Escape
From New York:
A Refuge Grows In Brooklyn
Written By Mikal Saint George
Photographed By Evan Sung
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HOME
& HAVEN
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I have a tendency to believe
that bad things happen when you leave Manhattan.
There is always
a subliminal fear that the Hudson and East Rivers
are akin to the River Styx. In an effort to relieve
myself of this unfounded phobia I recently decided
to pay the ferryman (or in this case ride the F
train) and visit Smith Street in Brooklyn’s
Cobble Hill section. Okay, photographer Evan Sung
enlightened
me to the area. Had he not held my hand and walked
me through the area step by step I never would
have made it there and back.
More than a district
defined
by the financial needs of some over enthusiastic
realtor (There is a campaign underway referring
to the area as BoCoCa - BOerum hill, CObble hill,
CArroll
gardens. I can just see the P.R. pro “thinking
out of the box” to create “fun” adjectives
that convey a “funky” place to shop.)
Smith Street represents a lifestyle under a major
threat of extinction.
The area has the charm of
the west village with the cutting edge style of
SoHo
and the makings of the same kind of cache as TriBeCa.
Streets are lined with Federal and Italianate townhouses...this
section of Brooklyn has more original townhouses
than all of Boston! Shops are chic and genuinely
stylish with an emphasis on high quality style.
Restaurants are comfortable and sophisticated with
a range running
the gamut from Parisian quaint to solid all-American.
What
is lacking? A complete lack of pretension for one
thing. Shopkeepers and restaurant employees
are
genuinely happy to see people coming into their
establishments. They take pride in their wares
and, believe it or
not, take pride in their work. There is a lot to
be said for people who enjoy what they are doing
and are not spewing thinly veiled bitterness at
everyone in the room because they have yet to be
discovered
as the movie star/rock star/fashion icon they know
they really deserve to be. Not once did I get the
feeling that I should be grateful that a major
unknown preternaturally gifted talent stopped by
my plebian
side of the table to accept my 30% gratuity.
Dare
I say there is absolutely no one, not a single
soul on the entire street that has any desire to
meet
the Hilton sisters or attend anything hosted by
P. Diddy or sponsored by US Weekly.
Not that I
doubt
for a single moment that P. Diddy’s Hampton
soirees are a blast (I have yet to make the cut)
and I have as much fun chronicling Paris and Nicky’s
vast array of halter tops on the pages of US Weekly
as everyone else in town. But it is nice - even
refreshing - to have things kept in perspective.
A
definite must is HOME & HAVEN.
Like the name says this
is an A-1 destination for nest feathering. The
shop
boasts a vast array of home decor items, all of
which are handmade by artisans from all over the
world.
This is NOT however a “crafty” kind
of place. There are no Amish Country pot holders
or
decorative Kitchen Witches to be found. Think hand
wrought flatware, hand blown stemware, luscious
fabrics and “global luxury for the home.”
H & H
owners Nadia Surapanpong and Mona Zaabi are charming,
friendly and incredibly knowledgeable. Both have
traveled the world extensively - Zaabi is fluent
in six languages - and both display the kind of
passion for their business that is becoming lost
in a world of franchises and central buying offices.
Both have had careers in other fields and have
chosen this venture because they want to follow
something
they love and make a kind of difference. Many of
the artisans featured in the shop are women from
developing countries that offer few, if any, economic
possibilities to the female population.
A fabulous hand sewn, double-sided
silk bedspread (I guessed a retail price of $1,000.00
in fact it sells at Home & Haven for $245.00.
ABC Carpet & Home be damned!) features a label
with the artisan’s name on it. “She was
so surprised that we didn’t want our private
label sewn on!” recalls Nadia. “It was
hard for her to believe that, yes we want to make
a profit but we also want to promote her work and
open new doors for her and others like her!” See
if there is anyone on the seventh floor of Bergdorf’s
with a similar opinion.
This is without a doubt a holiday
gift bonanza (do I sound like I am thinking out of
the box yet?). The inventory includes Turkish glass
tea sets that look jewel-like enough to be a Cartier
window, hand woven throw pillows that manage to simultaneously
be utterly modern and completely classic to complete
gift sets for the dog and cat on Santa’s list.
All is completely affordable and they will even ship
for you. I love this place!
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