BLK MKT Vintage
Kiyanna Stewart (left), co-founder of BLK MKT Vintage, has been collecting Black artifacts, cast-offs and curiosities since college, later bringing girlfriend Jannah Handy into the fold. What started as a hobby for the Crown Heights natives — scouring thrift stores and flea markets for treasures like antique hot combs, first-edition Sonia Sanchez and Dick Gregory paperbacks, vintage HBCU letterman jackets, political pins and Nina Simone vinyls — has grown into an online business offering such finds through their Etsy shop and Instagram.
“You don’t have to be a seasoned collector to be into vintage,” says Handy, explaining that some customers can be daunted by BLK MKT’s trove. “We talk a lot about seeing beyond the item in front of you. Can you see it as functional in your space? Can you see it as a story to tell or to pass on for future generations? You can start with just one piece.”
BLK MKT Vintage is, in a word, blacknificent. [Editor’s Note: I’ll allow this.] From original Black Panther comic books to Black Panther Party newspapers, their thoughtfully curated inventory is Black history, creativity and pride manifested.
Stewart and Handy also sell difficult relics, such as “Whites Only” and “Colored Only” segregationist signs. “The project is about representation and seeing ourselves,” says Stewart. “For me that means seeing ourselves whole and full, where we have been and who we’re going to be — so there needs to be a willingness to see sometimes painful parts of our history. It doesn’t necessarily need to be only Black joy, Black cool and exuberance because that’s not a full picture of who we are.”
“The project is about representation and seeing ourselves.”
Three years into running BLK MKT Vintage, Handy, 31, and Stewart, 28, are leveling up with plans to open a brick-and-mortar home for Black cultural artifacts. The curators launched an Indiegogo campaign this month to raise $20,000 for securing a Brooklyn retail space. More than a store, they envision a place that also serves as a showroom and archive for community and learning.
“We want to highlight what these items mean in a contemporary context,” says Handy, gesturing, as an example, to a stack of Civil Rights-era protest press photos. “What are those implications for Black Lives Matter or other protests today? It’s important for us to be able to make these artifacts living, breathing things that we can share.”
465 Marcus Garvey Blvd, (347) 240-6694, blkmktvintage.com
