My favourite place in the world to be (other than in bed) at the moment is the Brooklyn Flea. This adventure into a world of antiques, vintage clothes and hand-crafted wonders, takes place every weekend in Forte Greene, Brooklyn.
All winter I have enjoyed travelling to the handsome former Williamsburgh Savings Bank Tower at One, Hanson Place for several hours of truffling for treasure! As of next weekend, the flea market will be outside on Saturdays, and stay indoors on Sundays. Personally, whilst I love the great outdoors - you can't beat the breath-taking splendour of this building.
It was constructed in the 1920s, when banks liked to show off their wealth (before they started stealing ours). The sheer scale of the place is incredible - a soaring, vaulted gold dome would be more at home in a European cathedral than a bank, and there's an incredible mosaic map on the far wall, which I presume shows Brooklyn, with Manhattan in the far distance! It's amazing to imagine what it would have been like to be a bank teller working there in the 1930s and 40s. As it stands today, it's one of the best flea markets I have ever been to. Actually, I'd call it an antiques fair as the prices are on the steep side, particularly for clothes. But the stuff is great quality. My favourite finds so far - a 1950s picnic set (a snip at $20), a gorgeous 80s silk summer dress and a book from 1972, entitled 'What Makes Men Tick'.. more of which to come in a later post!
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