We have been working and living in Red Hook Brooklyn for close to two years now. There is a small community of artists, craftsmen and writers down here. Everything seems to focus on a small block of shops and restaurants on Van Brunt between the Dikeman and Van Dyke Street. You will find stores like Erie Basin and Metal and Thread and restaurants like Fort Defiance and Good Fork. When a store called Red Lipstick at 390 Van Brunt Street moved out, both of us had the idea that the location would be perfect – being adjacent to Erie Basin and across from Fort Defiance. Not to forget, many people drive right down Van Brunt on their way to the fantastic Fairway Market.
After some quick thinking, we signed a lease for a year and began fixing up the place. We thought that a total white background would work best. We envisioned the space to be a gallery for our work. We spent close to a week painting, repainting (and repainting yet another time) all walls, the floor and ceiling. A small niche close to the back end of the space would serve as our reception area. We had to cover up an unsightly sink with a custom built cabinet. We ended up painting the entire niche, the cabinet and built-in table top black to differentiate it from the rest of the space. The floor is now a glossy white which brings out the beaten texture of the old plywood floors.
To show some other work, like our candle holders, we built shelves from old pallet wood that we had collected in our studio. James Harmon, from Workshop Design / Build LLC, built a display platform as an extension of the small area in the storefront window. It now serves as a space to show our new Quadrat Series furniture. The exterior of the showroom also needed a little bit of attention. We painted the storefront exterior in a dark gray to set it off against the white interior.
You can also read about the renovation on Design Sponge.
