Holiday gifts from Manhattan? Fuggedaboutit!
Industrious Brooklynites celebrated their hard work at the “Made in Brooklyn Holiday Market” in Sunset Park’s Industry City on Nov. 22 and 23. About 4,000 shoppers passed through the Brooklyn-born gift market and perused goods from 40 borough vendors, according to organizers Wanted Design. One borough business owner who moved manufacturing from overseas to Brooklyn said the decision is saving lives — bird lives.
“Control of the materials was a top issue,” said Angie Yeung, whose company Celltei makes pet carriers. “Birds are very sensitive to toxicity so we need to be really careful, and when we did things overseas, we did have problems.”
The Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce certified Yeung’s business as “Brooklyn-Made” because Celltei fabricates its carriers in East Williamsburg and most of its eight employees live in the borough, she said.
The Chamber doles out gold, silver, and bronze certifications to businesses based on how much of their manufacturing activity takes place in the borough.
Another business owner who fashions housewares such as clocks and mirrors in East Williamsburg said they keep it local by patronizing suppliers in New York state.
“We receive raw parts from vendors and assemble and package them in our studio,” said Jamie Wolfond of Good Thing. “They’re sending us these dirty pieces of pre-cut metal, and it’s our job to make them into a product here in Brooklyn.”
