The Business Side – Brooklyn Artisan

Chalkboarding … Isn’t There an App for That?

January 21, 2013 by Anne Mollegen Smith Leave a Comment

MAYBE NOT AN APP, BUT A KNACK for freehand – and some talented people have it. Others of us only wish. Still others don’t have a street-front retail location, but would like the look for our business materials (or personal scrapbook). Of course, having a calligrapher-barista on your staff or a daring and resourceful designer on your payroll is ideal. But at the bootstrapping stage of a new business, those may not be options. In which case, computer fonts to the rescue!

On the really-simple level, using a common hand-lettering style font and Microsoft Word, just by putting white type on a black box, you can nod to the style (see box).

But you can also do a lot better. Brooklyn Artisan rummaged online and came up with some font options to get you started. Some are free to download for personal use, but restricted for commercial purposes, so take care to read the directives for fair use on each site.

Nest of Posies, a little cloying in style if you’re an ironworker, but has specifics for people who want to be creative and do not use PhotoShop.

FontSpace has 19 free fonts that are tagged chalkboard.

French Kiss likes a crisp white-on-black look without the dust. The site blog has a good recommended font list, and a request: “Most of these are premium fonts that I purchased from MyFonts. Even for free fonts, please consider donating to the artists. Even a little can help say thank you.” We like that attitude.

Fonts Cafe espouses the dust to good effect, and offers a “Chalk Hand Lettering Pack” for free. In commercials uses, fontscafe.com wants their tag to be used. Fair enough.

This is not Brooklyn Artisan’s last word on this subject, so please join the discussion with your comments, opinions or recommendations. We did come across one usage we personally wouldn’t recommend – chalkboard seems the wrong style for wedding materials. Unless the wedding song is going to be “My Sweet Erasable You.” A final thought for the day comes courtesy of Inspired by Charm.

Filed Under: best practices, Chalkboard, Craft/Design, Handmade, Look

Chalklatier to Book Nerds: The Community Bookstore

January 20, 2013 by Anne Mollegen Smith 1 Comment

To be a Cool Cat and carry off Nerd Chic, you need a book plus, like, maybe an iPad?

To carry off Nerd Chic, you need an actual book printed on paper plus, like, you know, keeping that iPad, you know, stashed.

WHO SAYS PARK SLOPE’S NOT HIP? Look at this cool cat in hipster garb seen on Seventh Avenue, courtesy of the folks at the Community Bookstore, the friendlie-indie bookseller. Converse Chuck Taylors, narrow tie, elbow patches on the herringbone number, square-top glasses, cool attitude. The ultimate accessory? That book tucked under the arm. Because: “You Can’t Do Nerd-Chic Without a Book.” Got that?

(Photographs by Brooklyn Artisan Photo Pool)

Filed Under: best practices, Chalkboard, Community, Look Tagged With: Book freak, chalkboard, Community Bookstore, Converse Chuck Tarlors, hipster, Nerd Chic, sidewalk marketing, soft sell

Joy’s Best of Brooklyn: Need a fix for the winter doldrums?

January 10, 2013 by Joy Makon Leave a Comment

Get out of your comfort zone with a challenging class that uses new materials, techniques and ideas. Here’s some of our favorite classes, coming up right now:

What better time than cold, grey January to cocoon with warm, soft
yarn? I’m thinking that it’s time to take a class to learn a challenging stitch
or two, handle some new wool and see what others are working on.

HANDS ON

Entrelac Knitting at Argyle Yarn Shop
This is one of several classes offered at this new Windsor Terrace yarn shop that make complicated-looking techniques easier to learn. During the two-hour class, up to six students will learn to knit a scarf using Entrelac technique. The final result resembles a basket-weave type of texture, accomplished by using only knit and purl stitches. 10% discount toward yarn and needles is offered on the day of the class. Sunday, January 20. 1pm-3:30pm.

A knitting knobby, aka spool knitter, may appeal to young children learning to knit.

