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Pumpkin & Honey Bunny: Handmade Greeting Cards and Fizzy Sodas

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

Erica Rothchild and Anton Nocito are the team behind Pumpkin & Honey Bunny and P&H Soda and Syrup. It sounded like a cute and sweet name to me, and then I learned that the original Pumpkin & Honey Bunny are the robbers in the opening scene of Pulp Fiction. Gives the name a bit of a different twist, wouldn’t you say?

Erica is a graphic designer who makes beautiful hand-printed greeting cards, and Anton makes old-fashioned artisanal sodas. The theme that ties these two pursuits together is a sense of nostalgia for the early 19^th century that lends an Old World feeling to their work. In Erica’s designs, it is her use of vintage images, like a toast rack or a classic jello-mold. Anton aims to bring back the flavors and culture of old-time soda fountains, where people gathered for a chat, a nosh, and phosphate, or a cold soda freshly made from syrup and seltzer.

Erica’s line of greeting cards currently features primarily food-based themes because she began selling them at the Greenpoint Food Market. She uses a Gocco, which is a Japanese tabletop screen printing device. Erica’s Pumpkin & Honey Bunny cards include images of a pretzel (“Tying the Knot”), an old time oyster vendor, and a cherry pink pie (“Sweetie Pie”), among others. She is working on new designs for the Brooklyn Lyceum Spring Market, including Mother’s and Father’s Day cards. You can also find her cards at several shops in Brooklyn, including Brooklyn Kitchen, Tree House, Tiburon, and Word Bookstore.

Anton trained at the French Culinary Institute, and he is the chef at the cafe at the AKA Hotel in Midtown. He launched P&H Soda and Syrup at the Greenpoint Food Market, and he found that he could barely keep up with the demand at last week’s market. I had the cream soda, which was the perfect blend of sweetness, fizzyness, and cream soda flavor. Anton uses natural ingredients, including organic sugar and fair trade ingredients like hibiscus and ginger, as well as sugar alternatives like agave. In addition to the classics like cream soda and ginger lime, he likes to experiment with flavors, including hibiscus, hyssop, and verbena. He is working on a sarsparilla right now. In the summertime, he uses fruits from the farmers market to make new flavors for his syrups.

On one hand, Anton modestly says, “It’s just soda.” On the other hand, P&H Soda & Syrup has a great deal of thought and craft behind it. Personally, I can’t wait for him to open his soda fountain, but in the interim, I’ll be happy to drink his sodas at the Brooklyn Lyceum Market. He is also giving a soda making class on May 20th at the Brooklyn Kitchen.

You can see Erica’s cards on her Pumpkin & Honey Bunny Etsy Shop, and you can keep up with Anton on his blog, P&H Soda and Syrup, Inc. Meet them both at the Brooklyn Lyceum’s Food and Craft Market on May 1 & 2 and also at the monthly Greenpoint Food Market.

Handmade Limited Edition Hats from Rocks and Salt

Vendor of the Week for The Brooklyn Lyceum Spring Food and Crafts Market and the Handmade Cavalcade!

Rocks and Salt makes cool hats. It’s almost as simple as that. But not quite. These hip, limited edition hats are carefully designed for each season, and each one is painstakingly made by hand, using high quality, unusual fabrics. They achieve that extremely elusive balance of retro, current, and trendsetting all at the same time.

There are hats for men and women in the Rocks and Salt collections, and many of them suit both. This year’s Spring/Summer line includes five different styles. The cycling cap is a jaunty addition to any outfit, especially with the printed bicycle gear on the side. This season’s Henley is a stylized bucket hat with a selection of different printed images to choose from, including a computer circuit board and a brick wall. Like all the other styles, the Henley comes in a variety of fabrics, including purple, which I admit is my favorite color. The spring and summer styles are lighter and hand-washable, whereas the winter styles are made of wools and tweeds and other warm fabrics.

In addition to their signature hats, Rocks and Salt designers and proprietors Phil and Sara also create jewelry, clothing, and a fanny pack that comes in a variety of colors and is actually cool. The knee-length skirts have a big pocket and a handkerchief hemline that is young and flattering. Using a variety of chains, silver, leather, stones, and other elements, their jewelry designs range from light, colorful dangle earrings to leather cuffs. The unifying thread is the impeccable design and craftsmanship.

When you put them all together, as in the center photo above, you have the Rocks and Salt look. Edgy, sexy, put-together – and fun!

