of New York City!

Weekend Market Picks October 29-30, 2011 + Lovely Day Designs

Louise Lasson is the artisan behind Lovely Day Designs. I saw first her work at the Brooklyn Flea Gifted Market in 2009, and she keeps on adding more creative designs and products to her line.

She is known for her extremely wide array of switch plate covers! Everything from Buddhas and Mermaids, to Flowers, Cats, Pinup Girls and beyond to dress up your walls in a fun, unexpected way! She also sells delightful magnet sets. Her lovely soy wax candles are hand-poured into Depression Glass pieces and vintage teacups, and they are beautifully scented. What I love about Louise’s work is that it is creative, lovely, and practical, the essence of fine craft.

Louise is a member of the {NewNew} Etsy Artisans Street Team. Check LovelyDayDesigns.com for all her Holiday Market events. Her pieces are perfect for hostesses and for anyone who has light switches in their home.

Here are this week’s Market Picks! Meh to snow in October!!!

Saturday and Sunday

Artists and Fleas: Artists & Fleas is an excellent choice for this ridiculously snowy weekend! It features amazing vintage clothing and craft vendors, and it is indoors! Plus it’s a great place to get a groovy Halloween costume that you might actually wear again in real life!

Antiques Garage: This large indoor flea market has not one but TWO floors of antique and vintage treasures, including clothing, jewelry, home decor, artifacts, rare antique books and prints, and many more things that cannot even be categorized!

Saturday

Grand Army Plaza Greenmarket: Halloween comes to the Greenmarket! Bring the kids for Pumpkin Painting, the Pumpkin Carving Contest (bring your already carved pumpkins, winner gets a prize!), and an Apple Cider Donut Eating Contest!

Hester Street Fair: CANCELED due to impending weather! Double booooo!!! Thanks for another great season!

Smorgasburg: For true food lovers, it doesn’t matter if it’s snowing outside. They will still flock to Smorgasburg for some of the tastiest, most innovative food in the city. Serious delciousness going on here, with around 75 food vendors, plus the Williamsburg Waterfront Greenmarket!

Sunday

Fulton Stall Market: Another great place to bring the kids, the closest thing I’ve seen to matching Boston’s SOWA Market of the Living Dead for Halloween fun is at the Fulton Stall Market! In addition to their great lineup of food, craft, and farmer vendors, the market will have pumpkin painting, appearances by Berenstain Bears, Curious George and Maisy with readings of their favorite spooky stories, trick or treating, and a dance party with DJ Jonathan “Scary” Toubin (2pm). Kids kids kids!

Grab your tote bag, pull on your boots, and head to the Markets!

Weekend Market Picks for July 16-17, 2011

I am thrilled to feature the wonderful array of products from SchoolHouse Kitchen! I first tried their jams, chutneys, mustards and vinaigrettes at the New Amsterdam Market, and I cannot get over the flavors and the combinations they use. My current favorite is Cherry Blackberry Sage & Clove Spreadable Fruit, which is equally delicious on toast as it is as a marinade for chicken. They just brought out two new vinaigrettes that got rave reviews at the Fancy Food Show in DC last weekend: Poppyseed Vinaigrette Revival and the Coconut Citrus Vinaigrette. Yes, you read it right! They give a percentage of their proceeds to education charities, and all the products are made with high quality, natural ingredients. I have taken their motto to heart: Eat well, eat in moderation, and be adventurous.

And now for this weekend’s Market Picks for everyone who is staying in town this weekend of visiting New York City from far and wide:

Saturday & Sunday

Antiques Garage and the Annex: These two markets are located across 6th Avenue from each other, and it’s worth it to stroll through both locations. The Garage has two floors of diverse vintage and antique items, from books and prints to clothing and ship memborabilia, and everything in between. You know you love digging for treasures, and you should spend some time at the Annex – clothing, jewelry, records, and vintage everything. Manhattan

Essex Street Market: If you haven’t gone shopping at the Essex Street Market, go this weekend. And bring a tote bag! This market opened in 1940 when Mayor LaGuardia got all the street vendors off the street and into new market buildings. Today, you can find cheese, fish, meats, coffee, pastries, bread, handmade chocolates, and much more! Manhattan

Park Slope Flea Market: Have you been walking past this market for years, take the time to go inside and see all the wonderful things there. The Park Slope Flea is a classic flea market, with vintage clothing, homewares, furniture, and even artwork and sweet bonsai trees. Brooklyn

Saturday

Grand Army Plaza Greenmarket: The Grand Army Plaza Market is the largest one in Brooklyn, akin to the Union Square Greenmarket in size and variety of foods sold. But it’s a lot more laid back, with families, joggers from the park, and people strolling with their dogs, all browsing through the produce, bread, fish, and more. GrowNYC has textile recycling and compost collection every weekend too! It’s also a short walk from the Park Slope Flea! Brooklyn

Sunday

Greenflea: The Greenflea is back on the Picks List because it’s just so great. There are some amazing vendors there, including vintage, fleas, jewelry of all kinds, delicious market food, furniture, and this guy (Scott Jordan). Wander around the outdoor market, and then visit the vintage vendors inside the school cafeteria. Manhattan

It’s going to be a wonderful weekend, so head out to the markets and let us know what you bought and what you ate! And don’t forget to pick up something delicious from SchoolHouse Kitchen on Saturday at Smorgasburg and Sunday at the New Amsterdam Market!