Parent & Child Knitting at Brooklyn General Store
Knitting is a wonderful skill to learn and share and should be started young! My grandmother taught me how to knit when I was seven, and I went crazy knowing that I could save up a few quarters and go to Woolworth’s, buy a huge skein of Coats and Clark knitting worsted in colors that striated all over the color wheel, and knit me up a scarf in a week or so. I later moved on to knitting skirts and vests out of all kinds of acrylic fluff—this was the 60s, you know—and watch out when I learned to make fringe! Grandmother taught me Continental-style knitting, but I found the English style easier, and to this day I knit English style and it has never cramped my technique. When I came across the Parent & Child Knitting class at Brooklyn General Store, I totally approved. This 3-week class is designed to encourage creative interaction between parent and child (age 7 and up). Together you’ll learn basic knitting skills including how to cast on, knit, purl, bind off, and decipher simple instructions. Carroll Gardens/Cobble Hill. Sundays, beginning January 13, 5pm-6:30pm.

Screenprinting, once abandoned by art schools and artists as unhealthy with its use of solvents and oil-based inks, is having a resurgence. Master printer Roni Henning (pictured in green tee) tells all at her open-studio workshops in Bay Ridge.

Screenprinting with master print artisan Roni Henning
Learn to create water-based screenprints and monoprints using non-toxic techniques pioneered by printmaker Roni Henning. Screenprinting has personal, professional and commercial applications that will be explored at open-studio workshops. Using hand and digital methods, Roni will cover basics for those unfamiliar with screen printing, along with demonstrations of more complex techniques. Roni, a reknown artist and author, collaborates with artists to create fine art editions (Romare Bearden, Andy Warhol, Red Grooms, and Alice Neel are on her resume). Bay Ridge. Sessions scheduled twice a month. Contact Roni through her website to sign up.

NYC Resistor teaches students to
“Fire the Lazzzzor!” safely and creatively.

Laser Design and Rapid Prototype at NYC Resistor
Using an Epilog 35 Watt Laser, learn basic rapid prototype techniques, safety and design skills, and make a piece during this three hour class. Class fees include lab time for laser cutting, Q&A, and working with design software like Inkscape, Illustrator or Corel Draw. Scrap materials for experimenting with are provided, and additional materials such as laserable acrylic can be purchased to use. This hands-on class will go step-by-step from initial idea to pressing the “go” button on the laser. NYC Resistor is a hacker collective that meets regularly to share knowledge, hack on projects and build community. Founding member George Shammas’s bio states that he breaks things to fix them. Good to know. Boerum Hill. Sunday, January 20, 2pm-5pm.

Pro Picture Frames on the Table Saw at Makeville
Artisanal shop class? Makeville Studio, a hands-on lab for craft, building, art and invention is offering a chance to safely master table saw techniques and learn to make professional quality hardwood picture frames. Learn to make accurate and repeatable miter cuts and keys, set up and use a dado set, apply quick and easy finishes, cut mat boards and mount the finished frame. Gowanus. Three sessions on Mondays, starting January 14, 7pm-10pm.

NEED TO KNOW

Intellectual Property for the Fine Arts at 3rd Ward
Sooner or later, every artisan, business owner, author and maker confronts the need to control ownership of what they have created. The financial implications can be huge, and most of us are ill-prepared to deal with protecting our rights when it comes to our creativity. An evening spent learning about Intellectual Property at 3rd Ward will be a few hours well spent. Entertainment and intellectual property lawyer Kelly Kocinski Trager will discuss when and how to use copyrights, trademarks and patents; how to protect yourself and your creations; and Q&A on pertinent facts. Williamsburg. Thursday, January 17. 7pm-10pm.

Intro to Google Analytics at Gowanus Print Lab
If only someone would tell us about the stuff we need to know so that our blog gets more exposure. 21-year-old Rutgers Graduate Ian Jennings is presenting this three-hour lecture, and sounds ideal. His course will discuss: What’s the difference between a visit and a pageview? • Who’s visiting your site? • Who’s coming back? • What kind of device are they using? • How can I get more traffic from search engines? • What about Facebook, Twitter, and all those other social networks? • How do I sell more stuff? • What other tools exist? Thank you Gowanus Print Lab for recognizing that some of us need clarification in this area. Gowanus. Wednesday, January 23, 7pm-10pm.

$5 Fridays at Brooklyn Central
Brooklyn Central, a new art and photography education center in DUMBO, offers 90-minute classes for $5 on Fridays. It’s part of BKC’s philosophy to keep things simple with motivated instructors and short sessions that will help you learn something new, build on your creativity, and expand your goals. Seems like a painless way to pick up some photo basics like “Dealing with Low Light Situations,” “Color,” “Capturing Motion,” “The Lowdown on Lenses,” and “Photoshop Basics.” DUMBO. Fridays, check website for times and dates.

