Limelight Marketplace

So I am going to say it: I was disappointed in my first visit to the Limelight Marketplace in Chelsea.

It's strange because I was fully ready to dig this place. It has all the makings of the Amy-approved: it has smaller, more local-ish brands; the venue is a quirky old church-turned-nightclub-turned shopping space; there's cuteness everywhere; food is involved.

But one thing bothered me: polish.

It's a little slick. It has a slight (SLIGHT) corporate feel. The walls are a monotonous shade of white. And some of the shops (SOME) could easily be found in a kiosk at a mall.

It doesn't have that, say, interesting "rough-around-the-edges" feel that a place like the Brooklyn Flea has, especially when it's held at Sklylight One Hanson. It's also a tight, darker-than-it-should-be space that doesn't showcase its cool windows as much as it could.

I didn't feel as inspired as I hoped to. I think you can even see it in my photographs. I couldn't focus; couldn't find anything I wanted to capture except a few stained-glass nuggets and the chocolate at Maribelle (shocker).

The older I get, the more I find that I prefer the weird nooks and crannies; the authentic details; the evidence of personality. Polish is too safe. Imperfection is so much more interesting. And the Limelight felt too perfect.

But whatever. I am sure I'll be back. After all, it's a church chock full of chocolate. Limelight Marketplace, Sixth Avenue and 20th Street, NYC