The Trove: BertonGoods

I’ve known the gentle Berton of BertonGoods for many years, meeting him first in his incarnation as a milliner. Ever talented and gracious, he’d always allow me to pull in any hat needed for a show or photo shoot.  He has since moved on to other expressions of his creativity through dolls and other artful toys and accessories. His button-trimmed stockings are a holiday favorite at the American Folk Art Museum and ultra cool retailer, auto, stocks BertonGoods regularly.

The signature button doll is available at thisisauto.com.

Three years ago, Berton visited Guatemala and began a working relationship with a cooperative of women there. Most of his collection is now produced there.  “I work with really talented artisans, the indigenous people of Guatemala.  It really empowers them and I am grateful to them.”  He speaks lovingly of the country and its people.

Carved wooden letters (soon available at auto.) and numbers (contact bertongoods@fastmail.fm for availability)

Year after year, the American Folk Art Museum stocks these popular Christmas stocking ornaments.

These multi-functional ornaments can be hung on the tree or used as ingenious “wrapping” for tiny gifts.  The Christmas tree features a zippered back and the mittens have a velcro closure at the top. Contact bertongoods@fastmail.fm for availability.

This tote, available on Etsy, marries two BertonGoods favorites, buttons and ticking stripes.  The designer himself and his favorite fabric.

It is with great love that he speaks of most things.  And wonder.  “I am a very curious person.  I am obsessed with the computer and am constantly looking for things online.  If it exists, I’ll find it.”   A visit to his Brooklyn studio reveals some of his obsessions and delightful pockets of inspiration so who better to inaugurate our newest feature?

With this post we introduce, The Trove, a space for sharing the treasures of the fascinating people I’ve had the privilege to encounter.   When I asked the humble force behind BertonGoods to share his magical seven, I fully expected blue striped ticking fabric to make the cut, but here, in no particular order are Berton’s best loved:

1. Everything Batman. The late 60’s television series was his introduction to the Caped Crusader, reading the comics would come later. “My entire family would sit around and watch the TV show together. The colors, the dialogue really affected me. I learned things.  I remember an episode in Catwoman’s warehouse and the word ‘cat’ was translated into different languages.  His collection of memorabilia numbers around 50 pieces.

The lunchbox was a Ebay score; the Dark Knight Bobble-head, a gift, as was the musical snow globe; the very first item in his collection, the now dog-eared copy of The Official Batman Batbook, a companion guide to the TV series.

2. Music. “I listen to many different kinds, but it’s MJ, hands-down.  Not just because everyone is so Michael enthused right now.  I grew up with him.  I was the fan waiting for the comeback.  I said to myself I am going to go to Paragon Sports to a buy a sleeping bag to camp out for tickets whenever he comes here. I saw the Jackson Five in the seventies and the Victory Tour (1984) at Madison Square Garden… I’m so glad I got this before he passed” (gesturing to an Ebony Magazine special edition) “it was shot right here in Brooklyn.”

Michael, photographed by Matthew Rolston for Ebony at the Brooklyn Museum.

And then there’s John Mayer. “His music speaks to me.  Radio ruins things, but the songs not getting airplay are the ones I love.  ‘Gravity,’ is incredible.”

3. Guatemalan Mountain Range. During his twice yearly trips to Guatemala, “I stay in Antigua, its surrounded by mountains” (the Sierra Madre)  “The one to the south, a volcano, is breathtaking, you simply can’t not stop to look.  It is majestic.  I usually work outside in the courtyard: parrots, tropical flowers and a beautiful smell that is intoxicating.”

The long dormant Volcán de Agua, unobstructed by cloud cover.

4. Handmade, lightbulb doll. Though he’s collected a few Urban Faeries, works of dear friend and fellow doll artist, the late Adrienne McDonald, he particularly treasures this one.  “I received “Nisha” from Adrienne as a gift in 2000.  It is the one doll that I always wanted from her.  I thought it was such a clever idea.  This doll is a wonderful example of her amazing creative genius.”

5.Design*Sponge. The daily home and product design website has become a trusted friend.  “I go there everyday.  It’s very inspiring.”  He looks forward to the monthly downloadable screensavers.  “Isn’t this one beautiful?”

Berton’s October screensaver from DesignSpongeOnline.com.

6. Chicken Roti.  “I grew up in Long Island.  I didn’t know about Caribbean food until I moved to Crown Heights.”

7. Converse Chucks.  In all incarnations. “I remember we used to wear cheap sneakers–there were six of us.  The three boys, we wore my mother down, we begged for Chuck Taylors.  It was a lot for her budget but she got them.”  He wears them year-round now. “I speak the things I want into the universe.  I said, ‘When will someone make Converse that can be worn in the winter?’  John Varvatos heard. I love the Varvatos elastic…this is lined with Thinsulate, genius.”

