Brooklyn by Design tour spotlights local fashion entrepreneurs

Tour operator Dom Gervasi debuts a new offering

March 28, 2019 Lore Croghan

Jewelry maker Emiko Shinozaki is one of the entrepreneurs included in a shopping tour called Brooklyn by Design. Eagle photo by Lore Croghan

The Grand Union Tea Co.’s headquarters

Gervasi’s full-length Brooklyn by Design fashion tour will include visits to a cluster of DUMBO buildings. On our afternoon together we focused solely on entrepreneurs in the building where Shinozaki’s studio is located, 68 Jay St.

Gervasi said the building was constructed in 1915 as the headquarters of grocery chain Grand Union Tea Co.

The Gravesend resident will officially launch his Brooklyn by Design shopping tour the second week in April.

It’s what the travel industry calls a private small-group tour. A group of two to 10 people makes a single reservation for $300 and up. They’re the only participants on that tour.

Gervasi’s other offering, the Made in Brooklyn Tour, is public. An individual books a $50 ticket and takes a walking tour with a total of two to 12 participants. This tour involves visits to Brooklyn artists, artisans and crafters.

Gervasi said he expects interest in his private Brooklyn by Design fashion tour will build slowly because “the price point is higher.”

He started his tour company in 2011 after getting laid off from a job in the communications equipment manufacturing industry.

Now. it’s time for me to introduce you to the other four fashion businesses Gervasi and I visited at 68 Jay St.

Menswear fabrics last longer

Designer ninA Valenti’s goal is to make “collectible” women’s clothing you’ll “wear for the rest of your life,” she said.

One thing that could make this longevity possible is her frequent use of menswear fabrics, which last longer than fabrics manufactured for women’s clothing.

Valenti, whose business is called NatureVsFuture, launched her clothing line in 2002. She draws up her designs in her 68 Jay St. studio. Apparel contractors in Manhattan do the manufacturing.

One of the Gravesend resident’s eye-pleasing designs is called a swerve coat.

The coat’s front panel is wide at the shoulder and its edge swerves inwards to the coat’s waistline and out towards the coat’s hemline. It’s priced at about $500.

Valenti also makes a swerve dress, a swerve blazer and a swerve vest.

This coat ninA Valenti designed has a surprisingly bright lining. Eagle photo by Lore Croghan

A French bulldog named Maxine

Janelle Funari designs performance wear — leggings and jackets that are suitable attire for a gym or a bar.

“This is what people are actually buying,” said the Bay Ridge resident, who has been making clothes since 2004. Her company is called Funari New York.

Customers asked her to add color to her mostly monochromatic black clothing line. She made a hooded red jacket that’s priced at $179.

As a bonus, I got to meet her French bulldog, Maxine. The pup obligingly modeled a $159 dog jacket Funari designed.

Many of the apparel contractors who manufacture Funari’s clothes are located in Sunset Park. Others are in Manhattan.

The Jay Street building where she works has multiple entrances and addresses. Funari New York’s address is 145 Front St.

Here’s clothing designer Janelle Funari with her French bulldog Maxine. Eagle photo by Lore Croghan

Feathery flights of fancy

When you think about leather accessories, earrings probably aren’t the first thing that comes to mind — unless you have Roberto Calasanz’s creative imagination.

The leather accessories designer makes an array of feather-shaped earrings, priced $29 to $75 per pair. For conscientious consumers there’s a vegan version crafted out of vinyl.

“I have taken the feather to the extreme,” said Calasanz, who also designed feather-shaped headbands and feather-shaped chokers.

His boutique at 145 Front St. is called de main. He lives in Washington Heights.

Roberto Calasanz makes leather jewelry and accessories. Eagle photo by Lore Croghan

A necklace from ‘Law & Order SVU’

Dong Chen designed a turquoise and gold-filled wire necklace that appeared on the TV series “Law & Order SVU.” An actress wore his freshwater pearl earrings on an episode of “The Good Fight.”

Chen and marketing expert Jennie Lau work with a Los Angeles entity called the Artisan Group that hooks them up with TV stylists who need to have jewelry designed for their shows.

Television exposure is a helpful marketing tool for their business, which is called Admirable Jewels. Shoppers on the company’s website can click on photos of the jewelry, find out who wore it and when — and order similar pieces.

Jennie Lau and Dong Chen’s company is called Admirable Jewels. Eagle photo by Lore Croghan

Necklaces are priced $35 and up. Earrings are priced $50 per pair and up.

Lau said jewelry made with rainbow moonstones sells especially well. People who believe in the healing power of gemstones think the rainbow moonstone enhances fertility.

The rainbow moonstone is visually intriguing. The stone is clear or white but when you turn it from side to side, flashes of blue appear.

Admirable Jewels’ address is 145 Front St.

Lau and Chen, who are married, live in Bensonhurst.