The New Market in Town

Living in NYC, I can tell you that peeps love their flea/craft markets. I am here to let you know that there is a new market in town (variety is the spice of life!) The LIC Flea & Food opened it's gates on June 15th to much fanfare. Located in Long Island City, Queens, it is a hop, skip, and a jump from Manhattan, and also a quick train ride from Brooklyn. I have been a vendor there on Saturdays since opening day, and I am having a great time. I always ask anyone that stops by my booth if they live in the neighborhood. Surrounding the flea are many new luxury high-rise apartments, and some more are in the midst of construction. Just about all of the neighborhood folks that stop by are really happy to have a new market nearby. They often show their support by coming out and shopping!

Now, I am going to be honest...I don't like the word flea. I sell handmade goods, and many folks approach my booth and try to haggle with me about prices. I understand, that's what you do at flea markets, but I am firm on my prices, so I don't play that game. I will say that this market has a nice mix. Not too many "junky" looking booths. The market itself does not promote food over crafts, or vintage over handmade (not like another market which shall remain nameless....)

Here is just a sampling of the wonderful artists who show off their wares every weekend:

Tree-D Patchwork are beautiful works of 3-D art using different mediums, including fabric. Contact owner and creator, Meryl Thurston if you want your own personalized piece made from sentimental blankets, clothes, or any other fabric.

Maarte by Iza

Designer Annaliza Pasaylo-Huffnagle uses her native Filipino culture as inspiration for her Maarté by Iza collection of "Eco Friendly Jewelry", that makes a statement without saying a word.

Janet Belden is a life-long ceramicist that has a wide variety of beautiful pieces. She has also shared her expertise and knowledge by teaching classes at the West Side YMCA for over twenty years!

Donna Levinstone

I am always impressed with artists like this. Drawing and painting is a talent that you are born with (I don't think I could teach myself...you either have it or you don't) My photo does not do true justice to her beautiful work with pastels.

ezerd

Need to adopt a robot? This dynamic duo will help with that. Wonderful and whimsical pieces would be right at home in any decor!

Ice Riders NYC

I have to say that these guys have saved my life every weekend. It has been HOT in NYC, and there is nothing better than shaved ice! This friendly bunch shave the ice using bike power! I have tried many different flavors including green apple, watermelon, lemonade, and dreamsicle....yum!

I hope you get a chance to stop by and check out the market. Located in LIC, Queens (46th ave & 5th street) the market is open every Saturday and Sunday (10a-6p) and should be open through October.

Until next time....happy crafting!

Nordea nordeasoaperie

Cards, Flowers and Candy for Valentine's Day

Yesterday my daughter's boyfriend sent me a clandestine email asking about a necklace she'd mentioned she liked last spring when it was her birthday. He is planning to purchase it for Valentine's Day.

It may seem to be early for Valentine's Day gifts, but walk into any drug store today and you will be bombarded by wall-to-wall aisles of red cardboard hearts filled with inexpensive chocolates. Anyone planning on purchasing something on etsy should order early to make sure their gift arrives on time..just 29 days till

Cards...

The Reimagined Past offers a selection of vintage cards. This one, Valentine's Day Card with Bouquet of Flowers, sells for $5.

Flowers...

An alternative to roses...this beautiful wreath of tulips, for $80, is from Elegant Holidays.

 and Candy...

Linda's Edible Art offers the candies we love from childhood in a cookie form.  The cookie is 4 1/2" x 4 1/2" and sells for $36 for a dozen.

Here's hoping your Valentine's Day is sweet!

Wink and Flip / WINK AND FLIP

30 Peaches in 30 Days

I’m the kind of person who comes up with an idea and executes it. Consequently, I have very few items on my bucket list. I’ve tried to work at adding things but they are either fairly expensive (a trip to India) or improbable (living in California).

I recently realized that every summer for as long I can remember, I regret that I did not eat more peaches, corn and tomatoes in the last days of summer. I decided I did not want to go to my final resting place not having eaten enough peaches.

Yes, you read that right. This year I added to my bucket list: Eat a peach every day for 30 days before summer ends.

Peaches are meant to be consumed out of hand, juice dribbling into a napkin. As far as I’m concerned, almost anything one can do to a peach ruins it.

