Take a design journey through Southwest Brooklyn
Southwest Brooklyn
Southwest Brooklyn, home to some of the most beautiful waterfront views in NYC, is a district encompassing Red Hook, Gowanus, and Sunset Park, that is brimming with design. Each area has its own flair–Red Hook, historically an industrial hub; Gowanus, full of intimate charm; and Sunset Park, characterized by a beautifully diverse population and wide set of creative industries. When visiting Southwest Brooklyn, you are bound to discover great design and unexpected creativitiy in every corner.
Founded by Dylan Davis and Jean Lee in 2010, Ladies & Gentlemen Studio is a multi-faceted design studio based in Brooklyn’s Red Hook neighborhood. The studio, housed a civil war era storehouse on the pier at the far end of Red Hook, is set up to be a physical facilitator of their design process—it’s part showroom, part office, part mood board, part workshop—with all of the elements designed to foster their constantly shifting creative focuses. The building’s walls are literally built with the ballasts of ships that came in from around the world in the mid 1800s, creating a beautiful tapestry of textures. With many of the fixtures within the space being mobile, and designed to be moved around to test ideas and accommodate different prototyping needs, L&G creates objects ranging from lighting, furniture, accessories, to creative direction of spaces and creative experiences.
Ladies & Gentlemen Studio
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In-person tours: May 14-16
Virtual tours: May 13-18
Utilizing the campus of Industry City as a diverse and flexible testing ground for artists and visionaries to collaborate and to promote exploration of the grounds, the Collision Project nurtures art as an experience to facilitate and activate new areas of co-creation. With options to view a variety including an illustration on paper to a physical public art experience, or transforming 2D work into a digital interactive installation, Industry City’s sprawling campus is perfect for a day-long self-guided art tour.
The Collision Project at Industry City
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Open daily: 9am-9pm
Caroline Z Hurley’s eponymous design studio in Brooklyn focuses on creating unique, individual textiles for the home using time-honored processes like block-printing, quilting and weaving. The venture initially started off as an art project to create fabric from simple shapes and the sense of place found in travel, and eventually expanded into a company that remains dedicated to the handmade, the personal, and a love of process and craft. Having immersed herself in the culture of her travels around the world, Caroline returns to her studio in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, where she designs her collections. The designs are often inspired by her photographs and their various color palettes, and incorporates mixed media and materials like textured paper. The iterative production process thereafter, is mostly hands-on and draws on the expertise of various artisans.
Caroline Z Hurley
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Designed by renowned architect Cass Gilbert, the monumental Brooklyn Army Terminal (BAT) was built as an intermodal rail and marine terminal to facilitate the movement of troops and supplies to Europe during World War I. As a matter of fact, BAT was considered the largest concrete building in the world in September 1919— ten months after the war ended. The central atrium of Building B is undoubtedly the architecture highlight of the building and offers over 41,600 square feet of light-filled space with unique historical features, including two original rail lines that were once used to deliver freight, along with the staggered balconies from which cargo was then loaded and unloaded by movable cranes. In its historic setting, freight cars would pull into the building and unload supplies with an enormous moveable crane that traveled the length of the atrium. Today, the area serves as a walkway for tenants and the loading docks have been repurposed as container gardens. The location has been wildly popular for films and photo shoots and is considered as one of New York City’s most iconic spaces.
The Atrium at the Brooklyn Army Terminal
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Based on the foundation to support individual entrepreneurship and help sustain artists, craftspeople, engineers, hobbyists, inventors, and other groups, MakerSpace NYC is a non-profit community-based organization dedicated to uplifting innovation in the community. They offer low-cost access to a facility that houses industrial and digital fabrication equipment and facilities, open workspaces, meeting rooms, and private studio and storage spaces.
Located at the Brooklyn Army Terminal in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, Futureworks Makerspace is a 15,000 sq ft state-of-the-art digital fabrication facility with laser cutters, 3D printers, CNC equipment and a water jet cutting machine, along with a dedicated woodshop and sewing studio, and a 5,000 sq ft storage facility with rentable lockers and walk in storage units. In addition to adult and children’s educational programming, Futureworks Makerspace offers workforce development programs.
Futureworks Makerspace
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Wednesday-Sunday: 10am-4pm
In 2014, WantedDesign Brooklyn found its home at Industry City in Sunset Park Brooklyn. The IC Store by WantedDesign is home to a well-curated assortment of design objects from gifts to accessories, toys, jewelry, housewares and more from designers and brands such as Areaware, Menu, Alessi and W&P Design from around the globe. The rotating offerings are inspired by travels, an eye for artistic design, and support of maker communities and considered products for everyday life. Additionally, the space includes a presentation of work by designers and makers at Industry City including Christophe Pourny, Brooklyn Candle Studio, Micòl Ceramics, Mercado Global and more. The storefront—located in Industry City’s creative hub of design companies, innovative businesses, and eateries—is a way to keep conversation and collaboration going year-round.
IC Store by WantedDesign
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Thursday-Sunday: 12pm-5pm
Located within the historic clad structure of Brooklyn Army Terminal, Lowercase NYC is one among the many manufacturing gems of the area. The eyewear company is built on appreciation for true craftsmanship, and works with a mission to once again localize the lost trade of eyewear to the US. Inspired by music, location, history and events of New York city, the design of each frame embodies its own particular story. Each pair goes through a thirty-step design process that takes two weeks to complete. Visitors are always welcome to take a behind-the-scenes tour of the design process, where they can meet the designers and experience the crafting unique eyewear styles in their Brooklyn workshop with modern machinery and select materials.
