Brooklyn ARTery Opens its Doors to the Public

It's hard not to feel at home when one walks into Brooklyn ARTery.

Warm colors and fabrics adorn the walls, shelves and furniture, upbeat music plays and the conversation flows, as co-owners Susan Siegel and Jocelyn Lucas-Rosenberg excitedly chat with customers and eachother about the opening of the store. 

"I feel like people are stopping by our home," Siegel said. "It's been wonderful. We're getting such good feedback. People are so happy to have a gift shope and a place to take classes." 

The manifestation of a physical shop has been a long time coming for the pair, who began working together to bring the ARTery to the farmer's market earlier this year.

"When Susan wanted to gather signatures [for the crafts market] from Rugby Road, I helped because I lived on Rugby Road," Lucas-Rosenberg said. "We talked, and we shared the same vision. By the time we got back to my house, we decided to [work together]."

The shop, at 1020 Cortelyou Rd., is also a place for people to teach and take artisanal classes, interact with other members of the community and is an outlet for local artists to sell their work, Siegel said.

"It's a community hub," she continued. "The idea that you can get a card in a place other than Duane Read, and the idea that we can shop locally. It's supporting Brooklyn artists and fair trade in a difficult economy."

The shop is also doing what it can to support those in need. Saturday, Oct. 17 and Sunday, Oct. 18 from 9-11:30 a.m., people can drop-off hot food, including pasta, rice and beans, and soup, to be donated to people in the Rockaways who were directly affected by Hurricane Sandy.

"We're a community that can [afford to] give back," Lucas-Rosenberg said.