Community Table Special Guest: MillerDANCE

We are delighted to have MillerDANCE at the Community Table this Saturday. The modern dance company is joining us from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. to meet and talk to the community about their upcoming performance I look at you and I see myself , a collaborative work between choreographer Mary Miller and fiber artist Tina Williams Brewer, with music by Charles Hall and costumes by Venise St. Pierre. The artists are working together in the creation of a multi-dimensional work in a modern dance format, exploring the energy within the framework of one of Ms Williams Brewer’s story quilts. In the MillerDANCE tradition of utilizing non-traditional performance spaces, the work will be presented in the intimate environment of SPACE gallery at 812 Liberty Avenue, in the heart of Pittsburgh’s Cultural District, on June 18-19 and 25-26. Tickets are available at the door and online.

ABOUT MILLERDANCE
MillerDANCE is a modern dance company active in the Pittsburgh area for 25 years. The company is known for working with diverse groups and performing in non-traditional spaces. Mary Miller, the company’s founder and artistic director, has a unique ability to take social and cultural ideas and convert them into dance.

MillerDANCE also works extensively with children who have disabilities. Mary Miller has developed movements and physical activities that are very effective in getting children to express themselves through motion. MillerDANCE is the only dance company in this region with a significant presence in this field.

This Saturday at Little Flea: Ola Appetit

An instant hit this season, Olafemi's Ola Appetit offers expertly prepared, artistically presented, ethnic foods. Some dishes have been fused to appeal to the American palate. Her menu ranges from the American classic Macaroni and Cheese, Foo Foo(African Pound Yam) to Poulet basquaise (French Basque Chicken) and Asian Seared Shrimp Salad. Her signature drinks are a must! And at $3 a dish, you can afford to be culturally adventurous and taste different dishes.

My love of food has given me an advantage because I love baking. My Vegetarian and Vegan savoy/sweet foods are unsurpassed in taste and presentation -- all made with organic or natural, local ingredients. I believe food plays an important role culturally and socially. I feel the best way to give back is not to take away I hope my business would always be in the community embracing the green clean movement.

This week's menu:

• Jamacain Style Curry Chicken
• Red Bean and Rice
• Seasonal Fresh Fruit Cups
• Ginger Lemon Iced Tea
• Strawberry Short Cakes

Ola Appetit (Yoruba for "love" and French for "appetite") is a catering company headed by Olafemi Mandley whose inspiration is the love of food and the sharing of food. Ola Appetit Catering is available for all corporate and social occasions.

Ola Appetit Catering
Olafemi Mandley Owner
oacatering@yahoo.com
(412)466-2204 Office Telephone
(412)462-6327 Fax

This Saturday at Little Flea: Shirley "The Bag Lady" McCormick

Shirley "The Bag Lady" McCormick creates purses and wallets from retired upholstery sample books. Besides being "The Bag Lady" (a nickname given to her by her aunt), Shirley is also a member of The Artful Divas, I Made It Pittsburgh. This past weekend was asked to join The Crumbs and Crochet artists for a meeting of creative minds. Her purses are sold at The 3G Gallery in the Westin Hotel and Conference Center as well as through Michelle Minyon's booth down in the Strip on Saturdays. She's been a successful participant in the Art All Night Event for 3 years and loves to volunteer and promote art events in Western PA.

Save the Earth -- don't let the beautiful fabrics go to the landfills: Create your own one-of-a-kind wallet or purse. You too can design an accessory by selecting pages from a wide variety of sample books, choosing a style of strap from cord, leather, belting , etc and embellishments. I'll sew them together for you for the fee of $10-$50, depending on your style and have it ready for you within a week or two.

Come meet Shirley at Little Flea under the flowery tent!

This Saturday at Little Flea: Carl Cimini's Pasta Domenica

Carl Cimini -- a filmmaker by day, who most notably produced a documentary entitled Dancing in Amdo, in 2008 -- is also a regular market vendor at Little Flea. It was Carl who had the now historic first sale at Little Flea's, on opening day last year: an 18" tall collectible Superman doll he'd picked up at the Goodwill a few years before. Carl says of the sale: "the guy who bought the doll apparently has his home filled with Superman collectibles and a very patience wife."

That was last year. This season, Carl is selling authentic, handmade pasta.

How did that come about? "Well, I had sold pretty much all my collectible inventory at the Little Flea by the end of last season. I so enjoyed my experience of the outdoor market -- meeting and chatting with people -- but I was out of things to sell, so I thought about coming up with a product, something I could make and reproduce, and that’s when it hit me -- I love making pasta!"

Carl usually makes pasta for his family during the holidays. "I don't buy pasta in the grocery, it takes me 15 minutes to make a pound of fresh pasta by hand, most times I cut it with a knife."

The move seems to have worked. He is getting repeat buyers. He calls his pasta Pasta Domenica, which means Pasta Sunday. The recipe he uses is over 100 years old and dates back to before 1896. "That was the year my Italian Grandfather immigrated for the second time to the United States, with his new bride," he elaborated. "It’s her recipe and her name was also Domenica."

