Downtown’s daily flea made of old shipping containers will add 30 more vendors on Saturday — kicking off with a day of music, gourmet treats and even a Dumpster art installation.
DeKalb Market’s newest mini shops will include a Jacques Torres chocolatier and purveyors of Australian meat pies, hipster stuffed animals and baubles from Brooklyn’s best Etsy designers.
“This isn’t a shopping mall — it’s an intersection of chefs, designers and other creative people,” said Eldon Scott, director of Urban Space, the organization behind the market, which occupies a vacant lot at the corner of Flatbush Avenue Extension and Willoughby Street. “We’re trying to create a new destination for Downtown, a new type of public space.”
The temporary shopping center opened in July in the former Albee Square Mall site, with 22 shops and restaurants, a radio station and farm plots — designed to be a placeholder for the stalled CityPoint tower.
Currently, the market includes Cheeky Sandwiches, Joe Coffee, Robicelli’s cupcakes, Sour Puss Pickles and Brooklyn Beats records. There’s even a radio station (though, for now, its broadcasts only reach the ears of shoppers and online listeners at bboxradio.com).
“We’re figuring out how to get the right mix of events and foot traffic,” Scott said. “We’re two months in and the potential is there.”
This weekend, the market will celebrate the new containers with music from BBox Radio and Park Slope artist Mac Premo’s “The Dumpster Project,” a container with 400 of his life’s curiosities — including a friend’s wisdom teeth.
And within the next few weeks the souk will launch its “incubator kitchen” in the vegetable gardens, where budding chefs can take cooking classes.
Here’s a preview of the newest traders:
• Brooklyn Flavors: All-natural bath and body products straight from the borough.
• Pip & Estella: Eclectic vintage decor in a brand-new pop-up store.
• Grumpy Bert: Plush robots, monsters and fruits with adorable faces.
• DUB Pies: Australian and New Zealand-style meat pies.
• NY State of Mind: Men’s skater apparel, including tees, decks and jewelry.
• Pahdma Creations: Handmade knits by Nepali women.
• Dog Tag: Salvaged materials transformed into one-of-a-kind furnishings.
DeKalb Market (322 Flatbush Ave. Ext. between Willoughby and Fleet streets in Downtown, no phone), with new shops opening Oct. 15. Open every day, 11 am-7 pm. For info, visit dekalbmarket.com.