BLDG 92’s Ted & Honey café.

CAUSE YOU’RE HUNGRY TO LEARN

The Pearl Harbor Sandwich: Cuisine at the Brooklyn Navy Yard
Brooklyn Artisan is often found hanging around the Brooklyn Navy Yard because it’s such a fascinating mix of old and new, with history to discover and history in the making. This talk and tasting, in conjunction with Brooklyn Historical Society, will explore the Yard’s past and present using food as the central theme. Discover the modern grocery store that is soon going to replace Yard mansions, and get access to one of the largest rooftop gardens in the U.S. Where do the Yard’s artists go for snacks today? (Hint: it may be BLDG 92’s Ted & Honey café.) Led by historic gastronomist Sarah Lohman, who is Artist in Residence at BLDG 92. Vinegar Hill. Thursday, February 28, 7pm.

Current soda flavors from Brooklyn Soda Works include spiced plum, hibiscus + cinnamon + ginger, apple + ginger.

Learn about current flavors produced at Brooklyn Soda Works like apple & ginger.

Create Your Own Handmade Soda at Brooklyn Soda Works
Small batch soda masters Caroline Mak and Antonio Ramos, founders of Brooklyn Soda Works, will be demonstrating their special science-based techniques—Ramos is a chemist—to create home-brewed soda. Tour their test kitchen and get a hands-on demo in pairing interesting flavor combinations, and then hand craft your own soda. Book this class through SideTour, an online marketplace of classes and events. Bushwick/Bed Stuy location. Thursday, January 24. 7pm-9pm.

LEARNING COLLECTIVES & MEETUPS

3rd Ward • Brooklyn Brainery • Brooklyn Skillshare • Fixers Collective NYC • Church of Craft at the Etsy Labs • Brooklyn Tech Meetup
Worldwide Jellyweek: A Jelly is a casual working event that takes place in a home, a café, a coworking space or an office to allow people to collaborate on a project for a day. Worldwide #Jellyweek 2013, January 14-20, will offer several opportunities in Brooklyn to collaborate: • Coworking Jelly Day, Friday, January 18 at Brooklyn Brainery • Jellyweek 2012 days at Bitmap.

Please mention Brooklyn Artisan if you decide to sign up for a class.

Joy Makon curates Brooklyn Artisan’s Craft & Design coverage and creates the weekly Best of Brooklyn lists.
Send items for listings to brooklynartisan@joymakondesign.com

Filed Under: best practices, Brain Candy, Collectives, Community, Coworking, Craft/Design, Food/Drink, Guilds/Fairs, Joy's Best of Brooklyn Weekend Listings, taxes, regulations, The Business Side, Think, Uncategorized, urban planning, Winery, brewery, distiller Tagged With: 3rd Ward, Adobe Illustrator, argyle Yarn Shop, Bitmap, BLDG 92, Boerum Hill, Brooklyn Brainery, Brooklyn Central, Brooklyn General Store, Brooklyn Historical Society, Brooklyn Navy Yard, Brooklyn Skillshare, Brooklyn Soda Works, Carroll Gardens, Church of Craft, class, Cobble Hill, Corel Draw, entrelac, Epilog 35 Watt Laser, Etsy, Fixers Collective, Google Analytics, Gowanus, Gowanus Print Lab, Inkscape, Intellectual Property, Jelly, Jellyweek, knitting, Laser Design, Makeville, NYC Resistor, Parent Child Knitting, Rapid Prototype, Roni Henning, Sarah Lohman, screenprinting, SideTour, silkscreen, Ted & Honey Cafe, Windsor Terrace, Worldwide Jellyweek

Straight Chalk Express: Spreading the News

January 9, 2013 by Anne Mollegen Smith Leave a Comment

Ample Hills sidewalk sign NEWSFLASH! Expanded openings to seven days at Fleishers on Fifth Avenue called for a chalkboard bulletin. Last autumn, Ample Hills Creamery in Prospect Heights put out this board on Vanderbilt Avenue. The style – homage to Charles Schulz’s “Peanuts” – reminded all that Ample Hills is child-friendly.

