On a November afternoon in Brooklyn, not far from that memeified corner of the city (some call it “cursed”, others call it “heaven”), the sounds of 2-step thumped throughout a small warehouse. Clothing racks lined the floor, some carrying custom graffiti T-shirts, hand drawn or textile-printed shirts, and others screen printed with the words, “f*ck clam chowder, f*ck drinking, f*ck taxes, f*ck paypal.” On one of the many tables set up, pink sketches and a stack of zines full of delicate feet pictures were for sale.
Starting in 2021, the monthly Bushwick market known as Parkmart has been bringing together up-and-coming artists from around the city, highlighting New York‘s underground DIY makers. Created by a group of skaters — Brooks Morrow, Seth Valestrand, Nurse and Nico Bonacquist — the idea for the mart came from a pop-up they’d sold at in 2019, featuring streetwear clothing from their individual brands. Once the pandemic hit and resources moved online, Parkmart became a place for creatives to still sell their work in-person — somewhat safely, outside. In the years since, it’s grown out of the public parks (hence “Parkmart”) they started in, now filling out warehouses and art galleries, while cultivating a niche crew of loyal sellers. “It’s a weird collage of vibes,” Nico says of the selection of wares available. “It’s campy.”
The lineups of sellers were once curated by the group, but Parkmart is a “free-for-all” for makers — so long as there’s no reselling. (Vendor sign-ups are released each month beforehand). “We don’t let people sell vintage,” Nico says. “The thing with flea markets in New York is that most of it is a mix of vintage and art, but we [knew] if we only did artists it would set us apart from everything else.” Curating eventually became more difficult, but it meant the market grew. “It was easier back then ’cause we’d do it without permits and it was such a small-scale thing,” Nurse says. “Now, it’s like, ‘Oh, they’ve gone full-scale with this’.”
‘Free for all’ or not, the bar is just as high, if not higher. The cyanotype bandanas, “draw on me” jackets and skirts covered in poetry verses speak for themselves. “Because of that initial curation, I feel like people don’t apply unless they know it’ll be up to the standard of what other people are selling.” As a result, the sellers motivate each other and have become a tight-knit community. “Everyone wants to outdo the next person,” Seth says. “But it’s not like, ‘I wanna make more money than the next person’; it’s like, ‘I want to be able to discuss the things that I’ve made with someone else who’s made things to sell here’.”
Walking through the market you’ll see everything from Biblically-inspired necklaces to neckties covered in pig heads and guts for sale. It’s a change from early editions, where vendors were selling mostly T-shirts. In June, when Guilty By Association, a New York-based art collective, invited the group to host a market at its gallery, Parkmart decided to do a show instead. It would be about the history of T-shirts —how they’d first been made, how printed or slogan tees are often worn ironically now and, mostly, how they helped Parkmart become Parkmart. “We probably had 36 shirts, and they were all handmade,” Brooks says. And, as the show would prove, like the marts do every month, “everyone that vends here just goes hard,” he says.
We visited Parkmart to meet some of New York’s coolest sellers. Check out — and shop! — their one-of-a-kind goods below.
Laylah, 23
What do you sell at Parkmart?
I sell screen-printed, upcycled clothes that are born out of my feelings at the time.
How long have you been selling?
Since 2021. I was really nervous to do it the first time ‘cause I’d never sold anything, and I was really insecure about it. But I made a lot of money – I made rent! — and I was like, ‘Oh yeah, I’m doing this every time’.
What’s it like being a DIY artist in New York?
It’s a beautiful struggle. I never considered myself an artist at all, just a person who made things. It’s really beautiful that I can meet a lot of artists and people that I never would’ve met, but it’s also a struggle because it comes with a lot of expectation. There’s a battle between my expectations of creating and what will sell, and what I want to create for my own sense of fulfilment.
What’s your day job?
I do corporate work, so I feel like I’m stuck in this routine of mundanity. The people I’m around in the office aren’t really inspiring. But I really love that I can have an outlet and do something that’s hidden. Like, they’ll never know.
And your favourite thing you’ve made?
I made a rust-dyed prairie dress. I found it in the corner of a vintage shop somewhere. It was dusty, and I was like, ‘Oh, that’s perfect.’ I went to my sister’s house and she has a studio there, and I went around the property and got a bunch of nails and stuff, and rust-dyed and screen-printed it. A really beautiful person ended up buying it and she keeps me updated every time she wears it.
Parker, 30
What do you sell?