Canned peaches taste to me like slippery tennis balls. Frozen peaches aren’t fragrant. Peach iced tea is tasty but it doesn’t approximate the taste of a fresh peach. The closest I’ve come to real peach taste in a peach product is a nectar drink that I first came across in Greece, called Premium Fresh peach nectar in a cardboard container from Philicon. At 130 calories for eight ounces, it contains water, peach puree, and sugar and is actually a product of Bulgaria.

In my quest, I found it was really worth it to buy the $2.50 (ouch) a pound giant peaches. They are like the steak of the fruit world. So full of juice and fiber, after you eat one, you’re full.

To eat a peach every day, you have to buy a peach every day, or every other day, so they are really ripe. Peaches are best stored at 32 degrees, as they continue to ripen after being picked from the tree. I prefer them room temperature.

An illustration from the 1800s.

Getting peaches home every day can turn into a project. I bought some at my local Korean grocery store. I bought some from the community supported agriculture stand at the Hester Street Fair, trucked in from farms on the East End of Long Island. I bought some from a stand in Chinatown. The peach is native to China, and the country is still the world’s largest producer of the fruit.

I told my daughter about my quest and since she lives in the same building, across the hall from me, I sometimes came home to find a peach sitting atop the doorknob of the front door of my apartment.

A surprise!

Peaches are divided into clingstones and freestones, depending on whether or not the flesh sticks to the stone. White flesh are very sweet with little acidity. Yellow-fleshed peaches are sweet but can have an acidic tang. Europeans use the white peaches to make the Italian Proseco-based drink called Bellini.

I mostly ate peaches plain. I wash them with Environne Fruit & Vegetable Wash, which removes pesticides, waxes and chemicals used in crop production. My friend Jill uses it in her kitchen. She runs a weblog tracking innovations in technology, practices and materials that are pushing architecture and home design towards a smarter and more sustainable future. If it's good enough for her, it's good enough for me.

During my 30 days, I once made a salad of peach chunks, red lettuce and ginger sesame salad dressing. Chicken, and chow mien noodles, could also be added. I came across a recipe for a peach salsa, combining the fruit with kiwi, strawberries, lime juice, green onion, cilantro and jalapeno pepper. Maybe. I mostly ate the peaches out of hand. I’m not a fan of any recipe that cooks a peach, since I think heating a peach ruins what makes it great; the fragrance and the subtle flavor. So no cobbler, no peach pie.

I’m about three-quarters of the way through my quest. Have I gotten tired of peaches? Surprisingly, I have not. But after 23 days, I’m almost good till next summer.

Wink&Flip

winkandflip

Veggies, Fruit and More! Community Supported Agriculture Is In Season!

I am oh, so excited friends!

Today is the first day of my 22-week summer vegetable share from my local Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program and I've been waiting excitably for this day.

Tomatoes from last year's CSA share

Community Supported Agriculture is a sustainable way for consumers to buy local, seasonal food directly from a farm.

Unlike a farmers market where you purchase what you want, you don't get a choice with a CSA, you receive what the farm selects from their crops each week.  They are then boxed up and delivered to your distribution center so that members can pick them up and go home and enjoy fresh, seasonal vegetables and depending on the breadth of offerings, sometimes other products as well such as fruit, dairy, eggs, coffee, meat, etc. CSAs are usually volunteer operated and require that members volunteer a certain number of hours to help the season run smoothly.


The benefits of this arrangement are great, but below are a few key points.

For the farmer:
-Cash flow for the farmer
-Relationship development with consumers
-A chance to build their consumer base before the long hours in the field begin

For the consumers:
-Ultra-fresh food with flavor and vitamin benefits
-Exposure to new vegetables and new ways of cooking
-Learning about your food sources and even getting to visit the farm
-Relationship development with the farm and your neighborhood

In addition to knowing where your food comes from and having a relationship not just with the farmer, but the your neighborhood community, one of the most important concepts to the CSA is the idea of shared risk.  Purchasing a share means that you are aware that some seasons may not be the best. The farm is at the mercy of nature and that means that flooding, drought, or any other natural event that occurs can damage crops and result in little or no produce. The consumers connection to the farm is greater - it means we're in this together.

I joined my CSA at a moment where I was interested in local and seasonal food. I still am. As I became more involved, I realized that I didn't know where my food came from. I had no clue what it meant to work on a farm or be connected to nature as intimately as a farmer.

To be honest, when I joined, I was at the very early stages of my environmentalism. While I have always been a bit of a tree hugger, I was working for a corporation in a department that focused on corporate social responsibility (CSR) and the more I learned, the more I wanted to find the natural world not just for myself, but for everyone. Joining a CSA seemed like the right entrance point.

