Anne Szustek

Fashion’s Night Out: Williamsburg-Greenpoint

September 10, 2010 By Anne Szustek Leave a Comment

Fashion’s Night Out, version 2010: while last year it was the Stiletto Stimulus, this year is…tautologous? It is a night out…of fashion—and free merriment, libations and a chance to support neighborhood businesses.

What a night out of fashion it will be in Williamsburg and Greenpoint. From the northern most tip of the borough of Brooklyn to the elevated rumble of the J and Z trains, the area’s shops and music venues will be hopping with events.

This evening at Dalaga, sip free champagne and meet some of the many designers whose work is featured in the store. Get a free limited-edition Dalaga bag with any purchase. Across the street, head to accessories mecca Hayden-Harnett to meet with the designers, take in DJ sets from Newtown Radio’s Vanessa Bley and style editor Rachel Felder and enter to win a $250 store gift certificate, their Ibiza convertible flight tote, or a Hayden-Harnett scarf. Free gifts with every purchase. After 10 pm until 2 am, the Franklin Ave FNO fete heads to Veronica People’s Club (105 Franklin) for late-night libations.

Royal Flash: Brooklyn Royalty Kingdom PopUp @Knitting Factory

July 30, 2010 By Anne Szustek Leave a Comment

bryce payne brooklyn kingdom

As NYC music aficionados know, the Knitting Factory is not a historical landmark dating back from the Industrial Revolution, but is a Williamsburg music venue featuring alt-rock greats old and new.

This weekend, playing at the Metropolitan Ave locale is the pop-up shop of Williamsburg bar/boutique Kingdom, featuring indie fashion from designers based in and out of the greater North Brooklyn area.

Homemade: Brooklyn — Totally

June 25, 2010 By Anne Szustek Leave a Comment

Food Network fans are familiar with the sodium fiesta/Upper Midwest Lutheran church fusion cuisine which is the style of semi-homemade cooking by Food Network star Sandra Lee. New York political wonks also know that the condensed-soup aficionada is possibly the next first lady of the Empire State by way of her long-term relationship with state Attorney General and Democratic gubernatorial nominee Andrew Cuomo. Apparently to his mother’s dismay, the politico’s favorite dish is Sandra Lee’s tomato soup and cottage cheese lasagna.

But in the northern end of Kings County we can look beyond the pantry for nourishment. Enter Homemade: Brooklyn, a free pop-up festival celebrating local crafts, food, design and all-around artistry. It kicks off tonight and lasts through Sunday.

Going down at Metropolitan Green (439 Metropolitan Ave, bet. N 5th and Marcy), hands-on workshops, free shows and shopping abound. Local vendors setting up shop include the in-house line of Graham Ave indie boutique/vintage shop treehouseNYC, Williamsburg designer Fay Andrada, the mind behind these swingin’ London-inspired earrings.

Brooklyn Bowl: at Local x Local Series

March 31, 2010 By Anne Szustek Leave a Comment

On Sunday, the Brooklyn Bowl hosted the German Measles and the Vivian Girls, part of their Local x Local concert series featuring great Brooklyn bands. The concert was like The Clash and The Germs all rolled into one happy little bun. So what were we wearing? My New Jersey-based suitor wondered whether jeans were acceptable attire at the Brooklyn Bowl.

Yes, jeans are more than okay to wear to a bowling alley/indie band venue in Williamsburg.

He joins a group of Greenpointers and me already seated in the restaurant area wearing jeans, paired with boat shoes and a silk button-down shirt. I’m wearing a pair of Earnest Sewns patched up with detritus fabric thrown and picked up during Williamsburg Fashion Week, and a red SoCo shirt freebie courtesy the Brooklyn Bowl and L Magazine’s Mardi Gras event.

The Great Frame Up – Frame Art NYC

March 28, 2010 By Anne Szustek Leave a Comment

Photos by Adam Golfer.

The most recent location of Tommy Hild’s 25 year-old frame shop Frame Art straddles the border of Williamsburg and Bushwick on Flushing Avenue at Thames Street. Hild, a native of Timisoara, Romania who has lived in New York City since the 1970s, made framing his life’s work, after an artist friend lamented about the difficulty of finding a skilled craftsman to frame his work. A quarter-century later, Hild reflects on the changes in the industry. Framing has become largely an e-commerce driven business. And many of the old art handlers and framers in the city have fallen by the wayside over the years.

tommy frame art