Rocks and Salt celebrates its fifth year this April, and, as Phil says, “We’re going full steam ahead with lots of great stuff!”

You can meet Phil, Sara and their hats at the Handmade Cavalcade on April 24^th and at the Brooklyn Lyceum’s Spring Food and Craft Market. They also sell their products regularly at the Brooklyn Indie Market.

Miss Wit’s Industrial Light and Tragic T-Shirt Designs

I can appreciate a good funny t-shirt, except for the fellow I saw actually wearing his “I’m With Stupid” t-shirt in Paris. (His girlfriend was not amused.) When I see a really hysterical one, I’m happy to show my appreciation with a loud chuckle. The cleverest t-shirts I’ve seen in a long time come from Miss Wit, this week’s Vendor of the Week for the Brooklyn Lyceum’s Spring Food and Crafts Market.

If you spend a couple of minutes with Deb Goldstein, Miss Wit herself, you will understand her humor and great energy. The t-shirt that cracks me up the most says, “I can’t stop googling myself.” (But I’m too shy to wear it…) I also love her 1980’s music collection, including “Her name is Rio. She don’t need to understand,” and “Turn Around Bright Eyes.” Deb understands why the Beach Boys are funny too; her Black Flag/Beach Boys tee is one of her best sellers. Her “Ego Friendly” and “Mudflap Girl” designs are a must for today’s hippest fashionistas. Her Oscar’s tee, “…and I want to thank Harvey Weinstein,” struck a lot of people’s funny bones and was a runaway success.

All of Deb’s designs are her own, except for the Beach Boys Song Topics Venn Diagram (original design by Dan Meth) and the beautiful bird and branch designs by her mother. Her brother assists with the graphic design, but Deb learned Photoshop so that she could create more complex images. Some of her designs include “found” images and most are witty takes on popular culture. Her printing is done in Brooklyn.

I’ve posted her images of some of my favorite t-shirts, but you really have to go to Misswit.net to see them all. Or you can meet Miss Wit in person at the Brooklyn Lyceum Market on May 1 & 2! You’ll be glad you did!

“Markets of New York City” Guidebook to Launch May 1 & 2 at Brooklyn Lyceum’s Spring Market!

I am thrilled to announce that my new guidebook, Markets of New York City: A Guide to the Best Artisan, Farmer, Food, and Flea Markets, is launching at the Brooklyn Lyceum’s Spring Food and Craft Market on May 1 and 2! I will be there with the wonderful people from my publisher The Little Bookroom all weekend, so please stop by and say hello!

Meow Meow Tweet – Vegan Soaps Handmade in Brooklyn

Markets of New York City is an official sponsor of the Brooklyn Lyceum’s Spring Food and Craft Market (May 1 & 2). This week’s Vendor Spotlight is on Meow Meow Tweet!

This morning I finished up the last teensy sliver of Fennel Orange Oats soap from Meow Meow Tweet. I bought a whole stack of their great smelling soaps over the holidays at the Makers Market at the Old American Can Factory, thinking I would put them in people’s Christmas stockings. But I didn’t. I used a Black Tea and Honey bar and decided that everyone else would be getting jellybeans. Yes, I totally gave the soaps to myself.

Meow Meow Tweet proprietors Jeff Kurosaki and Tara Pelletier set out to create healthful, natural inspiring soaps, and I am happy to report that they have succeeded! The soaps are made from “an all-organic base of olive, palm, castor, and coconut oils with an addition of shea or coco butter.” They are vegan and never tested on animals other than humans.

The soaps are inspired by flavors, like Grapefruit Mint, and Lavender with Lemon Peel. The Cinnamon Coffee is like a breakfast appetizer in your shower. The ingredients are widely known to nurture your skin, such as tea tree oil, oats, kelp, and honey, and coffee grounds and black walnut powder are natural exfoliants.

I also save the labels because they are tiny works of art in and of themselves, each one drawn and printed by hand by Jeff or Tara on 25% hemp and 75% post-consumer recycled paper. I love that the images don’t necessarily have to do with the ingredients in the soap, except for the Yeti and raccoon in a pine forest on the bar of Citronella Fir (this bar is actually designed for campers).