What makes his pasta so special? "Well for one thing it's not fortified with vitamins -- vitamins are bitter -- and that’s the biggest difference between what I do and store bought pasta." He continued, "Also the use of a proper pastry dowel for rolling the pasta, using the dowel instead of a common rolling pin gets most of the air out of the dough."

"I am very particular about food, I like good food. I have many family members who cook, they cook great Italian food, the recipes they use are from Ascoli Piceno in the Marche region of Italy. La Marche cooks are known to be very very traditional cooks. The saying about Ascoli Piceno is when Ascoli was a teenager, Rome was a baby. So my Italian cooking has roots in an ancient medieval Italy."

Carl offers regular unbleached flour pasta, along with spinach, black peppercorn, tomato basil, and whole wheat. "Flavored pasta's are fun to try," he said. "I like them because they disperse the flavors throughout the entire length of the noodle, allowing for the flavors to romp around one's palette".

Check our Carl Cimini's documentary work.

To learn more about Carl’s pasta adventures search Pasta Domenica on Facebook.

This Saturday at Little Flea: Tanya's Photo Caravan

After crisscrossing North America on a shoestring budget (staying at artist colonies and on friend’s couches), Swiss-Australian photographer and videographer Tanya Stadelmann landed in Lawrenceville almost two years ago.

Inspired by Pittsburgh, she photographs its streetscapes, old factories and other cultural treasures such as the Monroeville Zombie Walk. Tanya sells handmade greeting cards featuring her recent photo work, including her North American odyssey.

Also on sale are her photo-bags and recycled denim purses.

Joining her is local writer M.S. Reagan (selling poetry inscribed on found and unusual objects) and Australian musician and composer Nicole Skeltys (selling CDs by The Jilted Brides featuring Tanya as a vocalist).

In addition to flea marketing the trio also works together as a video
production team and have recently produced promotional films for both Pittsburgh Citiparks and the Pittsburgh Glass Center. They look
forward to meeting more people from the neighborhood.

Links to view some of Tanya's video work:
http://www.youtube.com/tanyaandrea
http://www.gleeclubproductions.com
http://www.myspace.com/thejiltedbrides

This Saturday at Little Flea: The Yards

The Yards is the retail experiment of Adam Miller and Shannon Merenstein who wish to turn their obsession with scoring beautiful treasures into something that can be shared with fellow Pittsburghers.


Adam and Shannon are hyperselective about the clothing, accessories, and artifacts they come across in their travels to exotic Pennsylvania and Ohio towns and are excited to bring them to the Little Flea shoppers this Saturday. We offer a large collection of vintage clothing in many sizes and from many decades for men and women as well as uniquehandbags, collectors' handkerchiefs, costume jewelery, and shoes from the 1940s-early 1990s to help bring your summer outfits to life.

Feel free to check out our website for a preview of our goods. See you at the flea!

Happy Birthday Victoria!

We take the time to celebrate the birthday of artist Victoria Hruska who turns 89 today. A favorite of Little Flea, Victoria joined our market since its very modest beginnings last season, sharing every Saturday her incredible, highly intricate work (made mostly of recycled materials) with our community. We are truly lucky to have her!

In the past year, Victoria has received considerable attention from newspapers and magazines, largely due to the remarkable installation she created with Latoya Frazier at the Mattress Factory Museum, titled 1921 Braddock Summoning 1982 (see photo above). The Braddock native is a prolific, lively artist who has been creating works most of her life without much recognition. But apparently her time has come to show a wider audience the fruits of her labor, thanks in part to Braddock Mayor John Fetterman who has been championing her and her work. Last week, she told us that a crew from the Independent Film Channel had spent a couple of weeks over at her home (a veritable work of art in itself) conducting interviews and filming. IFC is producing a documentary featuring our own Victoria Hruska that will air in September 2010.

Come meet Victoria Hruska at Little Flea, talk a bit and buy her creations. Join us in wishing her a happy birthday!

Little Flea Hearts Dogs? Absolutely!

We continue with our ongoing series: Little Flea Dogs. Hard to imagine Little Flea without them, so why not give them the spotlight once in a while. Here are few of our latest visitors.

Raw chef extraordinaire Mandi Babkes and her dear friend Beau

Happiness at Little Flea: Olafemi's iced tea on one hand and pooch on the other

At the Verdure Magazine table, learning a thing or two about our green city

Remember Lawrenceville Little Flea happens this Saturday from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Bring your pet, they'll love it!

What Community Looks Like: FleaScene May 1

It seems like an eternity has passed by whenever we're away, even just for a week. Well, I thought we all need some reminding of what we've missed. May 1 was a great time. Vendors, never to disappoint, had incredible stuff on hand, and the Cultural Corner awesome guests: 2 Cakes in the Rain, followed by Bill Dorfner and Friends (pictured above). Take a look at the May 1 photo album.

It's worth announcing that Little Flea returns this Saturday, May 15. Awesome weather + awesome flea market = exponential awesomeness!