When I started, I was concerned with price. It is a sizable amount asked upfront (each CSA charges differently), but as the weeks continue and the food comes in and you see the sizes and breakdown the weekly amount, you realize you're spending less than you would at the grocery store for the same things (in my case $13/week).

Furthermore, my CSA, as with many in NYC, accept food stamps as a form of payment so that lower income families can also have access to fresh, healthy food and be part of this food movement.  As a matter of fact we work with an organization, The New York City Coalition Against Hunger (NYCCAH), who is committed to getting healthy food into the hands of those that need it the most. 

Joining a CSA is not an show of elitism, it is a statement of wanting good, quality food. It is no different from handmade crafters, like you and I, wanting to make good, quality and sustainable products and have them accessible. A farmer is no different from the stationer writing this post! 


This is my third season and my volunteer role is the communications coordinator. What that really means is that I'm responsible for the weekly newsletter, blog updates and social media channels during the full season and the off season. It's a lot of work during the season (22 weeks usually), but helping others find joy in good, healthy food means a lot to me.

So how can you get involved? 
I'm glad you asked!  CSAs are in abundance around the country. They've been growing steadily over the last 20 years.  If you live in NYC and are looking for a CSA, or just want more information, I suggest you contact Just Food.  They are an amazing organization that helped my CSA get off the ground and are truly committed to getting fresh local food in the hands of everyone.

If you are a reader outside of NY and are looking for more information, I suggest you contact Local Harvest. They are where I first went when I started looking for a CSA and they have more information on the local food movement in general, including information on finding farmers markets.

In my last post, I listed ways in which you as a business owner can give back without spending too much money, I consider this one. By joining a CSA, you are telling the current food system that you don't agree with their methods or practices. You're telling your community that you care and you're promoting a healthier lifestyle for yourself and loved ones. This totally counts!

If you are a member of a CSA and want to share your experience, please do so in the comments. I love hearing food stories, especially from artists. Maybe you have a recipe you want to share? Do it! Food is usually another creative outlet for us after all! 

                                                                                                                                   Sara//

S2 Stationery and Design

The New Amsterdam Market

I'm really, really hoping that the boom in independent markets is not a fad. I love them for so many reasons. I love talking to the sellers (often the makers) about what foods would go well with the cheese I just tasted or different ways to prepare the 2lb sweet onion I just bought. I love running into my next door neighbor while checking out the apples and then going to have a cup of hot cider with them. And I truly believe that everything tastes better when it's freshly picked or prepared!


As a wonderful celebration of New York's local food suppliers, the New Amsterdam Market couldn't be a better example of what I'm talking about. Set under the highway just one block north of the South Street Seaport and right in front of the former Fulton Fish Market, it was a glorious conglomeration of fresh and prepared foods, none of which had travelled more than 2-3 hours to get there. Their list of vendors is very impressive. I wish I could convey taste over the internet (don't try licking your computer screens!), but almost everyone had samples out and, if it was in arm's reach, I tried it!

The Orignal Cider from Bellwether Hard Cider was one of the best, light ciders I've ever had. While they aren't in NYC yet, I don't think it'll be long before they are!

The ladies at Liddabit were offering very tasty candies made all the way in... yes... Williamsburg! They had some of the best jellies (think Gummy Bears made with real fruit) I've ever had.

The boys from Stella were busy shucking oysters. They'd lost track of how many they'd done.

The flowers from Native Farm Flowers were absolutely stunning. I think their chaotic bounty of colors felt so anti-Martha, that I wanted to cheer.

One of my favorite displays had to be this colorful string of pasta from The Ravioli Store. Gourmet pasta made in Long Island City!

And not to be missed - The People's Popsicles! The colors of their ice cream are as glorious as their flavor combinations. There's nothing tentative about Cantaloupe & Tarragon!

There were so many other things I tried: cheeses and breads, wines and yogurts, pickles and Maple Bacon Brittle... It was a smorgesboard. If you go, don't think this will fill you up (it is all small bites), but do go with some cash in your wallet because you will find something you want to take home.

While, sadly, the New Amsterdam Market isn't open every weekend, it is now a monthly event. Which is a huge improvement from only once a year. They will be setting up again on October 25th, November 22nd, and December 20th. As it is all outdoors, they will be shutting down over the winter months, but based on the huge turnout I saw last weekend, they will definitely be back in the spring!

luise
warpeDesign