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Weekend Market Picks October 22-23, 2011: Samurai Sharpening Service

Margery Cohen, Master Knife Sharpener, Samurai Sharpening Services

My best advice to you: Get your Thanksgiving carving knives sharpened this weekend! I always plan to do it early, and yet there I am, every year, the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, racing with my butter-knife dull blades to see Margery Cohen of Samurai Sharpening Service at Chelsea Market.

Margery sets up shop every Wednesday and Saturday at a table outside Bowery Kitchen Supply in the Chelsea Market. Her technique is impeccable. She sharpens the knives of some of the finest and best-known chefs in the city. I love to watch her work each blade studiously, and the best part is when she tests it by artfully slicing cleanly through a piece of paper. She carefully wraps up the dangerously sharp knives in your kitchen towel, or in a thick, safe newspaper bundle with rubber bands.

You may be tempted to pull out your knives as you squeeze your way through the Saturday market crowds, but I advise against it. Strongly.

It is going to be a glorious weekend, especially on Sunday! So grab your tote and go to the markets!

Saturday and Sunday

NewNew Artisan Assembly at Dekalb Market: The NewNew is an Etsy Street Team and a handmade powerhouse of craft and design. They are one talented bunch, and now you can see their work in one place all week long at their new shop at the Dekalb Market! There’s a party Friday night too! Definitely a must-stop shopping spot for amazing gifts.

Saturday

Essex Street Market: There have been a lot of new developments at the Essex Street Market in the last year. Pain d’Avignon and the Heritage Meat Shop moved in, and now Brooklyn Taco and has a space, in addition to the other wonderful and important shops there, like Saxelby Cheesemongers, Roni Sue’s Chocolates, and LES Girls Club’s La Tiendita. We miss Jeffrey’s Meats, but I’m sure we have not heard the last from him!

Sunday

Grub Street Food Festival and Beer Garden at Hester Street Fair: All I can say is GET HERE EARLY! Last year’s event was a fun, delicious mob scene. Plan out what you want to eat, and go there first. The rest will be an adventure in eating and mob maneuvering. The great news is that it is expanded to four times the space and added a beer garden! It’s going to be another amazing event, and it’s Hester Street Fair’s last big event of the season!

Steampunk 2011: The founder of the former and beloved Brooklyn Indie Market is sponsoring the Steampunk 2011 at the DUMBO Loft in Brooklyn, “a puzzlement of perception, a grand sally-ho! into realms of obscurity and possibility! We invite you to come with us to experience MAGIA ET MYSTERIUM!”

Vegan Shop Up: There’s a market for everyone, and everything in this bi-monthly market at Pine Box Rock Shop is for the vegans! Lots of great sounding foods and baked goods, plus soaps, candles, tinctures, and more! Definitely check it out!

Support local and handmade! Occupy The Markets!

Market Events and Highlights This Weekend

Looking for the perfect thing to do on a cool fall weekend? Visiting New York and want to see something really special? In addition to the amazing weekend markets, including the Brooklyn Flea, the Brooklyn Indie Market, the Hell’s Kitchen Flea, all the Greenmarkets and so many more, I highly recommend these events for shoppers, foodies, and explorers alike!

Saturday, October 16:

Crafts in Chelsea: The {NewNew} Artisan Group is taking over the bucolic block of 21st Street between 8^th & 9^th Avenues in Chelsea to bring their beautiful, innovative, and incredibly diverse designs to the street. Not to be missed! Saturday, 9AM – 5PM.

Grub Street Food Festival at the Hester Street Fair: Normally, Grub Street is virtual wonderland of food, leaving you drooling on your keyboard. But this weekend, Grub Street comes out in 3D!! Maybe even 4D, based on the amazing lineup of delicious local food purveyors. Sponsored by Grub Street, Hester Street, and New York Magazine. Foodies – get there early! 10AM – 6PM

Special Grub Shout Out: Brooklyn’s own Anton Nocito, also known as P&H Soda & Syrup, is raising $18,000 IndieGoGo.com in one month to launch his soda and syrups business in a big way. P&H sodas are made from local ingredients where possible, as well as organic or fair trade fruits, sugar and spices. Even Mayor Bloomberg would approve! Please click through and make a contribution to his project! Meet Anton at the festival and be a part of this awesome fizz!

Madison Square Market: This market is so lovely, with a wonderful variety of fine handmade designs and some of the best food in town, including great stuff for kids! And this Saturday is the Madison Square Park Kids Fall Festival! It’s a perfect family day in the park! The Madison Square Market runs daily 11AM – 8PM through 10/23.

Sunday, October 17:

Pickle Day: Sunday is the 10^th Annual NYC International Pickle Day! Held on Broome St. at Essex in the Lower East Side, it feature some of the greatest pickle, kimmchi, cheese, and other food vendors from all of the markets around the city – and a whole lot more! I recently had Ronnie Sue’s Dark Chocolates Pickle Bonbon. Seriously. If you love pickles, you will LOVE that bonbon.

The New Amsterdam Market: I am so happy that the market has become a weekly event. In addition to all the bounty from the fall harvest, Good Food Jobs is going to be at the market.

If you have a great event not listed, post it here as a comment!

See you at the markets!

Sun, Sea, and Design at The {NewNew}’s Summer Home on Governors Island

This weekend marks the official opening of The {NewNew}’s Treasure Chest Boutique, their summer outpost on historic Governor’s Island. The {NewNew} is a group of New York area artisans who all sell their handmade items on Etsy.com, the world’s most vibrant online handmade marketplace.

Over 30 artists, designers, makers, and crafters have created a boutique that evokes the perfect seaside home filled with beautiful handmade wares, with attention to every corner and detail. It is the kind of place that will make you want to look at every detail and linger on the porch for a chat. You will find fashion designs, jewelry, ceramics, home decor, toys, stationery, and much more. I guarantee you will not leave without a treasure of your own, or the perfect gift for someone special.

It is a short and beautiful ride just across the harbor. Governors Island was a US Army and Coast Guard military base that was closed down in 1996. After years of consideration, the island is now a public space, managed by the Governors Island Preservation and Education Corporation and the National Park Service. There are concerts on the island, a huge picnic ground, bike rentals, and Water Taxi Beach.

This weekend, in addition to The {NewNew} Boutique, the 3-acre organic farm run by Added Value opens on Saturday, June 5. This farm is a wonderful education initiative and a great opportunity to volunteer and get your hands dirty.

You get to Governor’s Island via a free ferry from the Battery Maritime building at 10 South Street, leaving every 30 minutes on Fridays through Sundays. You can find The {NewNew} Treasure Chest Boutique bringing new life to Historic Home 6B in the heart of Nolan Park, a 5 minute walk from the ferry landing.