Feminist books for babies. Extra virgin olive oil named for the world’s longest venomous snake. T-shirts that celebrate the Gowanus Canal in all its toxic glory.
Shopping in Brownstone Brooklyn is fun (if you pick the right street). Park Slope’s Fifth Avenue commercial corridor is one excellent choice.
Entrepreneurs with ingenuity and staying power rule the roost on this picturesque thoroughfare, where many of the storefronts are situated in historic rowhouses or old-fashioned multifamily buildings.
I strolled down Fifth Avenue on Thursday and spoke to merchants about the top-selling items in their shops.
A baby shower basket with the cutest toothbrush ever
Elizabeth Stassi shows me gift baskets, which are big sellers at LuLu’s For Baby. Eagle photo by Lore Croghan
Baby shower baskets are a very big thing at Brigitte Prat’s shop.
People from all over the city call to order them from LuLu’s For Baby. The store at 44 Fifth Ave. sells clothes and toys for children ranging in age from newborn to 4 years old. Prices for the baskets start at $80, Prat said. Some custom orders cost as much as $500.
Some gift-givers ask for jungle-, mermaid- or unicorn-themed baskets. Some want baskets to be themed to reflect the occupations of the baby’s parents, whether they’re chefs, scientists, artists, teachers or whatever. Some gift-givers request gender-neutral baskets.
One of the gifts in a basket I photographed was a tiny, short-necked toothbrush with a circular handle. A Japanese dentist designed the Baby Hamico, which is what it’s called.
Another big seller at the shop is “Baby Feminists,” a book for preschoolers written by Libby Babbott-Klein and illustrated by Jessica Walker. It depicts famous women such as Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and artist Frida Kahlo as adults and babies.
The book is on a display that Prat and her assistant Elizabeth Stassi call “the feminist table.” It is stocked with books, toys — and T-shirts and onesies Stassi designed that say “mini feminist” in heat-pressed vinyl letters.
This display table at LuLu’s For Baby is devoted to feminist-themed gifts. Eagle photo by Lore Croghan
Right down the block from LuLu’s For Baby, there’s a related business called LuLu’s Cuts & Toys that’s a combination kids’ hair salon and toy store.
A comfy sleeper sofa
Brooke Sweeney (at left) and Natalie Morgan (at right) are employees at Items of Interest, where a sleeper sofa with a platform bed is a big seller. Eagle photo by Lore Croghan
For houseguests who’ve tossed and turned on the wiry springs of fold-out sleeper sofas, this sounds like a miracle.
A furniture company called American Leather makes a couch that turns into a platform bed without springs or bars.
“It’s like sleeping in your bed at home,” said Natalie Morgan of Items of Interest at 60 Fifth Ave., a furniture and home goods store coupled with an interior design business.
American Leather makes more than a dozen models of the Comfort Sleeper, as the manufacturer calls them. The version that’s popular with Items of Interest’s customers is the Conley Queen Plus Sleeper, a sectional sofa priced at $4,949.
A bike that fits like a tailored suit
Here’s Albert Cabbad of R&A Cycles with a BMC Teammachine. Eagle photo by Lore Croghan
It’s sleek and speedy and costs anywhere from $3,000 to $15,000. Albert Cabbad’s customers love it.
The BMC Teammachine is one of the top-selling bikes at R&A Cycles at 105 Fifth Ave.
It’s Swiss-made for professional racers and is “responsive and very comfortable,” said Cabbad, who co-owns the store. “It fits many people’s body types like a tailored suit — but we don’t have to tailor it.”
P.S. It’s a road bike, meaning it’s meant to be ridden on pavement rather than dirt, gravel or sand.
Olive oil named after a snake
Greg Bernarducci keeps the olive oil at O Live Brooklyn in stainless steel containers called fusti. Eagle photo by Lore Croghan
Cobrancosa — AKA King Cobra — is one of the most popular extra virgin olive oils that O Live Brooklyn sells.
The Portuguese oil is named after a feared and revered reptile and is peppery, pungent and robust. It costs $12.95 for a 200-milliliter bottle.
Greg Bernarducci, co-owner of the shop at 140 Fifth Ave., keeps his olive oils on tap in stainless steel containers called fusti. A label on each container notes the “crush date,” which is when the oil was made. Twelve months after that date, it’s no longer fresh.
“Age will destroy olive oil,” he said.
Pepper mills stand on a table at O Live Brooklyn. Eagle photo by Lore Croghan
A sell-by date on a bottle of olive oil is meaningless, he said.