You can buy your bars of Meow Meow Tweet soaps on their website, or you can meet Jeff and Tara in person on Sundays at the Makers Market at the Old American Can Factory. Meow Meow Tweet will also be participating in the Brooklyn Lyceum’s Spring Food and Crafts Market on May 1 & 2, 2010!

Photo of the Day – March 9, 2010

Nordea Soaperie’s handmade soaps are lovely to use because they smell beautiful and leave my skin feeling great. We also love her lip balm, which I first saw at the Brooklyn Lyceum’s Holiday Market last December. These felted soaps are particularly special because they foam right up, and you can use them as a scrubbie. The felt shrinks in the hot water as the soap gets smaller smaller, and when it’s all gone, you can use the colorful woolen remains as little bowls for paperclips, earings, or any other small thing that may need a clean, cozy home.

Inspired By Yoga Part 1: Off The Mat Soaps, Scents and Sprays

The beautiful and peaceful smells coming from a table at the Brooklyn Indie Market last fall floated up into my subconscious and made me stop walking. But it was the incredible enthusiasm and huge smile of the artisan Iosellev Castañeda, or Josie, as she’s known in the markets, that made me stay, chat, and learn.

Everything that Josie makes is based on the principles of yoga. She is a certified yoga instructor, but she found that talking with people one on one in the markets is much more to her liking than being in front of a class. Off the Mat is her brand of yoga-inspired soaps, perfumes, candles and accessories. She makes all of her products by hand, combining her passion for the teachings of a yoga lifestyle with her professional experience as a fashion designer.

Her products are all very carefully conceived and made with the highest quality ingredients, mostly vegan, that make them such a pleasure to use. I have become one of her customers who does not practice yoga, but I’m learning more about it every time I see her. If you do happen to know a thing or two about yoga, you have found a passionate kindred spirit in Josie. She is happy for her products to start conversations about yoga, or healthy lifestyles, or frankly anything that makes anyone happy.

I first tried her fragrant soaps based on the seven Chakras. Packaged in rainbow colors, the Chakra Collection soaps filled up my shower with earthy botanical scents. My favorite one is the red one, or Muladhara, which represents foundation, stability, or root support. I have no idea what that means about me, but I really loved the soaps!

Off the Mat’s Black Label line also includes soaps, perfumed oils and sprays, and soy candles. These products are based on the spices, scents and cultures of India and Mexico, and they contain Indian “attars,” or flower- and spice-based fragrances distilled in water using low heat and pressure. The “Elixir of the Gods” scent is a chocolate perfume made from cocoa beans. When I wear it, I actually get the same happy feeling that I get when I eat chocolate, only all day long and guilt-free. “White Amber” is clean and spicy, while “Patchouli” is deep and sensuous.

The newest set of products is the Red Label, based on the concept of “kama,” or pleasure (think “Kama Sutra”). These soaps, oils, sprays, and candles come in four scents: Kama (bright florals), Yuj (warm florals and honey), Agni (warm, spicy, clove), and Maha (fruity floral, fig). Each one not only smells divine, but comes infused with 14K gold shimmer. All of the products from Off the Mat have wonderful packaging, but the Red Line is particularly special, with designs by artist Mayya Cherepova.

Always innovating, Josie also makes jewelry and handbags from upcycled yoga mats. She uses unsold (and unused) stock for her accessories. But if you have a favorite yoga mat that’s seen better days, she’ll custom make it into a great pair of earrings and a shoulder bag for you. She also has two other product lines, the White Label and Botanical Collection that also both smell great.

You can check the website for locations to meet Josie and purchase her wonderful products. She will have a boutique at the Brooklyn Collective from March through May, and she will also be at the Brooklyn Lyceum’s Spring Food and Craft Market. When the warmer weather arrives, you will find her back at the Brooklyn Indie Market.

Namaste!

Brooklyn Lyceum Holiday Craft Market – A Procrastinator’s Paradise

Yes, I left some of my shopping until this weekend. But I totally scored at The Brooklyn Lyceum Holiday Craft Market. In addition to cupcakes, chocolate, and sandwiches that kept me going, the handmade merchandise was impressive. The Lyceum is an excellent space for a market, and I heard a lot of people saying that they liked the way the crowd could easily flow through the aisles this year.

To see all the wonderful exhibitors, you’ll have to brave the snow yourself on Sunday. But I’ll give you a few examples of some of them.

