What Artists & Fleas does

Artists & Fleas is a privately held, New York City-based operator of curated multi-merchant physical marketplaces founded in 2003. The company rents booth space to independent makers, artists, designers, and vintage curators, enabling them to sell handmade jewelry, art, apparel, candles, beauty products, and similar goods directly to consumers. It operates two flagship locations: the original Williamsburg market at 70 North 7th Street, Brooklyn, which runs Friday through Sunday with 50+ sellers per weekend, and the Chelsea Market location at 88 10th Avenue in Manhattan, which operates seven days a week under the High Line. A Venice, Los Angeles presence is also referenced.

The underlying platform is built on a WordPress-based public website paired with a dedicated merchant booking portal at booking.artistsandfleas.com, where approved merchants reserve booths and pay license fees. Payments and invoicing are processed through Square, email communications run on Mailchimp, internal automation uses Zapier, and advertising retargeting relies on Google and Meta cookie-based audiences. The company holds PCI compliance for payment processing and offers merchant amenities including indoor climate-controlled space, electricity, and WiFi.

The business model combines weekly booth license fees ($600 per weekend at Williamsburg, $2,150 per week at Chelsea Market), recurring Seasonal (3-month) and Mainstay (6-month) memberships that add guaranteed space, marketing support, and access to VP-of-Marketing consultation, plus optional equipment rentals such as tables, chairs, and clothing racks. Shoppers enter free of charge, and go-to-market is event-driven and community-led, anchored by high-traffic NYC destination foot traffic, an active Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and TikTok presence, and recurring brand and media partnerships with organizations including Ace Hotel, Bumble, Microsoft, and We Are Women Owned. The company is bootstrapped, with no disclosed institutional funding, and operates as a collection of New York LLC entities under founder control.

Name

Artists & Fleas

Legal name

Artists & Fleas, LLC

Website

https://artistsandfleas.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2003

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Artists & Fleas is a privately held, NYC-based operator of curated physical marketplaces where independent makers, artists, and vintage curators rent booth space to sell handmade goods directly to consumers across flagship locations in Williamsburg and Chelsea Market.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Curated Artisan Marketplace

NAICS

Hobby, Toy, and Game Retailers (45912), Used Merchandise Retailers (459510)

SIC

Retail-Hobby, Toy & Game Shops (5945)

akta.pro primary industry

Vintage & Antique Collectibles Retail (CRALAGAE)

Keywords

• Curated maker marketplace
• Booth space rental
• Handmade goods market
• Independent vendor marketplace
• Artisan retail market

Headquarters

HQ city

Brooklyn

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Space License Fees: Merchants pay weekly license fees to rent booth space at markets. Chelsea Market charges $2,150/week, Williamsburg charges $600/weekend. Fees are non-refundable and paid in advance.
2. Seasonal Membership: Premium membership program offering guaranteed space reservations, social media features, expert sessions with VP of Marketing, on-site marketing support, and consideration for press features. Seasonal (3 months) or Mainstay (6 months) periods available.
3. Equipment Rentals: Optional rentals for merchants: table and chair at $20/day at Williamsburg; additional equipment packages for Regeneration merchants at $50/weekend.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Artists & Fleas operates curated physical marketplace locations where independent makers, artists, designers, and vintage collectors rent booth space to sell handmade and vintage goods directly to consumers. The company runs flagship markets in Brooklyn's Williamsburg and Manhattan's Chelsea Market under a weekly license fee model with seasonal and mainstay membership options.

Product overview

Artists & Fleas operates as a multi-merchant physical marketplace with two core locations: the flagship Williamsburg Market in Brooklyn (open Friday–Sunday) and the Chelsea Market location in Manhattan (open seven days a week). The company provides booth space rental to independent makers, artists, and vintage collectors through a booking platform, and offers two membership tiers—Seasonal (3-month periods) and Mainstay (6-month periods)—that provide guaranteed space, social media support, and marketing consultation. The overall portfolio consists of the physical market spaces as the primary offering, supplemented by a merchant booking platform and premium membership programs.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Seasonal Membership: A membership program offering entrepreneurs guaranteed booth spaces, social media features, expert sessions with the VP of Marketing, on-site marketing support, and consideration for press features across seasonal (3-month) and mainstay (6-month) periods in NYC.
• Mainstay Membership

Products and services

• Williamsburg Market Brooklyn flagship curated marketplace open Friday-Sunday where independent makers, artists, designers, and vintage collectors rent booths to sell directly to shoppers.
• Chelsea Market Manhattan flagship curated marketplace operating daily inside Chelsea Market, providing booth space to independent makers and vendors in a high-traffic tourist and commercial location.
• Seasonal Membership Three-month recurring subscription that gives merchants ongoing booth access and member benefits at Artists & Fleas locations.
• Mainstay Membership Six-month extended subscription offering merchants longer-term booth privileges, recurring access, and benefits across Artists & Fleas markets.
• Merchant Booking Platform Online vendor booking portal that allows merchants to browse available booths, reserve spaces, manage seasonal/mainstay subscriptions, and pay weekly license fees for Artists & Fleas markets.