Bernarducci’s got 50 types of olive oils, balsamic and wine vinegars, truffle oil and sesame oil in stock. In addition to extra virgin olive oils, there are olive oils infused with fruits, herbs or hot chilies.
A T-shirt for niche Brooklyn humor
Malvina Kola holds a popular T-shirt at Something Else on Fifth. Eagle photo by Lore Croghan
A T-shirt that says “Gowanus Canal Swim Team” is one of the popular items at Something Else on Fifth, a clothing store at 187 Fifth Ave.
People who move out of state buy them.
“They want a little piece of Brooklyn to take with them,” said store manager Malvina Kola.
Customers purchase a lot of them as holiday gifts.
Adults’ shirts are priced at $36 and kids’ shirts are $24.99.
The idea of swimming in the Gowanus Canal is a bit of grim whimsy. As Brooklynites know, this Superfund site is repulsively toxic.
Activist Christopher Swain has braved the putrid waters wearing a puncture-resistant dry suit. The point of his most recent swim, which he took last year, was to protest the inadequacy of the federal government’s cleanup effort.
A piece of the ‘part of the Park Slope uniform’
Here’s Diana Kane at the Park Slope shop that bears her name. Eagle photo by Lore Croghan
In 2015, clothing boutique owner Diana Kane made a T-shirt with the word “Feminist” in gleaming gold letters on the front of it. It was a big seller then, and it’s a big seller now, at the shop that shares her name.
“It has become part of the Park Slope uniform,” she said.
A mirror behind the cash register at the 229B Fifth Ave. shop is covered with snapshots of women wearing the $40 shirt. Look closely and you’ll notice they include pictures of comedian Samantha Bee and actress Sissy Spacek.
Kane displays the shirts beneath a gallery of feminists’ portraits that artist Jenny Belin painted. The works are priced at $450 to $600 apiece.
Portraits of iconic feminists by artist Jenny Belin adorn the wall at Fifth Avenue shop Diana Kane. Eagle photo by Lore Croghan
In the years since Kane designed the Feminist T-shirt, she has become vocal in her support for feminist causes.
In September 2018, she was arrested in a U.S. Senate building in Washington during a protest against Brett Kavanaugh’s Supreme Court nomination.
Vino on the go
Here’s Heather Johnston, the owner of Good Wine on Fifth Avenue. Eagle photo by Lore Croghan
Canned wine is an especially popular purchase this time of year at Heather Johnston’s shop.
It’s light and easy to carry when you’re on the go, said the owner of Good Wine at 327 Fifth Ave. You don’t have to worry about the bottle breaking if you put it in a cooler to take to a picnic.
Looks can be deceiving. The cans hold more wine than you might think — 375 milliliters, which is half a bottle. That’s two generous glassfuls.
One of the selections in stock is the Limited Edition Rose Bubbles. The brand name is House Wine. It’s priced at $7 per can.
For every 24-can case that’s sold, House Wine will donate $2 to the Human Rights Campaign, which is an LGBTQ+ civil rights organization.
Springtime sorbet
Ground Floor Gallery owner Krista Scenna stops by L’Albero dei Gelati. Eagle photo by Lore Croghan
Now that warm weather has returned, L’Albero dei Gelati’s walk-up window at 341 Fifth Ave. is busy.
This time of year, the fruit sorbets sell well, said Oren Cohen, who works behind the counter.
By chance, I ran into Krista Scenna, the owner of nearby Ground Floor Gallery, at the gelato window. One of the flavors she ordered was lemon honey ginger.
SUNSET PARK — “As a resident of Marine Park, one of the great surprises I found biking around Industry City and visiting Japan Village was to discover Bush Terminal Park. I continue to be amazed at the serene hideaways that the city offers in some of the busiest places — and, still, with an iconic view.”
BROOKLYN HEIGHTS — ‘A miracle that no one was killed …’ That’s what neighbors are saying about the collapse of the Hotel St. George marquee. Shown in this photograph are workmen beginning the removal and repair of the historic, old neon sign at the corner, referencing a relic of Brooklyn Heights’ past: the St. George Hotel.
ATLANTIC AVENUE — Exhausted shopper with cluster of bags and goods from mall at Boerum Place stops to look at huge construction site across the street. “Is that REALLY going to be a jail??” Her male companion is reassuring, “Nothing like Rikers … this is 21st Century.”
BROOKLYN HEIGHTS — Overheard in line at one of most popular pastry outlets on Montague Street: “Hope I can get them into a camp …” A mother with two pre-schoolers in tow was showing a friend the Dodge Y flyer for Healthy Kids Day on Saturday, April 18.
