Does she knows something that you don’t?
So what is the number one essential spot in Brooklyn per Curbed.com and “One of the great urban experiences in New York.” per The New York Times? Not to mention, what’s a bunch of closet obsessed designers doing in the great urban outdoors? Are you feeling left out of the party? Never fear, we’re here to invite you to come along with us on our little expedition to the Brooklyn Flea!
It’s a symphony of visual and aural shopping experience at its best!
The Brooklyn Flea is one of the largest Flea market in NYC that take place in Brooklyn every single weekend with hundreds of different vendors selling bits of everything and anything that you can think of. From vintage cigarette poster:
To outrageously colorful vintage clothing:
What makes the Brooklyn Flea particularly interesting has a lot to do where it takes place; Brooklyn has seem a huge influx of artist and hipsters in recent years and the Brooklyn Flea has in some ways become a focal point of the creative energy in the surrounding neighborhoods. Its a great place to get a different perspective on the latest in fashion and check out interesting people.
Sounds wonderful but what does any of this has to do with our Dream Closet project?
Well loads really! What we are looking for is inspirations, a single article; be it a photograph, a piece of furniture or accessory. Something we like to refer to as a “Design Totem”, a special item that you are drawn to which will also act as a spiritual guide for the design direction you should take. The process of finding your own Design Totem is rather random and full of happy surprises. But one of the best ways of finding it is to visit a place where there are a huge collection of eclectic items and design energies. Which brings us to the Brooklyn Flea!
Imagine this sitting on top of your intimate drawers, softly spotlighted. Try to tell me that won’t change your love life.
Your design totem can be many things. It might be a elaborate vintage print:
An old type writer:
or just about anything really… choices, choices!
Now do remember that whatever you choose will likely become the center piece of your new design so size, especially since we are designing a closet, is a consideration. So unfortunately you’ll have to let that 8 foot Chinese stone lion go. Or perhaps you need a new garden design as well?
Aside on our main quest of finding our design totem, we also wanted to see if we want to find any alternative ways to sort and pack our stuff. We know you love the plastic bins from Target, but beside been terrible to the environments, they are also woefully lacking in the character department. And boy did we come the right place! We found lots of vintage luggage which would look awesome on our upper shelf as long term storage:
Dr. Jones, planning another trip to Arabia to see the pyramids?
We also saw a lot of really cute alternatives to short term bins and drawers, imagine using this cute pop shop crate to keep your socks;
Or this strawberry tin with a flip top to store the intimates of the appropriate color shall we say?
Our little expedition really got our creative juices going and got us ready to roll up our sleeve and tackle the design our Personal Library Closet, wait till you see what we have created! We will also follow up next week to teach you how to properly do a design totem reading, and you thought finding her was adventure! Wait till you get to know her better and find out what you really got!
In the mean time, check out some of our favorite past episodes and don’t forget to send us your comments so we know you’re with us!
Tags: Closet, Closetspiration, Creativity, Design, Design Totem, Dream Closet, Interior Design, Storage
[...] Finding an authentic vintage furniture piece would go a long way of anchoring your theme. After that it wouldn’t be difficult to find other shelving with matching materials to provide additional storages. Some of the more distinctive details we love are the organic shapes, the tall taper legs and the overall warm color stain. Time to hit your local flea market! We did a few weeks ago at the Brooklyn Flea! [...]
[...] found just the opposite style for you. Remember, find your Design Totem (check out our search at a flea market) and use it as a guide to find your unique theme. In this instance the unique wall lamp, drove the [...]
[...] Where else would you find interesting inspiration for similar furniture pieces? Check out our little field trip to the famous Brooklyn Flea! [...]
[...] talked about the idea of using a “design totem” to inspire and strengthen a theme in a prior post. Often time we find that light fixtures makes for great candidates since they naturally draws your [...]