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Mulchfest 2008!! – Saturday and Sunday, January 5-6
Josh Guttman | January 5, 2008
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All that agonizing waiting can stop. Mulchfest is back, held today and tomorrow. Bring your dried out Christmas trees down to Verandah Place at Cobble Hill Park and watch as the Cobble Hill Tree Fund grinds them up into fine pine mulch. While your there, take a bag of mulch for your favorite trees and plants. Mulchfest provides hours of entertainment, all free of charge. What fun!!
Book Court to expand adding sun-drenched coffee lounge
Josh Guttman | December 13, 2007
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Brownstoner got a sneak peak at Book Court’s coming expansion. Apparently, they’re going deeper behind the existing store, and adding a coffee lounge beneath a large skylight. As we’ve learned from recent activity on Bergen Carroll, our readers care deeply about our neighborhood coffee joints. I can only believe this will be enthusiastically received by the neighborhood. And I wholeheartedly agree with Brownstoner’s sentiments….it’s nice to see independent book stores and coffee houses enjoying prosperity. Book Court is a gem of the neighborhood.
Exit 9: Stop for an Appealing and Eclectic Assortment of Holiday Gifts
Jessica Clegg | December 3, 2007
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Looking to avoid Union Square Holiday Fair crowd crush? I did by stopping by Exit 9 Gift Emporium, which opened its Brooklyn location a little over a month ago and has since become my go-to gift source. It has a hand-picked selection of things in all the categories one usually thinks of for gifts, i.e. candles, kitchen gear, jewelry, books, knick-knacks, and ever-more clever, craveable versions of them. I personally crave practically everything in this store, from the brightly colored parrot bottle opener (despite already owning a perfectly serviceable tiki statue version) to the Voluspa tobacco candle (even though or perhaps because I don’t smoke), but can’t logically justify buying it for myself; hence, I buy it for everyone else.
Friends, family, and participators in office holiday gift swap are advised to stop reading here. How could one help but pick up guaranteed-to-be-unexpected gifts like I picked up yesterday afternoon, ranging from the useful (a genius shelf that attaches to your charger and holds your cell phone!), to the semi-useful (a set of postcards with cats demonstrating yoga poses!), to objects having no conceivable justification, but which are irresistible nonetheless (a set of good vs. evil unicorn figurines!).
The Carroll Gardens branch of Exit 9 Gift Emporium is located at 127 Smith St. between Dean and Pacific streets. (Original location: 64 Avenue A between 4th and 5th Streets)
New local blog + cool tee shirts
Josh Guttman | November 19, 2007
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I heard from Katia Kelly recently, who runs Pardon Me For Asking over on Blogspot, a nice looking blog covering the nabe. Her blog is great, but what I really love are these great tee shirts she designed and is selling through Cafe Press. I just ordered one (the organic cotton variety) for myself. You should too!!
Urban Outfitters coming to Atlantic Avenue
Josh Guttman | October 18, 2007
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As the onslaught of national chain retailers on Bergen Carroll-country continues, I understand that Urban Outfitters recently signed a lease on a 10,000 square foot space at 164 Atlantic Ave at Clinton Street. Rumors have been flying about this for the past few months and The Brooklyn Eagle broke details of the story last month. BK11201 also photo-blogged construction on the site recently. Some thoughts:
- Is our neighborhood quickly becoming the most McDonald-ized in Brooklyn? (even though earlier McDonald’s on Court rumors were unfounded)
- While I like Urban Outfitters at 14th and 6th when I get off the F-train there, I’m not sure I like it as much around the corner from my house. Thoughts?
- As The Brooklyn Eagle aptly points out, are there enough teenagers in the neighborhood to support a store like this? Especially considering smaller businesses that haven’t been able to succeed on Atlantic….like Ben and Jerry’s.
Etsy teaming up with Brooklyn Indie Market this weekend!
Josh Guttman | September 28, 2007
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I just heard from my friends at etsy that they’re teaming up with Brooklyn Indie Market this weekend. They’ve invited eight etsy sellers from Texas to visit this weekend, and will be showcasing the work of another 40 etsy sellers. So in total, there will be 50 etsy sellers represented in Brooklyn. Tonight, they’re having a trunk show at 325 Gold Street, and they’ll all be at Brooklyn Indie Market on Smith Street and Carroll this Saturday between 10-5. They blogged about it on the Storque. According to Danielle from etsy, "Along with the Atlantic Antic, Cobble Hill/Carroll Gardens is going to be full of crafty goodness this weekend." More information on Brooklyn Indie Market can be found here.