(Photographs by Brooklyn Artisan Photo Pool)

Filed Under: best practices, Chalkboard, Handmade, Look

Still Stalking the Chalk: Time to Brine Those Cukes

January 7, 2013 by Anne Mollegen Smith Leave a Comment

Okay, so what would no round-up story on artisanal Brooklyn food business seem complete without?

YOU GOT IT IN ONE: Pickles, of course. Brooklyn Brine has sponsored three pickle-eating contests annually in October. Usually we think of strawberries to go with our champagne, or if it’s to be something from the briny deep, then we think of caviar with our bubbly. Nonetheless, Brooklyn Artisan admits to finding the adorable happy-looking, dancing-tooting-and-toasting, puckered-up, party-hatted pickles waving their champagne flutes a lot more inviting to identify with than the soon-to-be-sick-as-a dog in the most recent annual-pickle-packing’s poster (click for a look). Just sayin’.

(Photograph from Brooklyn Artisan Photo Pool)

Filed Under: best practices, Chalkboard, Food/Drink, Handmade, Look

Plenty More Fish for the Borough, Tra-la!

January 6, 2013 by Anne Mollegen Smith 1 Comment

Detail of plate from a Villeroy & Boch 7-piece fish set on eBay (# 230907702410); best hurry, there's only one set.

Trout detail, Villeroy & Boch 7-pc. fish set, eBay #230907702410; best hurry, only one!

BROOKLYN’S COMMUNITY SUPPORTED FISHERY Mermaid’s Garden has just announced two new pickup points starting later this month. Adding Ditmas Park’s Sycamore Bar and Flower Shop and Williamsburg’s Urban Rustic will greatly extend Mermaid’s Garden’s coverage for more than 200 fish lovers and adventurous eaters across Brooklyn.

There are also openings for some new members in the established spots in Red Hook, Cobble Hill, Park Slope, Clinton Hill/Bed Stuy, and Bushwick (see mermaidsgardennyc.com for locations). As always, the fish offered are sustainable species responsibly fished by individuals you will often get to know by name, thanks to the weekly email from Mermaid’s Garden.

Co-founders Bianca Piccillo, a Harvard-trained marine biologist, and Mark Usewicz, a Paris-trained chef, will become your mentors in protecting sealife one delicious dinner at a time. Bianca will gently educate you about the different varieties of fish they offer, frequently introducing you to the people and naming the boats that supply them, and on Mermaid’s Garden’s Facebook page, Mark shares recipes he has developed and some guidelines for better preparation. For instance, this one – posted last November – has proved itself in one of Brooklyn Artisan’s very own test kitchens.

Bay Scallop Crudo

Simple is the best recipe for bay scallops. This crudo recipe is a quick recipe that really lets the scallops shine.

12 Bay scallops, shucked
1 Tbsp. Lemon, juice of
1 Tbsp. Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 drop Hot Sauce, (preferably scotch bonnet or habanero based)
Salt and Pepper
A few leaves of cilantro

1. In a nonreactive bowl mix the scallops, lemon, hot sauce and oil. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with the cilantro before serving.

But if that Italian-style scallop sushi is not your thing, you’ll find alternatives. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Community, Food/Drink, histories, Uncategorized Tagged With: bay scallops, bay scallops crudo, Bianca Piccillo, Brooklyn CSF, Community Supported Fishery, CSF, fish dinner, how to cook fish, Mark Usewicz, Mermaid's Garden, scallops recipe

Brooklyn Holiday Book Fair: Placing a Bet on “First Annual”

December 4, 2012 by Anne Mollegen Smith 4 Comments

The title says all – or does it? Fifty-five years later, the borough seems full of life.

Title sez all? But fifty-five years later, the Brooklyn brand is back.

THE HIGH-PEAKED ROOM WITH DARK EXPOSED BEAMS was small, off the beaten track, and crowded, but otherwise the antiquity of the Old Stone House made a perfect venue for the “first annual” Brooklyn Holiday Book Fair on Saturday; never minding its oxymoron, it promised “rare, vintage, out-of-print books from independent booksellers from all over Brooklyn.” Brooklyn Artisan went to the BHBF not quite knowing what to expect – like the young couple who lugged their formidable twins stroller all the way up the narrow stairwell and almost immediately right back down – but BA had a happy time browsing among the second-hand and out-of-print science-fiction books from Singularity & Co., admiring Prints Charming‘s sweet old-fashioned florals and maps posted on two walls, and chatting with the vendors when they had time between customers.

