Fly Flea

I am almost reluctant to share the location of my favourite NYC Flea Market - but as most of you delicious readers are in the Uk, I guess my secret will be safe.

The Meeker Avenue Flea Market nestles under the deeply dirty and rumbling Brooklyn Queens Expressway. It's two floors of heaven for those of us without much cash but with a love of things from the olden days. The ground floor is a little hit-and-miss (videos without cases, hairbrushes clogged up with hair, that kind of vibe) plus it smells of cat wee. Your best bet is to cover your nose/mouth with a scarf and head up the stairs, past the litter tray to the top. This place is crammed with mostly mid-century furniture and household items.

If you lust after 1950s chrome or early 1960s modernism, then this is the place to pick up chairs, tables, Tvs, lamps and toys. Plus, they have some cool old school (I mean stuff that used to be in the classroom) ephemera - like chalk boards and desks with lids that flip up. Now, I don't know what I would do with one of those, but I'd like it anyway. And did I mention the prices? This place is CHEAP.

No Fleas on Me!

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!