Cobble Heights beer distributor to close after 37 years in neighborhood
Josh Guttman | September 12, 2007
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I walked by Cobble Heights beer distributorship this morning and noticed the garage, typically overflowing with cases and kegs of beers of every variety, sat empty with the look of a business whose days were numbered. I stopped and spoke to Tom Daly, the owner of the 37-year old operation and he confirmed my suspicions. “With the 60-unit complex going up across the street and another building beginning construction soon two doors away, we decided it made sense to close rather than wait out the 1-2 years of construction,” he explained. Tom’s family has owned the building and distributor for 24 years. Before moving to the location on Pacific Street between Court and Boerum, they ran a retail operation next to Sahadi’s on Atlantic. “Back in 1983, we noticed the building had been deserted when neighbors started dumping old mattresses in the garage.” He approached the owner, living in Florida at the time, and negotiated the sale. Now, they are making plans to sell the building themselves, and will focus on their wholesale business from their headquarters in Queens. I can’t help but wonder if this is symptomatic of a broader trend as old neighborhood businesses call it quits as big developments take hold in the neighborhood. As for what this means for their main competition on Court Street, Tom says “we’ve enjoyed healthy competition with American Beer Distributors dating back to when our fathers ran the businesses. I wish them well.”
Wyckoff’s Corner Pharmacy wins by delivering the personal touch
Josh Guttman | August 30, 2007
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I recently had a prescription to fill with a somewhat hurried deadline. My current insurance coverage was nearing its end and I wanted to get them to pay one last claim. I visited Duane Reade and CVS, but neither had the drug in stock, and furthermore, couldn?t provide any reassurance that it would be ordered and received in time. Walking home frustrated, I decided to check out the independent pharmacy on Court and Wyckoff. I had passed Wyckoff?s Corner Pharmacy hundreds of times, but on the few occasions I perused the shelves, it struck me as an odd store with a paltry selection. I approached the pharmacist, Bassam, on the off chance they could order and fill the prescription in less time. To my surprise, he had it in stock. Moreover, he told me that he uses a digital ordering system (unlike the larger chains), so if it hadn?t been in stock, he could have had it for me in two days. Amazing. With this one experience, this business won me over. It quickly became clear to me that this little independent pharmacy delivers a level of personal care and attention that I had never received at the larger chains. Not only do they fill prescriptions fast and efficiently, they deliver them to your home!! A top 10 rating on Yelp! shows that other people have also recognized Wyckoff?s top notch service. The next time you need a prescription filled, check out Wyckoff?s Corner Pharmacy. They are part of the reason we love living in this neighborhood.
Wyckoff?s Corner Pharmacy is located at 205 Court Street. Their phone number is (718) 923-1122.
LUCKY to live in the neighborhood
Rachel Markowitz | August 24, 2007
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Warning: those of you worried that the neighborhood will soon be overrun by pushy celebrities jacking up the real estate may find this news disturbing.
The September issue of Lucky (the self-proclaimed magazine about shopping) has a feature on “The top 100 boutiques in
The
I always wondered why the chic boutique next to the Wamu was called Dear Fieldbinder. I mean, what the hell is a Fieldbinder? Sounds like some guy who’s hired to tie people up and leave them in fields as punishment for jay walking. The reality is not as exciting – it’s named after owner Laura Fieldbinder.
The garments at Ohio Knitting Mills come from the archives of a shuttered area mill on
The fourth boutique is located on
I have a confession to make: I have not been inside any of these boutiques. I’m sure they’re all fabulous and fashion-forward, but like most of the goods talked about in Lucky, way out of my price range. Maybe some day I’ll window shop, cry, and long for brighter days when my paycheck can buy me more than a pair of socks at a fancy boutique.
Carroll Gardens resident turns her love of dogs into art
Marie Carter | August 15, 2007
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Carroll Gardens resident, Lisa Futterman, got the idea for her unusual silk-screened dog apparel when she lived near Portobello, London. “There was a store that sold silk-screen pillows and T-shirts on brightly colored fabric in black ink. I’m dog-obsessed and when I moved back to New York was enchanted by the cute dog culture here so I decided to do something similar with dog images, ” she explains.
The name of her business, Alfie & Rex, is based on the name of her first dog, a Yorkshire Terrier named Alfie and her sister’s dog, Rex, a Jack Russell Terrier.
Futterman studied photography and silk-screening at college and also took a class at the Lower East Side Print Shop on how to put images onto fabric. “Photo silk-screening is very involved. You have to use special photo chemicals. I bought a book that recommended using a thermal fax printer so I bought one on eBay which broke. I had to take it to the only man on the East Coast who knows how to fix it and he lives in Coney Island!”
Once the printer was working again she began designing the dog faces based on old dog books from the 60s and 70s. “The older books are better because they do portraits of dogs.” Her bestselling images are of a Boston Terrier, Bulldog, French Bulldog, Pug, Chihuahua and Dachshund. Futterman has close to fifty different breeds in her collection of T-shirts, pillowcases, tote bags, shoulder bags and watercolors.
To view or buy Futterman’s products, visit her shop on etsy.
