BLK MKT Vintage's New Book Pays Homage To Black Nostalgia - Home & Texture
Art Features BLK MKT Vintage Interview

BLK MKT Vintage Chronicles a Decade of Love and Intention in New Book

A time capsule of Black memorabilia and history across the diaspora.

October 24, 2024 at 5:19 AM PST
Art Features BLK MKT Vintage Interview

BLK MKT Vintage Chronicles a Decade of Love and Intention in New Book

A time capsule of Black memorabilia and history across the diaspora.

October 24, 2024 at 5:19 AM PST

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From thrift store hauls to stoop sales and weekend-long pop-ups, the timeline of Jannah Handy and Kiyanna Stewart’s love story intertwines with the origin of BLK MKT Vintage. In 2019, the brick-and-mortar antique store opened in Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn, and has offered customers a collection of Afrocentric cast-offs, collectibles, and curiosities.

Although their business has a focus on African-American objects, Stewart’s Caribbean heritage and Handy’s Southern roots reflect their interest in sourcing products from the entire African diaspora. And with one visit to the store, you’d leave with something worth showing off to your friends: a dated set of playing cards, an antique poster of Josephine Baker, or a well-loved book written by a Black author.

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Photo Credit: Black Dog & Levanthal
Photo Credit: Black Dog & Levanthal

The Journey to Creating the “Blackest Antique Store Ever.”

Ahead of Handy and Stewart celebrating a decade of BLK MKT Vintage this fall, the duo released their first book, “BLK MKT Vintage: Reclaiming Objects and Curiosities That Tell Black Stories.” On their journey to create the “Blackest antique store ever,” readers can follow the couple’s growth as curators, archivists, collectors, and storytellers.

“We’ve just been really open to all the different ways that the objects we are so obsessed with and the stories that come through those objects could live in the world,” Stewart said. “A shop—a space where folks could come and be with objects in person and have a sensory experience—is one way that stories can be passed down; a book is another way.”

A sensory experience is an ideal way to describe a visit to the BLK MKT Vintage store, which closed its doors in late June. My first visit to the store followed shortly after my move to the neighborhood, and I recall seeing hand-carved wooden combs, vintage magazines, and their custom Juneteenth shirt. With the occasional curated vintage clothing pop-up and book launch event, it was a pleasure to visit the corner of Marcus Garvey Boulevard and Decatur Street for a purpose or to aimlessly window shop.

Photo credit: Jannah Handy and Kiyanna Stewart
Jannah Handy and Kiyanna Stewart

“A Love Letter to Black Folks Across the Time Continuum”

According to the couple, “Reclaiming Objects and Curiosities That Tell Black Stories” is a “love letter to Black folks across the time continuum.” While reading, you’ll quickly recognize some notable names—Spike Lee delivered a thoughtful foreword about personal heirlooms and memorabilia from his films. Toward the end of the book, Stewart and Handy share conversations with their fellow collectors, like Renata Cherlise of Black Archives and co-founder of The Blacktivists, Steven D. Booth. Their assorted interviews within the book were an intentional selection to “show the breadth and depth of Black folks who are doing collecting and archiving work.”

Each chapter represents a time capsule of Black culture: hot combs and other hair styling accessories, flags from Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), archived copies of Ebony and Jet, and an official funeral program for James Baldwin. In addition to the book serving as a charming addition to any coffee table or bookshelf, it’s an emotionally moving testament that “intentionally places Black folks at the center of study, interest, and curiosity,” according to Stewart.

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Kiyanna Stewart and Jannah Handy, BLK MKT VINTAGE
Photo credit: Kiyanna Stewart and Jannah Handy

Preserving Decades of Black Memorabilia

Upon my first browse of the book, one of the pull quotes immediately stood out to me. “Choosing to center Black cultural ephemera and Black people is a deliberate and radical commitment” reads across pages 32 and 33 and references the intentional choices that Stewart and Handy have made to preserve decades of Black memorabilia.

“Our histories are so marginalized as it is that it takes all of us to be part of that solution, to kind of rectify the ways that we’ve been separated from our histories, whether it be a transcontinental history or whether it be a transgenerational history in the same on the same continent,” Handy said.

In regards to curating their own catalog, Handy and Stewart prioritize stopping at flea markets, thrift stores, estate sales, and antique stores when they’re out of town. They have an “ecosystem” of friends who keep an eye out for products that fit the BLK MKT Vintage vibe. Sometimes, they just “let the objects do the talking.”

Recognizing Cultural Similarities

“You know the big wooden knife and fork (or fork and spoon) that you see in the kitchen that’s usually made up of one piece of wood?” Handy asked. “I thought that was just big in Caribbean houses because we lived in East Flatbush, and there’s a lot of Caribbean people there. It’s just those moments where I may not be privy to how you may use this or have its cultural significance, but [a Filipino customer and I] actually just made a connection because of this one piece of material culture.”

The set of giant wooden serveware she’s referencing has a history of being in Filipino-American households, similar to Black households using the Royal Dansk Danish Butter Cookies container or purple Crown Royal bag for storage purposes.

Although their brick-and-mortar store is closed, visitors can currently view a decorated installation of an Afrocentric domestic space on the fifth floor of the Brooklyn Museum. Designed by Handy and Stewart, this interior is on display with other Black feminist exhibits.

If Stewart and Handy’s dedication to Black art and history inspire you to do some online shopping or learn about preserving Black history, do yourself a favor and add their new book to your “to be read” pile.

This article has been edited and condensed for length and clarity.



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