A secondary piece showcases Brooklyn’s best “brewers, bakers and beef-jerky makers,” and includes Carroll Gardens’ own By Brooklyn, at 261 Smith Street near Degraw. Featured is its Binxgoods Genuine Vanilla, with the descriptor: “How to arrive at vanilla extract as fresh and pure as Binxgoods? First travel to India and befriend a bean farmer. Then let your imported beans steep for six weeks in your South Brooklyn kitchen.” The By Brooklyn website is here.

(Photo: Chuck Taylor)

Update: “To be a part of it, you’ll need to pick up a free immersion card at By Brooklyn or Brooklyn Tattoo/Urban Folk Art Gallery starting at noon on June 18. There will only be 500 in circulation, so appoint a responsible friend to pick up yours if you can’t get to Smith St. early. (They go fast!)” There’s a list of participating stores giving discounts here.

The NY Daily News profiles her today:

NY Daily News: ”A lot of people come to me and say, ‘I want to sell my stuff in your store,’ and I say ‘I’m sorry, it’s about Brooklyn only, good luck.’”

The 500-square-foot store at 261 Smith St. will carry items from 50 different Brooklyn hawkers and will sell everything from pickles and mustard to T-shirts and handbags.

“I love finding local Brooklyn things, and I always thought, ‘That’s annoying, how come I can’t buy all this stuff in one place?’” said DiLoreto.

“I know a ton of people who make tons of stuff, so this store, it just made sense.”

Bococaland: Come to the Shiny Squirrel pop-up store this Saturday, 4 December, as it makes its way through Brooklyn. In case you’re wondering, the Shiny Squirrel is a platform for emerging artists and designers (including Brooklyn Rehab, Yu I Chan, and Beetle and Flor) that features exclusive limited edition and one of a kind pieces. The sale this weekend will stop in our neck of the woods at Brooklyn Circus in Boerum Hill (150 Nevins St.) at 11am to noon. Expect cool pieces like nature-inspired jewelry from Species by the Thousands, menswear and accessories from Wooden Sleepers, porcelain housewares from mgmy studio, and a few special pieces from newly launched online retailer Of a Kind.

When looking inside the newly renovated space at the corner of Pacific Street, the shop looks to be completely set up, just waiting for customers. Paper Source’s website says the Brooklyn location will open in November 2010, so the shop should be peddling paper products within the next two weeks, or “just in time for crafting projects for the season.”

Each weekend will offer a whole new list of vendors (available on the shop’s website), but this week, shoppers can find unique children’s clothing from Overall Baby, stylish jewelry & home accessories from Lio & Linn, handmade soaps from Nordea Soaperie, and others.

Photo: Homer Fink

The  paper in the windows of the new Barney’s Co-op at 194 Atlantic Avenue is down.  The store is scheduled to open this Thursday.  Are you looking forward to it?  Will you be a frequent visitor?

Photo : Fitbeth

CHB reader @fitbeth snapped this photo of window ads touting the opening of the Barney’s Co-op at 194 Atlantic Avenue in October.

Last week, BOCOCAland caught an inside shot new store.

The construction seems to be in motion, and according to new signage, the store is expected to open in September. Some may wonder, “What is the difference between Barney’s and Barney’s Co-Op?”  I assumed (and hoped) it was the cheaper version of the infamous Barney’s New York, but the Co-Op website has a five-line mission gives a different message that doesn’t reflect on price.

The Mission:

“It’s the wayward offspring of Barney’s New York.

It’s always downtown even when it’s uptown.

It’s a lab where the experiments never hurt.

It’s a place where age means diddly, but self expression and creativity mean everything!

The Co-Op… birthing trends since 1985.”

The message implies that it’s the cooler, trendier, more hip version of Barney’s, but the boots are still $1,295.00. I suppose we just have to wait until September.

