The Brooklyn Flea has a new winter home! Here is their full press release. ~Karen Seiger, Markets of New York City
BROOKLYN FLEA AND SMORGASBURG MOVE MARKETS INDOORS TO INDUSTRY CITY IN SUNSET PARK STARTING OCTOBER 17+18 THRU MARCH 2016
One hundred Flea vendors of antiques, clothing, and handmade join 40 Smorg food vendors every weekend in 50,000 square feet overlooking Hudson Bay. New vendors, special holiday items, kids-clothing designers, Baby Degen, butterfly taxidermy, the Barbecubano, Ramen and Pho Shacks, Hong Kong gai dan jai, a mini-arcade, espresso cafe, coat/stroller check, and a partridge in a pear tree.
Every weekend starting October 17+18, Brooklyn Flea and Smorgasburg will combine for the winter in a single 50,000 square-foot indoor location at Sunset Park’s Industry City through March 2016. Following past winter moves to Williamsburg (Wythe Ave. + N. 5 St., 2013-14), Downtown Brooklyn (Skylight One Hanson, 2011-13), and Crown Heights (1000 Dean St., 2014-15), Industry City will be the sole location for all markets through March 26+27, 2016. (The final Fort Greene Saturday Flea, Prospect Park Sunday Smorgasburg, and Smorgasburg Queens markets are this weekend. The flagship Saturday Smorgasburg in Williamsburg will remain open outdoors through November 21.)
Opening weekend will feature a number of reasons to visit Industry City, in addition to the markets (see attached Time Out story). October 18 marks the final Mister Sunday outdoor dance party with DJs Justin Carter and Eamon Harkin at Industry City, 3-9pm, literally downstairs from the markets. The pop-up vintage market A Current Affair takes place Saturday and Sunday, Noon-6pm. And Open Studios showcases the artists, makers, and manufacturers of Industry City on October 17, 11am-6pm.
The winter market shows off the Flea at its best: With their booths set up for the season, proper lighting and decor, and no weather concerns, vendors bring out their best wares and create world-class displays; and with the holiday season and fewer food vendors indoors, customer focus leans more toward shopping.
Here are some new and special vendors to look forward to:
Veteran children’s-clothing vendors superfussy, Winter Water Factory, and Sugar on Snow will be joined by newcomer Baby Degen, hot pop-couture designer Lindsay Degen’s hypercolor kids line. Destination vendor dAN’s Parents’ House will create a giant emporium of vintage toys and collectibles. Rocky’s Brick Yard’s customized Lego sets cater to all tastes. And Industry City’s own Blue Marble Ice Cream will satiate happy bellies.
Greenlight Bookstore returns with signed copies, first editions, top food tomes, and the year’s best gift books. Refoundry, a nonprofit cofounded by furniture designer Cisco Pinedo of Cisco Brothers that trains formerly incarcerated people to refurbish and repurpose discarded materials into one-of-a-kind home furnishings, will showcase its latest wares. Brooklyn Film Camera sells original Polaroid cameras with new/updated instant film. Invisible Brooklyn digs for movie/circus/sideshow memorabilia. Claudia Pearson (whose cover illustration adorns the new Fodor’s Brooklyn guidebook cover) has a large wall display for her signature tote bags, tea towels, aprons, housewares, prints, coloring books, and more. Flutter by Katie’s sculptures encase in glass real, humanely harvested butterflies and found/vintage objects. Longtime vendor Species by the Thousands launches its new apothecary line, including candles, perfume oils, and a White Magic Love Spray, and Industry City maker Brooklyn Candle Studio will be there too. Williamsburg vintage shop RePop returns to the Flea with midcentury modern furniture and lighting, taxidermy, and more.
No one will go hungry at the winter market. Keizo Shimamoto, creator of the Ramen Burger, transports his popular Ramen Shack from Smorgasburg Queens to the new venue, where it will pop up for the season alongside Pho Shack, a Vietnamese pop-up from the Lonestar Empire BBQ/Lucy’s Vietnamese team. Monk’s Meats debuts a vegan deli counter featuring seitan-pastrami and shiitake-bacon BLT sandwiches and vegan charcuterie and cheeses. Queens vendor Grandpa Val’s BBQ brings their treasured Dinosaur Rib, and Fletcher’s makes its Smorgasburg debut with the Barbecubano sandwich. German lebkuchen gingerbread-cookie maker Leckerlee returns for a fourth holiday season. Oaxaca Taqueria debuts its Talyuda, a mexican tortilla pizza topped with bean paste, oaxaca cheese, and a choice of toppings. New to the markets (and the public) are Wowfulls, a cute take on Hong Kong gai dan jai egg-cake waffles by three southern Brooklynites.
The winter market will also feature a full-service cafe by pop-up specialists Stand Coffee, featuring a curated cast of Brooklyn’s best roasters, including Cafe Grumpy, Lofted Coffee, and Café Integral, as well as a sparkling “espresso tonic” and Dough doughnuts. Vinyl vendor Evan Jones will spin tunes for the market. In a vacant ground-floor space, coat and stroller check will be available alongside a mini-arcade—South Park and AC/DC pinball, plus Slugfest and vintage Blasteroids and Ms. Pac-Man/Galaga video games.
The Seaport Smorgasburg remains open daily through October with eight food vendors—including newcomer Big Mozz, replacing Pizza Moto. In addition to the recent debut of the Seaport Culture District, Archtober will be headquartered at the Seaport, featuring a month of special events curated by the American Institute of Architects. Smorgasburg has in turn curated “Craftober,” a new month long showcase of top American craft beers to close out a successful season at the Seaport District. The Smorgasburg team has curated a rotating lineup from its favorite American breweries on its eight Seaport taps, many of which are available in limited supply this fall. Craftober beers will include Silent Judgement farmhouse ale from Other Half (Gowanus, Brooklyn); Delicioulus Extra Pale Ale from Barrier Brewing Co. (Oceanside, NY); Peeper Pale Ale from Maine Beer Company (Freeport, ME); Hennepin Belgian Pale Ale from Ommegang Brewery (Cooperstown, NY); Freaktober festbier from Coney Island Brewing Co. (Brooklyn, NY); and All Day IPA from Founders Brewing Co. (Grand Rapids, MI).
In addition to a new food vendor joining the mix—Big Mozz, which pulls fresh mozzarella and injects it with pesto at its hugely popular market stand, replaces Pizza Moto—many continuing vendors have added new seasonal menu items, including the debut of the Batali Schnitz, a collaboration between Schnitz and the Mario Batali Foundation with sweet-fennel-sausage schnitzel, asiago cheese, pickled cippoline, caramelized fennel and a sweet balsamic aioli. (Ten percent of proceeds from sales of the Batali Schnitz will benefit the foundation, which supports children’s literacy, hunger relief, and child disease research.) Other new menu items include Lumpia Shack’s Ginataang Kalabasa (Filipino pumpkin soup), Ramen Burger’s spicy tan tan ground-pork topping for its burgers, Red Hook Lobster Pound’s New England Clam Chowder, and Milk Truck’s tomato soup.
Visit www.BrooklynFlea.com for regular updates.