Lovely Day Designs has hand-poured soy candles in vintage teacups, pressed-glass votives, and porcelain gravy boats, and other decorative items as well. One of the more unusual things I came across was the living jewelry from McFlashpants, tiny plants rooted in eensy vials hanging as pendants on a necklace. McFlashpants also makes unique jewelry made of vintage cutlery. Everything Tiny creates laser cut accessories using bright colors and fun images like dinosaurs, Leggos, deer, and (my favorite) dachshunds. Fortunately for my little nieces, I came across Pickleboots and got some really great kid things for them.

I really liked the graphic images printed on pages torn from unusual books by Girls Can Tell. The soaps from Nordea all smell divine, and her felted scrubber soaps in bright colors would be great stocking stuffers. The framed prints from Raw Toast Design are colorful, skillfully drawn, and darkly funny, like the “poor calamari” being eaten by seagulls. For really great T-shirts, I couldn’t resist the bright pink giant squid from Squidfire. And Miss Wit lives up to her name with some really great shirts, like the one that says, “I can’t stop googling myself.” For the nostalgic people on your list, definitely stop by Another Work In Progress for handmade spiral notebooks made from vintage board games, like Candy Land, Bingo, Monopoly, and more.

Brooklyn Lyceum: Saturday and Sunday, December 19 – 20, 11A – 7 P

Tomorrow is the last weekend day to shop! So pull on your ear grips and mukluks and hit the markets!

Last Minute Market Shopping

I wish us all great courage as we face the final weekend of holiday shopping! In addition to the big, traditional holiday markets at Union Square, Columbus Circle, Bryant Park, and Grand Central, there are multiple indie markets that are in full swing this weekend.

The Makers Market at the Old American Can Factory

The Makers Market is has artisans and fine artists selling high quality handmade items. Meow Meow Tweet sells great smelling natural handmade soaps. ANgeLRoX Apparel has design for comfort, versatility and style, and I love the signature wings that emblazon the back pockets of their jeans and undies. May Luk Ceramics will be there with fine, fun, useful and quirky ceramic plates, cups, vases and more. I’ll bet the man who has everything doesn’t have a hand-stitched leather briefcase from MOS Atelier – and he definitely needs one. If you missed getting a beautiful graphic T-shirt from Parable Ink at the Grand Central Holiday Market, you can catch up with them here.
The Makers Market: Old American Can Factory, 232 3^rd Street, Gowanus, Brooklyn, in the garage. Open this weekend Saturday and Sunday 11AM – 6PM.

Brooklyn Lyceum Holiday Craft Market

The Brooklyn Lyceum is hosting their two-day holiday craft market this weekend with almost 70 exhibitors. Many of them will be there for just one of the days, so if you are tempted to visit this market on both days, go right ahead because you will find different things on both days. There will be a DJ and plenty of “crafty” food to keep you energized. The event organizers have created wider aisles this year to make it more comfortable to wander and browse on the last shopping day of the weekend. You can make it a day for the whole family with lunch at the Lyceum Café, now serving Inteligentsia Coffee, and a show at the Children’s Theater.

Brooklyn Lyceum: Saturday and Sunday, December 19 – 20, 11A – 7 P

Our Lady of Pompeii Market on Bleecker Street

This is the last weekend for the flea market/artisan market on Bleecker Street sidewalk next to Our Lady of Pompeii Church in the Village (between Carmine and Leroy Streets). You can find some great vintage hats and jewelry, as well as hand-knit hats and scarves, vintage Bakelite pieces, and much more. The market will reopen in April when the weather warms up a bit.

Jingle Xmas Xtravaganza at Chelsea Market

Chelsea Market has a pretty much everything you will need for your holiday feasts, and it also hosts the Jingle Xmas Xtravaganza! This market has 17 nice-sized boutiques, all selling unique designs and many beautiful gifts. It is a happy market where you can chat with the designers about their work and the kinds of things you are seeking. I am hoping for two farmers market posters by Yeehaw Industries, and maybe, if I’m lucky, their sign that says, “Carve That Possum.” Elements/Jill Schwarz designs gorgeous “vintage groove” jewelry, picture frames and more. For modern jewelry designs, stop by and see sterling silver and recycled coconut shell jewelry with semi-precious stones from Ayala Jewelry. There is a full list of the vendors with photos and links on Facebook.

Jingle Xmas Xtravaganza: Mon – Fri 10:30A – 7P, Saturday 10A – 7P, Sunday 10:30 A – 6P