Nostalgia » Markets of New York

Artisans, Food Trucks and Fleas – Oh My!

The Hell’s Kitchen Flea Market has been doing some exciting things up in Midtown. Known for its classic flea market vendors selling vintage clothing, antique furniture, and other fascinating objects, the flea market is now home to the periodic Food Truck Bazaar. The food is delicious, and who doesn’t love to eat food from a truck? And now you don’t have to track down your favorite trucks all over town. You can go the Bazaar and find many of them in one spot. The food trucks that participated in the most recent event included:

And now the Hell’s Kitchen Flea Market also features fantastic local handmade Etsy artisans! The {NewNew} Artisans Group opened up their tents at the flea market in early April. Frankly, I was a curious as to how well the handmade products would mesh with the vintage and antique products at this well-established market. I’m happy to report that the artisans add a lovely new dimension to the shopping experience. Some fine examples of the variety of handmade products on their debut weekend included:

Saskia Devries, handmade Jewelry
Hanky Blanky, delicate baby blankets, clothing and toys made from vintage handkerchiefs
New York Clocks, featuring clocks made from any variety of nostalgic tins and boxes.
Lovely Day Designs by LuCraft, selling handmade light switch plates, glass paperweights, magnets, and more

So head over to the Hell’s Kitchen Flea Market on West 39 St. between 10th & 11th Avenue Saturdays and Sundays to check out all the amazing treasures there. The next Food Truck Bazaar is scheduled for Sunday, May 8th! Do we really have to wait that long?

Photo of the Day – July 29, 2010: Another Work In Progress

I remember the days when my sisters and I would sit on the living room floor playing Monopoly for hours on end. I was always the banker, and I always cheated. Those were nostalgic, care-free days (and I hope my sisters have forgiven me by now).

Another Work in Progress evokes those sentiments with spiral notebooks, sketch books, note pads, treasure boxes, and wall clocks made from old board games. Proprietor and artisan Dara Hymowitz collects vintage board games of all sorts and creates these handmade works of usable art. A notebook made from a Bingo card would be a perfect gift for Grandma. I think we all know someone who would appreciate the Scrabble board wall clock. Dara cleverly places the clock hands in the center of a Twister spinner to make a conversation piece of a wall clock (pictured).

She also creates beautiful hand-bound and spiral-bound books, as well as stationery, and mini book jewelry. So if books are your passion, you just might find the one to fill with your hopes and dreams, just like we did when we were 12.

You can find Another Work In Progress weekends at Artists and Fleas in Williamsburg, or visit her Etsy shop online.