Weekend Market Picks for July 2-3, 2011!

I love staying in town when everyone else leaves because it feels like I have it all to myself. But I’ll share New York City with you this weekend if you happened to stay in town or come for a visit!

Here are my Artisan, Farmer, Food and Flea Market Picks for this Fourth of July holiday weekend:

Saturday and Sunday, July 2 – 3, 2011

Antiques Garage: It’s supposed to be a beautiful weekend, but if you’re just too darn hot, go stroll around the Antiques Garage. It has two full floors of antique and vintage dealers, selling clothing, memorabilia, furniture, jewelry, and many many more treasures. On the second floor, look through the amazing collection on the tables of Hobbit Rare Books and Prints.

Bleecker Street/Pompeii Artisan Market: To be honest, I walked by this market a thousand times on my way to or from Murray’s Cheese and Faicco’s on Bleecker Street for a prosciutto ball. But when I actually stopped to look, I was amazed by the wonderful handmade and vintage wares, as well as the sheer variety of styles. You can find Bakelite jewelry, handmade soaps, and sweet vintage hats here. Check out Monica Jean Davidson’s jewelry designs! (Bleecker Street between Carmine and Leroy)

Nolita Market: I bet you’ve walked right by this market on your way to or from Soho. I encourage you to stop and really check out all the amazing artisans there. Shaya hand-hammered jewelry, Grey 56 fine leather goods, funny tee-shirts and a whole lot more fill the tables along the beautiful brick wall that surrounds the Old St. Patrick’s Cathedral.

Saturday, July 2, 2011

Smorgasburg: I know I’ve been going on about how great Smorgasburg is, and I’ll keep doing it! Go hungry and bring a totebag. You will find an incredibly array of prepared foods to eat then and there, and you will want to bring home fantastic artisanal products to cook with and eat later. Look for SchoolHouse Kitchen’s jams, mustards and Chutneys!

Williamsburg Waterfront Greenmarket: As if Smorgasburg wasn’t great enough, there is a big, wonderful Greenmarket on the site too with almost 20 farmers doing food demos and other family activities. So many delicious foods are in season right now!

Sunday, July 3, 2011

Fulton Stall Market: There are loads of edible and artisanal treasures at the Fulton Stall Market this weekend down at the Seaport. Sweets and savories to eat while you shop, as well as produce, fresh fish, dairy, cheese, and baked goods. This weekend is the debut of Wooly’s Ice, selling shave ice flavored with special syrups and fresh fruits. Sounds perfect for a holiday weekend!

Have a wonderful Independence Day!

This Weekend’s Market Picks: May 14-15, 2011

Wowza! This has been one busy week for me! I’m planning to do a lot of strolling with my camera in tow on Saturday. Here’s where I’ll be:

Saturday:

9th Avenue International Food Festival: I love that they feature local shops and merchants in this street fair, and proceeds go to support neighborhood programs.
West 25th Street Flea: I owe this market some love. I’ll stop by the Antiques Garage also to say hello.

This is also the final weekend of Crafts on Columbus. I went last weekend, and the selection is beautiful and super high quality. And if you are there on Sunday, definitely also cross the street and visit the Greenflea, which is hosting the 79th Street Greenmarket while Crafts on Columbus is running. It’s asparagus season!

I am taking Sunday off to get caught up on all the wonderful market things I want to write about, and to make the Plum Crumb Cake from Beth’s Farm Kitchen’s new cookbook, Cooking with Jams and Chutneys. Book review and photos coming next week! I also need to rest up for the following weekend, which is LOADED with fantastic market events!! I’ll give you lots of advance notice so that you can map out your market excursions.

Note: Beloved Gus’s Pickles is making their triumphant return to the Lower East Side this Saturday at the Hester Street Fair. It’s kind of a big deal.

And thank you to the Meeker Avenue Flea for being open for us 7 days a week! My friend needed a kitchen table urgently, and she found the perfect one here!

Happy Marketing!

Photo of the Day- July 30, 2010: Andre’s Tavern Vintage Wine Items

Walker Patent Corkscrew with a Boar Tusk Handle Capped and studded in sterling silver (American, c. 1900 - 1920)

Andre Burgos’ shop at the Antiques Garage, Andre’s Tavern Vintage Wine Items, will transport you back in time. Imagine a wood paneled library, circa 1909, leather and cloth-bound books on the shelves around you, a generous brown club chair, and a bottle of port that needs to breathe. You pick up your brand new boar tusk corkscrew with the sterling silver studs, and you proceed to open the bottle. The ruby liquid swirls in your glass as you settle in to take your first peak at the brilliant illustrations by Maxfield Parrish in the new version of Arabian Nights.