I sell mixtapes, shirts and prints. My stuff is basically showing multiple channels of New York’s DIY underground culture – music, skateboarding, graffiti — and it’s just encompassing all of those cultures into one thing.
How long have you been selling?
Since the first mart. I think I’ve missed two in the two years I’ve been doing it. I also do all of the videos for Parkmart.
What’s it like being an artist in New York?
It’s tough because of the competition, but it makes you better. Everyone I know that lives here is some form of artist and is doing something, which is inspiring to be around. But then on the other hand, of course, you gotta go above and beyond to get your stuff out there.
What’s your day job?
I do art handling, video work.
And your favourite thing you’ve ever made?
Probably this mixtape series that I’m doing now; I just put out the fifth one today. But they’re all local DJs that I get a mix from, and then I do all of the designs, the cassettes and get the prints made.
Keto & Rossa, 23
What do you both sell?
We sell a lot of different specialty items: handmade jewellery, handmade clothes, clothes that we put our art and designs on. Sometimes we repurpose vintage ones as well.
How long have you been selling?
We only sold at the last mart, so this is our second time.
How do you want people to feel wearing your clothes?
R: We’re super inspired by rave stuff, so we want people to go have fun, express themselves, just feel cyber and out there.
K: I really like when people use our pieces to layer and elevate an already existing outfit. Like, it’s not just a standalone piece, but you can really fit it into your wardrobe and layer it and make it absolutely crazy.
What’s it like being a DIY artist in New York?
K: It’s hard. There’s a lot of competition. There are days where you’ll leave [the market] and feel so discouraged — like nobody wants to buy your stuff ever again. But then other days, you’ll feel like the best designer in the world and nothing can bring you down.
R: It’s really rewarding though, and it’s nice to have that feeling of like, ‘I made this at home, I executed it, and now I’m supporting myself off of those ideas.’
Any memorable buyers?
K: People who just come, don’t even look at the price and just pile a bunch of stuff up on the table. Of course those are my favourite customers!
Praise, 25
What do you sell?
I sell cyanotype prints, bandanas — really anything that I can print on, I sell.
How do you want people to feel interacting with your work?
Probably warm and tender. Softness.
What’s it like being an artist in New York?
I feel like most people say it’s really difficult to make it in a city like New York, but I think that there’s a really strong sense of community and everyone’s super supportive. It’s really beautiful getting to create without the pressures of the art industry or capitalism. Whenever I don’t want to create, I don’t have to.
What’d you do outside of the mart?
I’m a community organiser. I work at an arts nonprofit, and I’m also an educator.
Any memorable buyers?
There was this one guy who was saying that his dad just got into oil painting, and he was only painting Black cowboys. He was like, “Can I buy a print? I want to give it to my dad,” and I just immediately started crying. I love when people get late-starts in life to do what they want to do. So I gave him a print, and I think I gave him an extra one and a postcard for free, too, just because I was like, ‘Tell your dad I love him!’ But I think about him all the time.
Lara & Sofia, 23
What do you sell?
S: They’re handmade candles that have images inside, and they’re all collectible art-objects. As the candle melts, the image changes, so we’re selling timelines of information.
How long have you been selling?
L: This is our second time here. We were both in Providence, and now we’re in New York.
How do you want people to feel when they buy your candles?
S: They’re candles and they’re meant to be burned, but because they’re so detailed, by burning them, you’re losing so much of the product. So it’s really this experience of dissolving time, as we like to see it. Information’s just melting down. But people react to them differently.
L: We make customs for people, and they can choose what images they want, so it’s been amazing to see what people want to enshrine in a candle.
What’re your day jobs?
S: We’re painters.
Favourite thing you’ve made?
L: I just made some candles, and it’s these two parentheses, and I like it because it enframes whatever object’s behind it. It brings another object into the physical space.
Ryan, 28
What do you sell?
I sell hand-drawn, one-of-one clothing.
How long have you been selling?
Since the beginning. It’s been a really great way to just tap into the people that are around you, ‘cause it’s such a big city and you’re never gonna meet everyone.
How do you want people to feel when they wear your clothes?
I want people to collect it as if it’s a rare Pokémon card or something. I want them to feel cool but also to feel like they have a piece that nobody else has.
What’s it like being an artist in New York?
It gives you something to do when you’re not working, and it’s better to make art and clothing than other things.
And your favourite thing you’ve ever made?
Probably a shirt that I made for the [GBA] gallery. The text is a verse from the Bible that the captain of our hockey team would say before every game. I thought it was so silly, as if we were going into war or something.
Credits
Photography Yulissa Benitez Amaro