The City Flea: post flea.

The City Flea ended up being an all around great time last Saturday - great company, great products and crazy delicious streetpops. Overall, the selection was great in terms of jewelry and clothing but I wished there were more furniture or home good booths. Specifically, collectors that have succeeded in finding some "diamonds in the rough" and would be willing to sell to a good home.

Despite this critique, I still managed to come up with a top three that would probably stay my top three even with the addition mentioned above. The three are: reborn by Maggie, Rough and Perfect and Modern Relic. All three booths had such a presence to them, they were certainly hard not to remember. So, as a tribute to their awesomeness, I thought I'd gush about them a little. Naturally, the pictures I took didn't do the booths a shred of justice so, instead, I'm going to steal from their sites.

reborn by Maggie
These t-shirts are uh-dorable. Maggie takes old thrift store t-shirts that otherwise could be forgotten, cuts out the graphic into cute shapes and sews onto a new tee. The execution is flawless and her eye is fantastic in terms of interesting graphics and composition. One of my favorites was a super soft black t-shirt with an old reds logo cut out in the shape of a heart and sewn on. If I were a Reds fan, I would have bought it immediately.

(photos courtesy of maggie's gallery)

Rough and Perfect

First off, I wish I would have snapped a pic of this booth because I thought it was beautifully put together. Second, I quickly became obsessed with the housewares on display - specifically with what I believe was the restaurant china collection. The prints are detailed illustrations of animals (i.e. squirrels, birds and raccoons) that were ironed on to the house made china. The designs are whimsical, free-spirited and sort of the grown-up version of fun dinnerware.

(photos courtesy of their site) 

Modern Relics

This booth showed an uncanny eye for clean lines, functional accessories and items that make you feel like you just stepped into an episode of Mad Men. Fantastic selections were made on what to feature and where I single-handedly spent most of my time. Here are the items I was obsessing over. Yes, I know there are a lot and no, I couldn't condense the selection displayed below.

(almost bought this dutch oven for Jim)

[not at the City Flea but fell in love with it while browsing on their site]

(photos courtesy of Modern Relic's etsy shop)

Show off your hood.

If you haven't noticed, I have a giant crush on typography. Especially when it is used to form a larger object (as seen here and here). So there shouldn't be any suprises around my love for Sarah Hyland Studio's Hood Maps on etsy. Also mentioned on the City Flea, these fantastic screen prints are to cute to pass up. Not only can this print offer visual interest to a space, it can also be a conversation starter or, like City Flea, a collection and reminder of everywhere you've lived to date!

(it can also make a great boy gift for those who have brothers with upcoming birthdays or not a clue what to get their dads for Father's Day).

Loving this blog: The City Flea

Staying in the spirit of thrifting, I came across this blog while searching FaceBook for the Cincinnati Fashion Week (starts on Monday!) page. A modest blog with a big mission, I quickly became lost in the blog and full of anticipation.

The blog is chock full of design inspiration and updates on the status of their primary cause, a flea market-style shopping experience in the heart of the Queen City. With what seems to be a great deal of inspiration taken from the Brooklyn Flea, this experience is focused on city dwellers with some extra cash burning a hole in their pockets and an eye for style and design.

If May is anythign like April, June 4th will be here in the blink of an eye. Check it out for more info!