Hello, makers! Super excited to bring you this episode with our pal, Catherine. Just a heads up, there are parts of this episode that are a little more visual as we give a shop tour. Click to watch instead!
Brooklyn General Store has been the go-to place for crafty supplies of all kinds for NYC makers since 2002. We sat down with the Queen of Union Street, BGS owner, designer, maker, event planner extraordinaire–Catherine Clark. Get to know her maker journey, the story of how Brooklyn General moved from the waiting room of Catherine’s midwifery office to the current location, how her and Aimée of La Bien Aimée became besties and more!
Brooklyn General Store
https://brooklyngeneral.com
128 Union St, Brooklyn, NY 11231
Brooklyn General Store is tucked away on a sweet block West of the Carroll Gardens and Cobble Hill neighborhoods and North of Red Hook. This commercial block on Union Street used to be a thriving shopping block for all types of foods and goods. Brooklyn General’s home within the Old Frank’s Department Store is a throw back to that era, with its preserved floor to ceiling shelves, rolling ladders and classic old wooden floors. The vintage interior is not reproduced, just uncovered, cleaned and painted.
Brooklyn General Store was created in an effort to provide the highest quality materials to a community of devoted artists and craftspeople and to promote making things by hand through inspiration and education. Not only is it a place to feast your eyes and hands on glorious colors and patterns and textures but it is a place that respects and honors a time when a trip to the country store was a way of life. It is a place where a quick trip for a yard of fabric or a skein of yarn turns into an hour of sharing, teaching, inspiring and encouraging all the amazing and creative makers that are also out for that quick trip to the General Store...
Following its mission to promote all things handmade, Brooklyn General offers a wide variety of classes in knitting, sewing, quilting, felting, spinning, rug hooking and embroidery. Classes are limited in size in order for students to have ample individual attention. Studio time with our fantastic BERNINA classroom machines is also available. BrooklynGeneral.com was created to share our carefully picked goods with all the creative souls outside of Brooklyn, NY.
Music by Despatches. 💖
Download the Making app and join our amazing community of makers by visiting themakingapp.com
If you'd like to give a shout-out, have a question that you'd like us to answer on the podcast, or are interested in sponsoring Making Conversation, email us at hq@makingco.com.
See you in the Making app!
ps- We talk about our values a lot. Just in case you're curious, take a peek.
the importance of putting yourself first, aggressive optimism, and the audacity of men (especially the man who invented the knitting machine) w/ Tina Tse and Jen Joyce
embracing "go with the flow", the importance of representation, and a brief history of Amigurumi w/ Whitney Marie Anderson, Jen Joyce + special guest: Renee ;)
a crafty kickoff to spooky season: cryptids, yarn inspired by said cryptids, and all things WEIRD Ohio with Kelley Freeman of Dye Mad Yarns and Jen Joyce
stitch 'n spy: unraveling the history of knitting spies w/ Marina Scott & Jen Joyce
the importance of stretching & strengthening, exercises for makers (from a licensed physical therapist), and the two carpal tunnels w/ Mariah Stanford and Jen Joyce
Live-ish @ Flock Fiber Festival - "When did you become a maker?" pt. 3
Live-ish @ Flock Fiber Festival - "When did you become a maker?" pt. 2
Live-ish @ Flock Fiber Festival - "When did you become a maker?" pt. 1
Flock Fiber Festival, creating a fiber arts festival that's focused on the small businesses & not a big corporation + how Making is bringing a little Flock to you! w/ Jessica Povenmire & Jen Joyce
thrifting, upcycling, and mending as tangible resistance w/ Charlotte Durnford-Dionne, Pooja Devnani and Jen Joyce
creativity, tiny humans, and the history of friendship bracelets (aka the cutest episode ever) w/ Carson Zeable, Jen Joyce, and friends!
Ep. 130 // woodworking, supporting your community, and how it can be rough in the cheese-less streets w/ Terry Streetman & Jen Joyce
Ep. 129 // machines can't crochet, everyone can be good at marketing, and sometimes you gotta pivot! w/ Callie Hawley & Jen Joyce
Ep. 128 // mental health & the beautiful benefits of the act of making w/ Tamanna Rahman & Jen Joyce
Ep. 127 // food as celebration (let's make something delicious together!), food accessibility, and also a really good reminder to...just start w/ Andreya Nightingale & Jen Joyce
Ep. 126 // BRIGHT Collective BTS w/ Isaiah Moses & Sharon Chandler Correnty
Ep. 125 // a conversation about art, AI, using technology for good, and a special manifestation involving Carly Rae Jepsen w/ Lars Laing-Peterson & Jen Joyce
Ep. 124 // tattoos are art and art is making. A brief history and a celebration of very amazing (non-male) tattoo artists! w/ Marina Scott & Jen Joyce
Ep. 123 // fiber arts & magic, crafty paranormal tales, a ghost snake, and wait...is this audio haunted? w/ Quayln Stark & Jen Joyce
Ep. 122 // sculpture, salons, start-ups, and the confusion of bubble toes w/ Lo Shabino & Jen Joyce
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