Style: Places: Brooklyn Flea

Brooklyn Flea

Considering Brooklyn’s ever-rising status as the ultra-cool of the boroughs—or if you ask die-hard locals, its own city—a flea market was long overdue. Seeking to conjure, if not outdo, the fabled Manhattan markets of days long gone (even the excellent Chelsea market has shrunk almost beyond recognition), Brooklyn Flea kicked off in early April with some 200 vendors selling everything from antiques, vintage furniture and clothes, to handmade jewelry, vinyl records, one-of-a-kind iPod cases and original art. The opening drew an estimated 20,000 people to Fort Greene; judging by fashion, haircuts and hip children, many were locals, but intrepid and shopping-savvy Manhattanites also made the journey.

The crowds have calmed a bit since, in part due to bad luck with the weather, but the quality of the finds keeps getting better. Even though Brooklyn Flea is officially New York City’s largest outdoor market, all the vendors were hand-picked to avoid mass-market stands (even in Paris, you can’t escape the tube sock hawkers these days). Many of them rotate and the layout changes weekly, so be sure to check the website for your favorites before you go. In fact, founders Jonathan Butler and Eric Demby have referred to their baby as “flea market 2.0,” encouraging potential clients to log on to their site, check out the vendors and get in touch with them to find out what the bounty will look like any given Sunday. (Butler is no stranger to online networking and communities; for more than two years, he anonymously wrote about Brooklyn real estate on the popular blog Brownstoner.com, a site he still runs.)

About seventy percent of the vendors are Brooklyn-based, making the market a fantastic showcase for the borough’s creative side. Be warned: you will probably fall for an item that’s out of your price or space range (like the gorgeous dining tables crafted out of old bowling alleys by Counterevolution), but early criticism that there’s not a whole lot of flea in this market are mostly unfounded, if you know where to dig. For every massive, oversized antique mirror, you can also come across something small and lovely, like the handmade necklaces and earrings by artist Julie Le, who reworks vintage chains and pendants into creative bohemian pieces. Every Sunday, rain or shine, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.