Shameless plug, hope to see everyone Saturday!

http://www.nj.com/hudson/index.ssf/20 ... ket_re-.html#incart_river

By Summer Hortillosa

Warm weather is back, and so is the Pacific Flea outdoor market in Jersey City!

Last year, the monthly Bergen-Lafayette market has been a go-to spot for shoppers hunting vintage goods, handcrafted items, collectibles and more from local vendors.

Organizer Joel Maffei says the market grew out of property owner Stuart Metrick's garage sales. A crafty collector, Metrick takes old, industrial items and repurposes them to create new furniture and also sells records and antiques.

"There's a bunch of things in my house from the market," said Maffei. "I have a framed Grace Jones album that Stuart made -- he's a little bit of an artist. He also has this drill from the 20's or 30's that he's turned into a lamp!"

While they kept things fairly small last year, this weekend, the market is coming back bigger than ever.

Brittany Graziosi, the designer behind Antisocial Jewelry, a local brand that incorporates animal bones and fur, has joined the Pacific Flea team to help them recruit almost 20 vendors.

"We're really just trying to kick this whole thing up a notch," said Maffei. "We have a lot of people doing vintage clothing, some people with antiques and knick-knacks plus some really great artists who do upcycled art."

Some of the vendors include Heaven and Hand Knits, All for You Vintage, PetuniasJC, Present Tense Vintage, Taproot Organics, EvetteTelyas, E. Tittlemouse & Co., Secondhand Habits Vintage, EGC Studios, the Vintagenista, Turnstyle ART and Lenka's Jewelry.

The grand re-opening will also feature food from Mordi's Food Truck and dessert by banana pudding company Baonanas.

Lastly, visitors will also enjoy live music by the Big Drops, Solid Goold and the Cellers. DJ Avi Obvious McClain will also spin.

"Our main goal is to create a community space, an art space for the neighborhood," said Maffei, who's lived in the neighborhood for eight years. "We don't really have anything else like this in the Bergen-Lafayettte area, and we think it would be really great to get things going over here."

Pacific Flea re-opens on Saturday, April 11 from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. at 149 Pacific Ave., Jersey City. For more information, visit PacificFlea.com.