Heather O’Donnell, owner of Honey & Wax Booksellers and the moving force behind the fair, had the best location, the classiest display and snazziest catalog by far. Small wonder, then, that BA’s favorite find was at her booth, a book called Manners for the Metropolis in which to read such things as this: “It is customary, in alluding to ladies in the ultra-fashionable set (provided they are not present) to speak of them by their pet names: ‘Birdie,’ ‘Baby,’ ‘Tessie,’ ‘Posy’; but, when face to face with these ladies, the utmost formality had best be observed.” Manners indeed.

Smart set social advice from 102 years ago.

The author, Frank Crowninshield, was the editor of the original Vanity Fair from its birth in 1914 until 1936, when it was folded. This book, published in 1910, was undoubtedly one of his qualifications for the job. The book sports stylishly smart illustrations. Heather obligingly held open the book so that BA could photograph one.

A used-book store specializing in New York history and culture, eight-year-old Freebird Books offered a well-selected group of old books about Brooklyn and the Outer Boroughs, along with copies of a book of recent photographs of Gowanus. In spite of its vulnerable-sounding location on Columbia Street “on the working South Brooklyn waterfront,” it escaped damage from Superstorm Sandy. Freebird likes to make things happen, with movie showings in its backyard and its “post-apocalyptic book club” meetups once a month.

P. S. Bookshop calls itself “the best book store in Brooklyn” for what it does. And that’s quite a bit. Owner Yuval Gans has given himself the broadest mandate, “buying and selling used and rare books, first editions and reprints, fiction and non-fiction, high-brow or low, children’s and young adults book, books in print and out of print, in English and other languages, scholarly books, art books and catalogs, magazines and other printed matter.” [Read more…]

Filed Under: Guilds/Fairs, histories, The Business Side, Uncategorized

Was Your Business Hurt by Hurricane Sandy? Where To Start

November 2, 2012 by Anne Mollegen Smith Leave a Comment

THE INITIAL SHOCK OF STORM DAMAGE may be passing only to be followed by feeling daunted. Don’t give in, however. Start the process of recovery as soon as you can. NYC Small Business Services and NYC Severe Weather have issued these guidelines:

Contact your insurance broker/agent immediately. Make sure you get the proper forms to file a claim.
Survey any damage, but exercise caution; enter a severely damaged building ONLY after local authorities have deemed it safe to do so.
Document damages and losses: Photograph/videotape any damage to your business and set up a system to save receipts for replacement items or repair work. Keep track of ALL expenses with receipts and make notes with explanations. These will be essential when you need to show proof of these expenses. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Community, Guilds/Fairs, The Business Side

Improve Your Space: A Competition for Free Fiber Wiring

October 29, 2012 by Basia Hellwig Leave a Comment

Brooklyn artisans: Are you making your product or trying to run your business in an unwired or underwired building? Or are you considering space in a building that would be great—if only it were better wired? You may want to check out ConnectNYC, a city-sponsored competition that will award $12 million in free fast-track fiber cable wiring to selected small and medium-sized commercial and industrial businesses over the next two years.

ConnectNYC is a project of the New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) and ChallengePost, an NYC startup that “enables government agencies and software companies to invite the public to solve problems.” According to NYC Council member Gale Brewer, “We learned that fast, free and low cost fiber does not exist in many of the commercial and manufacturing areas” in the city. “Getting more New York City businesses access to high-speed broadband will have a major impact on their ability to be competitive and ultimately succeed in today’s marketplace,” said City Council Speaker Christine C. Quinn.

To apply, go to http://nycfiberchallenge.com, or call 311 for more information. The deadline is 5 pm EST, November 27, 2012. Awards will be based on various criteria, including how better connectivity could help you grow your business. Only individual businesses may apply, but it’s worth getting fellow business owners in your neighborhood to apply as well because “applications will be evaluated on proximity to other applying businesses in order to encourage clustering and efficiency in broadband installation, as well as proximity to areas currently underserved by broadband infrastructure,” according to ConnectNYC.

The first set of winners will be announced in early 2013. Time Warner Cable and Cablevision will do the build-outs, with 100 businesses expected to be wired in the first year of the program and another 140 the following year.