The Coolest Cooler Ever - And Only One Chance to Buy It At Beacon Flea
/
Of course we had to beeline it to the season opening of Beacon Flea last Sunday, and boy, did it live up to our hopes of finding treasures - and creative genius! What we caught glimpses of via Beacon Flea's Instagram last year became reality with the appearance of custom-made furniture from local favorites like Keith Decent of Sixth Borough Studios and reMADE (formerly known as The Hudson Valley Maker and Artisan Cooperative).
This year there is a new guy on the scene: Robert Powchik, of Powchik Woodworking in Peekskill. Robert had been a vendor at the fair a few years back, and then took the year off from Beacon while he thought about opening a shop on Etsy, or getting any other kind of online presence. Meanwhile, he'd been building and designing away, and brought several of his creations to Beacon Flea and mesmerized anyone walking by, from a woodland throne to benches to this ... the "coolest cooler ever" as we dubbed it in our Instagram last week. And we weren't alone in developing an instant obsession with it!
Lately in Beacon, artisans have been showing off really neat bottle openers at their homes, made by their artisan family members. Like the family duo Pergamena and Outlast Goods. Well, Outlast made a wall-mounted wooden bottle opener for Pergamena, and it's just about the greatest looking thing ever in the kitchen.
Robert has made a standing cooler on wheels (pictured above) with a built-in bottle opener with magnetic powers to catch your falling cap. Yes, that is a standard-issue Igloo cooler nestled snugly into the wooden surround, which has a drain extension out of the wood, finished off with a metal faucet to drain the melted ice and other liquid from the cooler.
Do you need to tip the cooler? No problem! Robert installed the dish rack bar on the left side, which doubles as a bar to easily lift and tip the cooler. All of this is completed by a decorative horseshoe mount on top - or any other decoration you would like completing your cooler lid when closed. The wood has been treated to weather the outdoors, so you can use it without putting it away. Here's the best part (well, the wooden cooler is the best part in and of itself) - you can bring Robert your own plastic cooler and he'll build your wood cooler around that and knock about $25-$30 off the total sales price of the coolest cooler ever, which retails at $200.
This needs to be in your backyard. Need an excuse? Father's Day. But here's the kicker - finding Robert is tricky, as he has no website, so show up at the Beacon Flea to place your order! The Beacon Flea is located behind the gas station next to the Post Office at 6 Henry Street. It's an easy walk, or there is plenty of parking.
Makers like Robert and Keith are filling the lot at Beacon Flea. While Keith may not be there this year because he's in a new retail shop on Main Street (unless he changes his mind...), other collectors are selling their vintage finds, and some of them are putting their own personal stamp on the pieces. Among the treasures awaiting you, this small door with wrought-iron hooks, selling for $40 - or your best offer.
Meanwhile, collectors of the classics will leave satisfied. This vintage drum-set is on the do-not-touch list and is going for $300.
Action figures, from Wrestle Mania dudes to Barbie to Snow White are all here, plus boxes of sorted stuff like Matchbox cars, records, and anything you need. It will show up at Beacon Flea, which is open every Sunday from 8am-3pm. But as with a lot of markets, the only way you can buy it is to show up, making every find super special.
Take pictures of your finds and tag us on Instagram with #alittlebeacon! Can't wait to see what you pick up!
