A Pop-Up Dream

There’s a little subtle secret we’ve watched take root over the past 7 years. It’s a cousin to the American Dream, the idea of going out and making it on your own.

We call it the pop-up dream.

And it’s that idea that so many people seem to relish – the idea of opening a store, having a place that they run and own and fill with things they like, a place that they can call their own. That dream comes from an itch.

For us, it was an itch that started as far back as we could remember when we worked that job on Summer vacation in junior high behind the cash register at the local stationary store.

Or book store.

Or ice cream shop.

Or boutique owned by the weird lady in town who had amazing taste, but whose taste you’re not sure you appreciated when you were there.

We share that dream. It’s part of what led to the creation of the market. We’ve watched it take root and evolve and grow. We saw it in people’s eyes the other day as they came to check out our soon-to-be new home on North 7th Street (home to our Brooklyn Holiday Bazaar starting this Saturday, December 4th). The possibilities are endless. It’s all about letting your imagination run – and see what dreams may come.

When people ask us about Artists & Fleas, it’s often hard to say exactly what characterizes the market. Because the market is so many things for different people. For some people, it’s got a bit of that old-school flea market vibe. Ask some of the old time flea market regulars, the ones who have sold at the Chelsea flea markets on 6th Avenue before the condo explosion. Or the ones who set up in Brimfield every year. For them, it’s all about setting up and tearing down and making magic happen. Almost like when the carnival blows into town. For other vendors, the market is their store. It’s a pop-up shop inside a larger store, part of a bigger collective.

The way we explain it?

The whole is greater than the sum of its parts. You’ll never quite get the rush or thrill that you’ll get being part of a multi-vendor vibe if you have a shingle on a store front somewhere else in the neighborhood. As much as the idea of a pop-up store is becoming a little tired and played (in a similar way to the whole artisanal food, bespoke theme is), we’re energized by what the market is and can become. Call it the evolution of the flea market. Or the market for the next generation.

Think about it.

And whatever you do, stop on in.

Photo taken by Alice Popkorn; See original photo here.