Recently the Cobble Hill Blog received a tip about the shady practices at the Cobble Hill Service Center.  It seems that this is not such an unusual occurrence and was discussed on the Brooklyn Heights Blog on October 21, 2008, as well as here and here.  According to the e-mail below, the DMV has received numerous complaints but nothing has been done.  On the bright side, the folks that reported this incident took their car to another mechanic in the Gowanus area and the car passed the inspection perfectly, avoiding the $500 repairs they claim Tony said were needed.

Hi there,

My girlfriend and I had a horrible experience today at Cobble Hill Super Service. My girlfriend wrote about it today on Yelp so I’ll let
her fill you in the details [with her description].

Tony, the owner, went absolutely nuts on us. He went as far as calling me a “bitch” and a “retard.” It was a surreal moment. And if you Google this business, you will quickly find out this man is clearly unstable and makes it a habit to get violent with his customers when confronted about his scam. Anyway, I’m writing to let you know that I’m getting in touch with the numerous unhappy customers and we’re planning on organizing and doing something to shut this man down. It is time for his abuse and ongoing scam to stop. I spoke with a representative from the DMV’s complaint office and she was aghast when she looked up Cobblehill Super Service on her system and saw the many complaints on record. I’m thinking about starting a website to address the situation. Maybe make it into a gathering place for other victimized customers, and a place to post customer experiences. I am also looking into submitting a Freedom of Information Act request into the complaints submitted to the DMV about Cobblehill Super Service. Not sure how that works but I’ll look into it. I’m also thinking about maybe distributing flyers around the nabe and alert other about was going there. Perhaps picket in front of the station. Something just needs to be done since the many, many complaints to the DMV haven’t done anything. I read this blog regularly so I figured this whole thing would be of interest to you. Let me know if you know of any other people in the nabe who’ve had similar experiences with this business, or if you have any ideas for me.
Thanks. Have a good one.
Randy

Because of its strong demographics and heavy foot traffic, the Cobble Hill area is the most likely target for upscale retailers. “The economics of Cobble Hill are as good as the Upper East Side or Upper West Side,” said Noel Caban, a vice president for retail at CB Richard Ellis…

The Upper East Side? Dear readers, are you ready to face east and bow down for $200 t-shirts and $300 jeans?

Photo from Faleh Zahrawi flickr photostream

Since opening their doors three years ago, Mongo has sold a wide range of vintage housewares and handcrafted accessories. Cobble Hill resident and co-proprietor Tom Diller, who works hand in hand with his wife Julie, says there’s one thing that sets Mongo apart:

It’s Julie’s clothes. They’re all her designs and they’re all manufactured here. We develop our own fabrics, we do our own dyeing… You can’t find these clothes in very many places. It’s a small, special group, and they’re timeless. They can be worn a lot… That’s what the backbone of the shop is. From those same textiles we do bedding, curtains, panels, all kinds of housewares and things. We design our own fabrics and we do our own colors.

NY Post: The problem is Whole Foods is still trying to salvage the store-part of the project by finding development partners, although Bogdaski said the chain “is still committed” to building the supermarket.

He said in the coming weeks contaminated soil and three leaky underground storage tanks containing benzene and other cancer-causing substances would be removed and trucked away.

The cleanup of the site was originally supposed to be done in conjunction with construction of a new store. Instead, Bogdaski said the site would be covered with two feet of clean fill in preparation for potential development.

Photo from Brownstoner.

Omala, the yoga shop on Atlantic Avenue, is closing its doors for good after being open for two and a half years. According to Brownstoner, Omala’s owner says she is closing the store because it didn’t get enough foot traffic. The store’s inventory will be on sale until it closes in late February, but will still be available on its website after that.

