Meb’s Kitchenwares » Markets of New York

Market Picks for June 18 & 19, 2011

Wood Inlaid Labrador Cutting Board by Meb's Kitchenwares at the American Craft Fair at Lincoln Center

Well, Friday’s going to be a wet one, but the weekend weather is looking promising for the markets! My Market Picks for this weekend, June 18 & 19, are:

Saturday and Sunday, June 18-19:

Lincoln Center American Crafts Fair: This wonderful show is in its 35th year, so you know it has to be good. A traditional craft show, this event features fine handmade designs from around the country. You can find jewelry designs with gems and precious metal, art glass pieces, handmade clothing and hats, and kitchen items, like the image above of an inlaid cutting board by Meb’s Kitchenwares. Plus it’s fun to hang out at Lincoln Center. Check out their new fountain!

Saturday, June 18:

Arthur Avenue Retail Market: Miss the smells, sounds, and flavors of Manhattan’s Little Italy? Well they’re all alive and well on Arthur Avenue in the Bronx. You can pick up fresh, homemade mozzarella, handmade meatballs, and imported Italian pasta in hundreds of shapes and sizes. I go absolutely insane over the gooey, fresh torrone with almonds, which is completely different from the dry version. This market is truly a time capsule of all the wonderful things brought over from Italia last century. Definitely plan on eating lunch there, and pick up some hand rolled cigars for Father’s Day!

East 67th Street Flea Market: The East 67th Street Flea Market has a wonderful variety of vendors, including an independent farmers market and many classic flea and antiques vendors. There is vintage jewelry of all kinds too. I have seen a Cartier watch once owned by Big Edie of Grey Gardens fame, and a collection of vintage showgirl bling. You can also get your watches fixed and batteries changed in the cafeteria area.

DUMBO Epic Stoop Sale: I’ll come clean and say I just found out about this event. (Thanks, Krrb.com and Open Smile Embrace!) Never heard of it, even though this is the third year. So I have no idea what it will be like, but it sounds like a community flea market, and if it’s stuff from DUMBO households, it’s bound to be worthwhile, right?!

Sunday, June 19:

Jackson Heights Greenmarket: The Jackson Heights Greenmarket in Queens is amazing for food shopping and people watching. It sets up on the perimeter of Travers Park, and it is the largest Greenmarket in Queens. In addition to the fresh local produce and products, this market features a wide variety of hot peppers! This weekend’s events include textile recycling and composting.

7th Heaven Street Fair in Park Slope: This is the third annual 7th Heaven Street Fair, and it looks like it’s going to be another great day! Yes, you will see standard NYC street fair vendors, but this event belongs to that small group of fairs that actually involves local businesses. There will be loads of activities, food, and handmade crafts from many of New York’s finest design entrepreneurs. The fair runs from Flatbush Ave. to 16 St. And how about pulling together a team to do the famous 7th Heaven Scavenger Hunt?!

Have a great weekend, and I hope to see you out at the markets!

Photo of the Day – June 16, 2010: Meb’s Kitchenwares!

Artist's Palette Cheeseplate with Paint Brush Knives by Meb's Kitchenwares at Crafts at Lincoln Center This Weekend and Next!

Woodwork artisans Meb Boden and Tom Vaiciulis of Meb’s Kitchenwares will be showing their lovely and clever homeware at the American Crafts Festival at Lincoln Center for the next two weekends (June 19/20 and June 26/27).

Be the first to bring home their new pieces, including a Grand Piano cutting board made of black walnut or cherry with tight curly maple for the keys. They also handmake pate spreaders, salad scoops, cheese knives, tongs, and something called a deli spoon. Imagine serving your friends an award winning Pawlet cheese from Consider Bardwell (my current cheese of choice at the Greenmarkets) on the Artist’s Palette cheese plate with paintbrush cheese knives (pictured). Their wooden drawer pulls will add enchantment to even the New Yorkiest of New York City kitchens. Meb and Tom only use New England woods, and much of it is harvested from their own backyard! Stop by Lincoln Center and say hello this weekend or next.

Photo of the Day: April 2, 2010

Handmade wooden spoons from Meb's Kitchenware at the American Crafts Festival at Lincoln Center

Meb Boden and Tom Vaiciulis, proprietors of Meb’s Kitchenwares, make gorgeous and practical wooden kitchen tools by hand from carefully selected New England hardwoods, some from their own back yard! Each piece is one-of-a-kind. And the way they feel in your hand, well, you’ll want to stir soups and puddings all day long. Their cutting boards with wooden inlays are equally wonderful, from the one with a Labrador silhouette to the painter’s pallet. I adore the fish-shaped oven pull James gave me for Christmas. They also make items especially for all you lefties.

Meb’s Kitchenwares’ website gives a detailed look into their creative process and the care of their wooden crafts — and also into their lovely life of sailing, recycling, and organic gardening in Connecticut. They will be at the American Crafts Festival at Lincoln Center on June 19th-20th and 26-27. I’ll remind you to stop by and meet them — but the whale tail spoon is mine!

There’s A Giant Pink Squid Under the Christmas Tree

What happens when artisans sell their creations at the markets or pack them up and ship them to all corners of the world for the holidays? They never get to see where their handiwork ends up or who opened the packages on Christmas morning. After talking to artisans at the holiday markets recently about this subject, I decided to show them where the gifts I bought ended up.

We spend the holidays with my husband James’ family, and I can honestly say that every single gift from a New York City market was received with much happiness. One particularly special piece was placed at the top of the tree.

I picked out Squidfire’s hot pink giant squid T-shirt for myself, and James wrapped it up for me. I loved the way it glowered up from underneath the tree. Dainty earrings made by Martin Lopez at AdornmentsNYC from vintage beads and findings got placed immediately in my sister-in-law Judy’s ears. They make a faint hypnotic jingle for her ears only. She also adored the tiny sandalwood candle in a gold pressed glass vase from Lovely Day Designs.

For my nephew, I chose one of my favorite T-shirts to add it to his growing collection of Gnome Enterprises designs. It’s the one where the tree gets its revenge on the lumberjack. My lucky husband got the fluffy black sweatshirt from Fleisher’s Grassfed Organic Meats that says, “Bacon: The Gateway Meat.” It’s a classic.

James made all the holiday cookies this year. (Tip: He added bergamot oil to the icing – amazing!) Anyway, he burned his hand several times taking them out of the oven using our pitiful oven mitts. So I gave him a gorgeous handmade oven rack pull from Meb’s Kitchenwares. It’s in the shape of a fish, and it was a bit of a mystery to everyone until I explained what it was. They all agreed it was brilliant.

Speaking of brilliant, the crayon apron from Pickleboots was the runaway winner with my two-year-old niece, although the pink handbag with a furry mouse in the pocket got a lot of love too.

And finally, there were two piéces de resistance for my brother-in-law Thom. The four of us recently went on vacation to Paris. All Thom wanted was unusual French salts, but he didn’t get any. So when we saw this beautiful collection of salts from Gneiss Spices at the Brooklyn Lyceum, we thought of him. The cute jars are magnetic, and you can store the salts (3 of which are French, and 2 of which are pink) on your fridge.

We also gave Thom a beautiful sign from Yee Haw Industries that says, “Carve that Possum.” He placed it at the top of the tree. We’ll frame it for his workshop after the holidays.

This New Year’s Eve brings us a full moon, a blue moon, a partial lunar eclipse! A lot of great things are going to happen with the Markets of New York blog in the new year, and I am already excited about the book’s release in June. Visit often!

Have a safe and happy new year. And don’t forget to look up!