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The Fancy Flea
Brooklyn Flea
BROOKLYN, NEW YORK
I
f you are a flea-market junkie who
craves more than a seasonal fix, then the Brooklyn
Flea should satisfy your addiction as it’s open every
weekend of the year, rain or shine. And it’s convenient, with
two different locations: Fort Greene and Williamsburg.
The popular market features hundreds of vendors selling
antique and repurposed furniture, vintage clothing,
collectibles and antiques, as well as a tightly curated selection of jewelry, art and crafts by local artisans and designers.
In 2008, the Brooklyn Flea received a Certificate of Merit
from the Municipal Art Society for making an
“exceptional contribution to the life of New York City” and
for “providing an alternative to big-box retail that embodies
a private sector spirit while yielding generous public benefits.” In 2009 Citizens Union awarded the flea market its
Community Leadership Award for “creativity in building
forums for exchange—both physical and virtual—that are
strengthening New Yorkers’ spirit of community.”
Editor’s
Picks
FOR TOP
LAKELAND, FLORIDA
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f you can imagine adding a celery-
green vintage potting bench, watermelon-pink
dining room set or Tiffanyblue buffet to your home,
then head over to the next
Fancy Flea event in Lakeland. You’ll find all sorts of
furniture, furnishings and
accessories for your home
and garden—many with a
fun and flirty appeal.
Vintage Collectibles
BY JACQUELINE deMONTRAVEL
Things I am loving now:
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For more information, call
(863) 712-3278 or visit
fancyfleamar
ket.typepad.com.
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For more information, visit brooklynflea.com.
Ruffles & Rust
MONROE, WASHINGTON
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his one-day show is held twice a
year, in the spring and fall, at the Evergreen State
Fairgrounds in Monroe. It is a juried show that
has grown from 12 friends to nearly 50 of the Pacific
Northwest’s top vendors of vintage-inspired, repurposed
and handmade goods.
For more information, call (425) 218-5968 or visit
comejunkwithus.com.
1. Hotel silver: Eating from the elegant silver of a fine hotel takes me to that place, even if I’m eating a bowl of leftovers.
2. Porcelain teapots: The tea stays warm, it makes me feel pretty and it tastes better.
3. Vintage fabrics: An easy way to add color to a table setting or room.
4. Aprons: Though practical, they’re exclusively made for a woman and ultra feminine.
5. Milk bottles: Can be used for beverages, flowers and water on a nightstand.
6. Anything French: Linens, silver, rattan and old grain sacks are sturdy yet elegant.
SEE SHOPPING GUIDE, PAGE 108
AUGUST 2011
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TEACUPS
COLLECTING GUIDE:
Where to Find It
How to Display It
The top trends in romantic-style products.
Why they?re hot:
Just picturing yourself slowly sipping tea from a beautiful cup
is relaxing. Given the hectic pace of our daily lives, there are
few activities that require us to slow down and savor the experience as drinking a “cuppa” does. You can feel your blood
pressure lower and your mind relax. And, of course, there are
the well-documented health benefits of drinking black and
green tea. To enjoy their tea-drinking experience to the fullest,
people are hunting for elegant and unusual teacups as an
important accessory.
How to decorate with them:
Teacups are one of the easiest accessories to decorate with.
Stack colorful patterns inside each other for a casually elegant
look. Put a tealight candle in the base for a clever candleholder.
Hang them from a pretty ribbon above the kitchen entryway.
Or put some potpourri into floral chintz china teacups and
arrange them on a side table for a spring-garden vignette.
—MERYL SCHOENBAUM
What to look for:
The type of teacup a person uses says as much about them as
the clothes they wear and their home décor. Do you consider
yourself an elegant, sophisticated type? Then you might opt
for a delicate china teacup from Royal Winton in one of their
many beautiful all-over floral patterns. Look for the manufacturer’s name stamped on the bottom. Do you love to travel to
exotic places? Then Asian-inspired vessels from enjoyingtea.com
might suit you. Are you more of a minimalist? Check out
tsalon.com’s basic but beautiful offerings.
Places to Hunt:
ebay.com
englishteastore.com
(877) 734-2458
enjoyingtea.com
replacements.com
royalwinton.co.uk
Tea and Sympathy
108 Greenwich Avenue
New York, NY 10011
(212) 989-9735
teaandsympathynewyork.com
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PHOTOGRAPH BY BRET GUM
PHOTOGRAPH BY BRET GUM
tsalon.com
ROMANTIC HOMES • romantichomes.com
AUGUST 2011
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VINTAGE SELTZER
BOTTLES
CAST IRON BOTTLE
OPENERS
Places to Hunt:
Yard sales
Why they?re hot:
Why they?re hot:
Antique seltzer bottles can be found online as well as in
antiques stores and flea markets. In a wave of nostalgia,
many people have started collecting vintage seltzer bottles.
There are many vintage seltzer water bottles marketed on
the Internet, including the vintage New York Seltzer Water
bottles that were made in Czechoslovakia in the late 19th
century to early 20th century. These bottles are collectables
and are only genuine if they have the mark “made in
Czechoslovakia” on the bottom of the bottles. The metal
top will also have on it “N.Y. Seltzer Co., Detroit, MICH.”
(Note the old state abbreviation for Michigan.) Another
vintage collectible is the seltzer water bottle made and marketed by Scholtz Brothers Jackson Bottling Co. in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. You can find them on the Internet.
“Bottle openers help open the avenue to conversation,” says Brad Feick of Treasure Gurus.
“They are representative of the historic Wilton
Co. bottle openers of the 1940s.” You can find
them in a variety of styles, themes and colors.
“Some have unique comic faces, such as the
4-eyed face bottle opener and some, like the
rocket ship bottle opener, are just great 1940s
décor,” says Brad. Their durability and efficiency
have lasting qualities, and can be called upon
daily for decades to come.
There are many ways to display them, especially if you
have a bar or bar area in your home.
—JACQUELINE deMONTRAVEL
TheWeatherStore.com
PaulMaddenAntiques.com
How to decorate with
them:
There is a bottle opener that will reflect every
style, such as mermaids and pelicans for the
beach cottage and circus characters for a whimsical vignette. Their weathered colors and quirky
look great anywhere you display collectibles.
They can also make a table setting come alive.
Brad Feick offers a diverse variety at Treasure
Gurus including a bear and moose that have a
rustic feel to a cabin or lodge, or buffalo in a
western-themed bar. “The hand held bottle
openers are a party favorite when entertaining
outside; the anchor when entertaining on the
boat or the crab at your beach house,” Brad says.
PHOTOGRAPH BY JAIMEE ITA -
How to decorate with them:
eBay
TreasureGurus.com
HOTEL SILVER
I have built-in shelves in my 1939 home where I display my
Why is hotel silver a soughtcollection. It’s an eclectic mix of everything from large servers
after
collectible?
Hotel silver captures the grandeur of an earlier time. It possesses a bit of romance as well—finding that special piece
from the hotel where your parents honeymooned or from an
establishment that you have a special memory of.
For many, the attraction is visual: the worn patina, fancy
crests and logos give these pieces so much character. And hotel
silver is wonderful to serve with.
How do you display it?
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ROMANTIC HOMES • romantichomes.com
to small pieces, such as unusual little table-number signs. I
also have pieces scattered through my home—a large water
pitcher functions as a vase for flowers. Hotel silver looks
lovely in just about any space.
Where can you acquire it?
It seems that hotel silver is getting a little more difficult to
find these days. Scour flea markets, estate sales and antiques
shows.
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