Photo by bklynflea Flickr

Hop on the G to Fulton and browse the offerings at the new winter home to the Brooklyn Flea, the clocktower building at 1 Hanson Place. This will be the only location of the Brooklyn Flea through March, and it’s definitely worth a visit. I stopped by last weekend (its first in the new locale), so I know that even if sifting through vintage clothing and old records isn’t your thing, exploring the gorgeous interior of the clocktower building is worthy of the visit on its own. On the lower level of the former Williamsburg Savings Bank is the vault where the Brooklyn Flea food vendors set up shop, serving pupusas (tasty, but not very authentic), Asian hot dogs (with a veggie dog option!), lobster rolls (a bit pricey at $14 bucks), and more (the food court got a recent mention in the NY Times Dining section).

There’s a new yarn shop in town that opened last week in half of the former Patois space. La Castita Yarn Shop Cafe (253 Smith Street) is a cozy little shop where knitters and crocheters can gather to shop, work on projects, take classes, and enjoy a snack or glass of wine at the bar (opening in January). There are a bunch of classes going on this weekend and early next week- perfect for homemade Christmas gifts!

The Union Market website says the Court Street location will open in December 2009, and despite what some may consider slow progress, the windows are decorated with holiday lights and posters of people with Santa hats. Will we get a Union Market for Christmas?

Check out Recession Art’s Bull and Bear Market this weekend, featuring affordable arts and crafts from local artists at The Invisible Dog- great for holiday gifts! There will also be a bake sale, face painting, a rock band competition, gingerbread decorating, and holiday gifts for the adults. The event takes place this Sunday, December 13, from 11 am to 8 pm at The Invisible Dog (51 Bergen Street). Admission to the Bull and Bear Market is free and donations are suggested for the various activities. Proceeds support Recession Art, an organization devoted to helping emerging artists show and sell their work while giving art lovers the opportunity to buy original work at reasonable prices.

Upscale department store Barneys New York is planning to open its first Brooklyn location, and they’re checking out real estate in our very own Cobble Hill.

Crain’s: Barneys’ plan to open its first store in the city in five years is another sign that it’s on more solid footing. The chain, which has three Co-Op stores in Manhattan, along with its Madison Avenue flagship, typically needs between 5,000 and 10,000 square feet for a Co-Op. The company would not provide details, but real estate insiders speculate that Barneys will take space on Atlantic Avenue, the thoroughfare that is already home to upscale clothier Steven Alan and home decorator Jonathan Adler.

“Brooklyn is a logical move for them,” says Laura Pomerantz, a principal at PBS Realty.

Tomorrow, December 5th, Eat Pie and Shop at a holiday gift fair and pie social to benefit PS29 and PS8. Hundreds of books and toys will be on sale, and 50% of each purchase will be donated by Fork & Pencil to the schools. Food and Wine’s Kate Krader and Christina Grdovic and Top Chef’s Gail Simmons will be judging the final round of the pie contest (pies must be registered by 10 AM to compete. but pies are welcome at the social all day.) Schnitzel and Things truck will be parked out back during lunch hours. There will be raffles, crafts, and other fun activities for kids all day long. The event takes place tomorrow from 10am to 4pm at PS29 (Henry Street at Kane Street).

Photo, Off The Presses

Patrick Watson and Michele Pravda, the couple behind Smith & Vine, Stinky Bklyn, and the JakeWalk, will open their second wine shop in a few weeks, next to Trader Joe’s on Court Street. The shop will be called the Brooklyn Wine Exchange. It’ll be nice to have a wine shop right near TJ’s, but I sure was hoping for some 3-buck chuck coming to the nabe!

Off The Presses: Watson said the new stop will focus New World wines, meaning vino from the Americas, Australia, New Zealand on the like. Smith & Vine tends to focus on small, artisinal vintners from Europe, though it does have a small selection of American wines. Given Watson & Pravda’s good taste-and my general aversion to the big bodied, International Style of most South American and Australia wines-it will be interested to see what sort of inventory they come up.

The Brooklyn Wine Exchange will also have an education area where wine classes will be conducted. It will not be a ditto of Smith & Vine, but have a character of its own. Watson & Pravda have long conducted occasional wine classes, but they have been off-premise, in nearly restaurants.