Quantifiable outcome

• 50+ individual sellers every weekend at Williamsburg location
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration5 records

Partnerships

15 partnerships are on record, tiered notable, core and supporting.

• Ace HotelnotableGTM or Marketing PartnerHoliday pop-up collaboration at Ace Hotel NY. Joint experiential marketing event bringing together creative community audiences.
• ThrillistnotableGTM or Marketing PartnerThrillist Holiday Hideaway pop-up at Artists & Fleas Soho (December 2018). Content and experiential marketing partnership.
• We Are Women OwnedcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerOngoing partnership including pop-up events and community conversations. Supports women-owned small businesses through collaborative activations.
• Microsoft / The Ally CoalitionnotableGTM or Marketing PartnerFeel The Pride pop-up for WorldPride 2019 at Soho location. Joint event supporting LGBTQ+ community with Microsoft.
• BumblenotableGTM or Marketing PartnerThe Bumble Hive NYFW Lounge at Soho location, Winter 2019. Brand activation during New York Fashion Week.
• PayPalsupportingTechnology or IntegrationPayment processing integration for merchant transactions at markets.
• SquaresupportingTechnology or IntegrationPayment processing and booking invoicing platform used for merchant fee collection.
• AirbnbsupportingGTM or Marketing PartnerBrand partnership referenced in marketing partnerships gallery.
• GooglesupportingGTM or Marketing PartnerBrand partnership and marketing collaboration.
• EtsysupportingGTM or Marketing PartnerBrand partnership supporting handmade/maker community.
• MicrosoftsupportingGTM or Marketing PartnerBrand partnership including Pride event collaboration.
• General AssemblysupportingGTM or Marketing PartnerEducational partner for entrepreneur/maker community.
• KickstartersupportingGTM or Marketing PartnerBrand partnership supporting independent creators and crowdfunding ecosystem.
• MailchimpsupportingTechnology or IntegrationEmail marketing platform used for newsletter and customer communications.
• Chelsea MarketcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHost partner for Chelsea location. Artists & Fleas operates within Chelsea Market, one of NYC's most iconic marketplaces, under the High Line.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Flea Market at Chelsea Market (operators): The host venue of Artists & Fleas' Manhattan location, Chelsea Market itself houses a curated mix of artisan food, vintage, and design vendors under the High Line; it is the most direct physical-retail comparable for foot-traffic economics and vendor mix.
• Renegade Craft Fair: Multi-city curated marketplace of independent makers and designers that charges booth fees and operates weekend events; directly comparable to Artists & Fleas as a traveling/varied-location indie craft market with maker curation.
• Unique Markets: Curated, ticketed indie design and handmade market operating in LA and other US cities; comparable business model of curated maker application, booth fees, and weekend destination events.
• Brooklyn Flea: Long-running NYC weekend market in Brooklyn/DUMBO featuring vintage, craft, and food vendors; overlaps directly with Artists & Fleas on indie maker curation, vintage collectors, and weekend physical-market format.

Broad incumbents

• Etsy (offline/Etsy Local): The dominant online marketplace for handmade, vintage, and craft goods; competes with Artists & Fleas for the same indie-maker seller pool and is a documented brand partner, but operates at vastly greater scale and online-only.

Emerging players

• Faire (Wholesale): Online B2B wholesale marketplace connecting indie makers and brands to retail buyers; an emerging platform that overlaps with Artists & Fleas' merchants on the supply side and could eventually disintermediate the physical market model.
• IndieMe Market / Indie Beauty Expo ( experiential B2B pop-ups): Curated pop-up and expo format for indie beauty/wellness brands; comparable venue-rental and event-driven merchant model, though narrower in category scope.

Regional players

• Abbot Kinney Blvd (indie retail cluster, Venice LA): Venice, LA indie retail street referenced in Artists & Fleas' own LA footprint; comparable as a curated independent-retail destination with maker/boutique mix in a different city.
• Westside Market / Grand Bazaar NYC: Long-running Upper West Side weekend market with vintage, antique, and craft vendors; closely mirrors Artists & Fleas' NYC curated-market concept and target shopper but in a different Manhattan neighborhood.
• SoWa Open Market (Boston): Year-round weekend market in Boston's South End featuring independent artists, designers, vintage, and food; same maker-curation playbook as Artists & Fleas but in a different metro.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/artistsandfleas
• Instagraminstagram.com/artistsandfleas
• Pinterestpinterest.com/artistsandfleas
• TikToktiktok.com/@artistsandfleas
• Xx.com/artistsandfleas

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Artists & Fleas