Brooklyn Collective a place for creative Christmas shopping, by George Fiala

Brooklyn Collective is located a few doors up from Mazzat, on Columbia Street between Union and Sackett Sts. They are open Thursdays thru Sundays from 1 pm to 8 pm. They may have some expanded holiday hours – best to call them at 718-596-6231 to be sure.

The variety of art they have for sale is very diverse, meaning you may just find that special something for the special someone. It’s kind of like shopping in a museum gift shop, actually maybe better.
Another big reason to stop by is that you’d be supporting local artists.

Brooklyn Collective began ten years ago on Columbia Street. The two founders of the shop, Rachel Goldberg and Tessa Williams met at Union Max, a thrift store located around the corner. Rachel was running the thrift store with her mother and sister. She was a jewelry designer; Tessa was a clothing designer. Both wanted a space to exhibit their work. After meeting at Union Max, they started talking about how to turn their ideas into a reality.

“We would get together and brainstorm for how we could make something like that work because we were both trying to sell to other shops, which can be very daunting. We wanted to create a space that was a little more open-minded [by] showcasing things that we wanted to make and that we wanted people to see,” said Tessa.

The two chose Red Hook because they were locals, although Tessa is originally from New Hampshire. “It’s our neighborhood,” said Rachel enthusiastically.
They held a holiday show recently, and these photos were all taken then.