shopping bust: brooklyn flea and americana expo
Last weekend was spent at two very different antiques shopping events that ended in the very same way: disappointment and disillusion.
Saturday was Brooklyn Flea, which during the winter is being held at the old Williamsburgh Savings Bank in downtown Brooklyn. Really I wanted to check out the new space. I’m glad I didn’t set my sights any higher, since the architecture was the only thing worth a damn.
mezzanine windows. hard to believe, but this photo is not blurry.
The problems:
1. Overcrowding. Nightmarish proportions.
2. Overcurating. I’m slowly learning that for New York standards this thing is considered a “flea market.” But there are no deals, no piles to sift through, no buried treasures. Every item has its place on the (tablecloth covered!) table. This means the seller will try to swindle you on every piece of vintage Levi’s plaid, every amateur oil portrait.
3. Overhipstering. No flea market’s wares should be composed of more than 25% polyester dresses, nor should there be screenprinted baby onesies or homemade granola.
But I don’t want to be a nasty old naysayer. Some booths had fun vignettes. I’m sure that if I’d been looking for miniature boxing gloves I would’ve been over the moon.
On gloomy Sunday we travelled all the way to the Hudson–12th Avenue and 55th–for the annual Americana Expo. I was looking forward to seeing some real antiques and hoping that maybe–since you had to pay $15 to get in–there might be some deals? So, so naive.
the view
To give you some context, across the street was this place:
I appreciate the Greek details.
Don’t get me wrong: this show had some fascinating stuff.
clam rake
book press
matchbooks, $15 each
But the problems:
1. Overpricing. One seller had a British sterling silver serving fork for $225.
2. Overprotecting. I didn’t attempt that many photos. When I did, though, no one asked me not to. But one guy cleared his throat loudly, over and over, and then came and stood in front of me to block my view, though he never said a word. Can someone explain to me the issue here? I didn’t use a flash, so I don’t think I was damaging the wares. I can’t recreate the objects and try to pass them off as originals. Maybe other people do that. So what is it? Shouldn’t they be flattered? And I’m under 50! Doubly flattering! Maybe I still qualify as an oily-fingered urchin.
Verdict: Surprises and deals–the twin engines of true treasure hunting–are obsolete in this town. And don’t think it gets any better upstate or in Connecticut or Pennsylvania. Or on ebay.
A friend did tell me about this place, though. I think that’s my next stop. Have you got any other ideas?
I attended this event several years ago and the best thing I saw was a collection of welders’ masks mounted on a wall; very powerful, but not affordable. The other stuff, very nice, was offered at very high prices. Even a piece of Hindu statuary(8″) was overpriced at $300 (my offer, $150. was refused). This event is for the sellers (who pay handsomely for the spaces- the promoter is?) not the buyers. I will only attend again to keep abreast of the market.
Papa
So sorry it was a bust! From the seller’s perspective (e.g., my father-in-law), it’s often also a bust. Booth cost is very high, and the costs of time and labor involved in setting everything up are even higher. Some of the sellers do it as a labor of love, others out of habit, and some — the snobbier folks you met, definitely in it for the bucks, hence the very inflated prices.
Come out to Long Island sometime this summer and spend a Saturday morning going to yard sales w/ my father-in-law — you’ll find great deals, and be exhausted for the rest of the weekend. I can’t and won’t keep up with him.