Fast forward 100 years, but stay focused on that boar tusk cork screw. A Walker patent corkscrew with sterling silver caps and studded boar tusk handle (American, 1900 – 1920), it is absolutely stunning. It is just one of many brilliant and beautiful wine-related items that Mr. Burgos brings to the Antiques Garage each weekend. He has many different kinds of corkscrews, as well as antique European pocket knives, all wonderfully designed and in excellent condition. The French decanting cradles and English Sheffield bottle coasters will turn anyone into a wine lover at the mere thought of using such lovely accoutrements.

Come meet Mr. Burgos in person on Saturdays and Sundays on the first floor of the Antiques Garage. Or visit Andre’s Tavern online. Just looking at his treasures will help you savor your next glass of wine as if it were the best one you’ve ever had.

Photo of the Day – July 14, 2010: Ocean Liner Memorabilia at the Antiques Garage

First Class Cocktail Pick from the SS Normandie from Ocean Liner Memorabilia at the Antiques Garage (CGT initials are for the Compagnie Generale Transatlantique)

The history of great ocean liners is fascinating to me, not to mention the connection some of them have to New York City. Pier 54 was supposed to be the landing dock for the Titanic, and instead the surviving passengers arrived in New York City aboard the Carpathia in 1912. The glorious SS Normandie, of the Compagnie Générale Transatlantique (CGT), met her untimely demise at Pier 88 after she caught fire in 1942. There is a very knowledgeable ship memorabilia collector and vendor on Saturdays at the Antiques Garage. Even the smallest items, like a cocktail pick from First Class on the Normandie (pictured) is brimming with history and meaning. You can also find menus, brochures, and other mementos from many historic ocean liners on these tables. You can ask anyone where to find this vendor, or cruise along the first floor’s eastern-most wall (closer to 6th Ave.) until you find the right port of call.

Photo of the Day – July 10, 2010: Hobbit Rare Books and Prints

Beautiful Prints from Hobbit Rare Books and Prints at the Antiques Garage

Looking for prints of ducks or quail to decorate your Hamptons library? Or Victorian images of palm trees to enhance the walls of your tiny apartment in the city? You need only go up to the second floor of the Antiques Garage to find multiple tables strewn with hundreds of old prints and books from Hobbit Rare Books and Prints. The subject matter is practically infinite, from birds and animals, to plants and palm trees, to architecture and history. Proprietor Arby Rolband is extremely knowledgeable about his collection, and he can help you find exactly what you seek. On occasion, he will bring a collection of rare artworks to the Garage, complete with history and provenance. He is also a font of stories about this particular market and the cast of characters that have wander through over the years.

Come and explore this wonderful antiques and flea market today — it is the perfect way to spend a rainy afternoon. I will be signing books here today from 12 -3 at West 25th Street between Broadway and 6th Ave.

A Day In The Heights With GrowNYC

GrowNYC invited me to come to their Greenmarkets this summer for Markets of New York City book signings. I was thrilled to go to Washington Heights today for our first event.

This market is held on Thursdays at 175th Street and Broadway, and it is one of my favorite markets in the city. Why do I like it so much? In addition to the smell of cilantro, which brings back childhood memories of markets in Mexico, and a great selection of produce – and it’s a straight shot on the A train – the real draw for me is the kids. In the summertime, the neighborhood kids come out, mostly with their moms. They come in all ages and sizes, and they’re just fun to see. A whole bunch of them stopped by to say hello today, and they drew some great pictures for me of their favorite things at the market, mostly watermelons, peaches, and grapes. There were not a lot of veggies on the kids’ lists of favorites; some things are universal.

It is my personal aim with the guidebook and the blog is to entice New Yorkers to visit markets outside of their own neighborhoods and to invite visitors to pick a market and see a neighborhood they might not normally think to visit. Washington Heights has the wonderful Greenmarket that caters to the Caribbean culture and flavors of the neighborhood, with piles of cilantro, berdolaga, peppers and more. There are some excellent restaurants right across the street from the market. The food is delicious: juicy roasted chicken, sweet and fried plantains, fried yuca, rice and beans, and much more. We have leftovers for two days whenever we eat at any of these places.

My “Summer at the Markets” book tour started today, and I’ll be a different markets almost every weekend into September. This Saturday I’ll be at the Antiques Garage, and Sunday at the Fulton Stall Market! Check the Book Signings Around Town page for regular updates!

Photo of the Day – March 6 & 7, 2010

Lulu’s Vintage Lovelies at the Antiques Garage has a wonderfully curated selection of clothing and accessories from the 60’s, 70’s, 80’s, and earlier.