Lowercase
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Founded by Isis Shiffer shortly after graduating from Pratt Institute with a Masters of Industrial Design, Spitfire Industry is a full-service design studio in Brooklyn, dedicated to creating thoughtful solutions to the problems facing our world. With a belief that “good product design puts people first and empowers innovation,” the team partners with startups to bring their concepts to life and with established brands to refresh and extend their lines. Spitfire’s office space is housed in an ex-pasta shop in Park Slope, and is a welcoming community space full of prototypes and plants with a razzle-dazzle mural on the wall. Having produced a range of projects from toys and scaffolding to cookware and busses, and robots and medical design, the small but passionate team is committed to sustainability, smart manufacturing, and leaving the world more beautiful than they found it.
Spitfire Industry
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Monday-Friday: 9am-5pm
Located in Industry City in Sunset Park, Soho Letterpress is renowned for producing finely printed objects for people who love letterpress for more than 20 years. What started out in the early 90s with $500 and a man-with-a-van, is now an established set up offering collaborative opportunities to create limited edition prints and artist projects. The couple picked up their first Vandercook press in Hell’s Kitchen and rehomed it to their small apartment on Lorimer Street. Soon, they were lucky enough to find a loft (or 3, over the years) in Soho where they developed their niche along with the help of a creative group of clients, many of whom they continue to work with today. Thirty years and twenty-four Vandercooks later, the motivated production team continues their work at what is known as the most creative hub in Brooklyn today.
Soho Letterpress
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Monday-Friday: 10am-5pm
Based on the foundation to provide a platform for a growing community of fiber artists from all backgrounds, Textile Arts Center (TAC) is a NYC-based resource facility dedicated to raising awareness and understanding of textiles through creative educational programs for children and adults. Located in Brooklyn, New York, TAC aims to serve the creative needs of its community through their educational programming, events, and use of the studio. The 6,800 sq ft studio is a fully equipped workspace designed for the serious textile enthusiast, where four large arched windows fill the space with natural light, while a custom light grid provides full spectrum artificial light. The space is home to state-of-the-art equipment, a resource library, and facilities offering a wide variety of tools and equipment to support the practice of dyeing, sewing, printing, machine knitting, leather working, felting, lace making, tapestry, and weaving.
Textile Arts Center
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Drop-ins are accepted during open studio hours - Click Here
Virtual exhibition archives - Click Here
Housed in a 25,000-square-foot space located within Industry City’s (building five, second floor) sprawling campus, Makers Guild is a concept shopping experience where design meets studio retail. Here, one can witness the artisans at work, and shop for a variety of products made on site—including Antique restoration at Christophe Pourny Studio, Mediterranean inspired ceramics from Micol Ceramics, African head wraps at The Wrap Life, textile art at Sebastien Courty, and many more. The Makers Guild gives shoppers the opportunity to discover the story of a product, feel a direct connection to both the product made in Brooklyn and the real people behind those same products.
Makers Guild
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Saturday-Sunday: 11am-6pm
Located within their home in Brooklyn, New York, couple artists Matthew Day Jackson and Laura Seymour work on both individual and collaborative projects in their combined studio. Matthew Day Jackson’s multifaceted practice encompasses sculpture, painting, collage, photography, drawing, video, performance and installation, while Laura Seymour is a ceramicist whose work comprises of one-of-a-kind stoneware and earthenware pieces or sets. Kolho, a notable collaboration by the couple for Future Perfect, is a collection of furniture by Matthew Day Jackson adorned with a stoneware dining collection by Laura Seymour. While Jackson’s furniture was inspired by NASA’s Project Apollo and a small Finnish town named Kolho, Seymour’s work was inspired by spiral tie-dyes she made in collaboration with hers and Jackson’s two sons Everett and Flynn, at the same time that Jackson was starting protos for his Kolho line.
Matthew Day Jackson and Laura Seymour Studios
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Saint Marks Place, a new residential development from Avdoo & Partners Development and designed by INC Architecture & Design in Brooklyn’s Boerum Hill neighborhood, is partnering with Arts Gowanus to showcase the artistic talents within the community. Under the curation of Executive Director Johnny Thornton and associate curator Clémence Mailly, this collaboration features the works of local artists throughout the Saint Marks Place sales gallery, which neighbors the development. The partnership highlights Gowanus and its surrounding neighborhoods as a creative enclave.
Arts Gowanus Spring Show
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Open daily: 10am-5pm
Appointment preferred but visitors are welcome.
Saturday-Sunday: Appointment only
Appointments are encouraged
Want to explore these locations by foot?
Visit our Google map of Southwest Brooklyn to begin your journey.
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Monday-Friday: 8:30am - 5:30pm
Virtual listing
Virtual listing
Virtual listing
Photography by: Jenna Bascom
Plan your visit on the Industry City Art Tours page.
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The Self-Guided Journey platform was developed and curated by Valerie Hoffman and Maya Bayram. Written content for the Soho & Tribeca, Long Island City, St. George, Mott Haven, and Southwest Brooklyn maps is by Spoorthi Satheesh. As the Crow Walks' Patra Jongjitirat created the map illustrations. Carlos Dominguez and David Timoteo were involved with the design. James Eades, Steven Wisley, and Stephanie Couture, captured and edited the video content, and Samantha Sager was instrumental in the realization of this project.