The Chuck Taylor All Star Bosey Slip-on, with its oiled leather uppers and Thinsulate lining keep Berton’s feet toasty in Winter’s chill.  The rubber update is available now at Converse.com

folksoul Thursdays with ginaBreedlove

I didn’t have the pleasure of seeing her in Broadway’s Sophisticated Ladies in 1987, so I wasn’t introduced to the talents of gina Breedlove until 1996 in her astoundingly evil turn as a South African jailer in Sheila’s Day at the recently opened New Victory Theater.  As an actor, she clearly has chops.  The character she portrayed and her personal character are diametrically opposed.  Her surname perhaps a self-fulfilling prophecy, gina is all peace and love.

I bore witness to more of her performance magic when she originated the role of the regal Lioness, Sarabi, in Julie Taymor’s brilliantly executed The Lion King on Broadway.

The Lion Queen.  Photo from “The Lion King” official website.

Years, world tours and a super-cool, self-possessed young daughter later, gina is focusing on her own music: writing, recording and performing.  Her gift from God, her pure, clarion voice; her gift to us, her song.  folksoul, her signature sound is “music that lifts & inspires, with moments of grown & sexy…”

She invites us to join her this month for folksoul Thursdays at Pillow Cafe Lounge:  “come bring some of your spirit & leave with some of mine.”  The no-cover evenings on November 5th, 12th and 19th begin at 7:30pm including special guests Karma Mayet Johnson, Ganessa James and Shelly Nicole.

ginaB

Pillow Cafe Lounge

505 Myrtle Avenue

(btwn Ryerson & Grand)

Brooklyn, NY

718 246 2711

TAI™ Lip Shine

I’ve always been drawn to red metals: rose gold, copper.  Something about a ruddy shimmer that gets me every time.  I can get my fix this month while supporting a good cause.  It is National Diabetes Awareness Month and for the second year in a row, 20% of the proceeds from November sales of TAI™ Lip Shine will be donated to the American Diabetes Association (ADA).

The lustrous copper lip gloss was created by Trae Bodge of Three Custom Color Specialists at the request of celebrity hairstylist Diane Da Costa, volunteer ambassador of the ADA.  The shade was selected for the beautiful way it complements a full spectrum of skin tones.  The burnished hue with shimmering flecks of bronze is a perfect lip color–autumn leaves and mulled cider–as we move from fall to winter.

To order visit ThreeCustom.com or dial toll-free 888 262 7714.

Brooklyn Moment #14: A Portrait of the Blogger by a Young Man

A crowded internet cafe.  An occupied chair.  An artist.  A vacant sofa space.  A blogger.  A passage of time.  A departure.  An extended hand.  An excuse me, I drew a picture of you.  An ink sketch.  A thank you.  An exchange of emails.  A sweet Brooklyn moment.

Though I was given the orignal ink drawing, the lovely artist Unyenz followed up digitally with a colorized version.

Get on the Soapbox

I am happy to be on the host committee of SOAPBOX, the First Annual Art Auction of The Laundromat Project, a community based non-profit arts organization

committed to the well-being of people of color living on low incomes. Understanding that creativity is a central component of healthy human beings, vibrant neighborhoods, and thriving economies, we bring art programs to where our neighbors already are: the local laundromat. In this way, we aim to raise the quality of life in New York City for people whose incomes do not guarantee broad access to mainstream arts and cultural facilities.

We hope you’ll join us on Tuesday, November 3 for a silent auction and celebration to support change through art in New York City’s most vibrant communities!  Tickets prices begin at just $25 for an exciting evening of drinks, hors d’œuvre, DJ Khary on the wheels of steel and of course, a selection of works from a stellar line up of donating artists including

Ifetayo Abdus-Salaam • David Abir • Dawolu Jabari Anderson • Petruskha Bazin • Aisha Bell • Nathan Bennett • Sanford Biggers • Louis Cameron • Saul Chernick • William Cordova • Pradeep Dalal • Stephanie Diamond • Stephanie Dinkins • Nathaniel Donnett • Sam Durant • Torkwase Dyson • Chitra Ganesh • Rico Gatson • Deborah Grant • Kira Lynn Harris • Wayne Hodge • Sheree Hovsepian • Jennie C. Jones • Nsenga Knight • Joseph Laurro • Simone Leigh • Shaun El C. Leonardo • Glenn Ligon • Carlos Martinez • Paul D. Miller (aka DJ Spooky) • Chris Myers • Glexis Novoa • Wura-Natasha Ogunji • Karyn Olivier • Kambui Olujimi • Jessica Ann Peavy • Micheal Premo • Rob Pruitt • Ronny Quevedo • Tanea Richardson • Marc Andre Robinson • Athena Robles • Paul Mpagi Sepuya • Xaviera Simmons • Shinique Smith • Anna Stein • Hank Willis Thomas • Zefrey Throwell and Eric Anderson • Robert Trujillo • Mary Valverde • William Villalongo • Deborah Willis • Saya Woolfalk • and others

Click here to view the auction catalogue and ticket levels.

So New Yorkers, go cast your votes in the morning and place your bids with us in the evening.  The works can be previewed from noon until 6pm; then join the event from 6 – 9pm.

Included at the $1000 contribution level, Mickalene Thomas’  Kalena, 2009 Archival inkjet print with hand-painted applications. 8 x 10 inches. Edition of 20.

A trio of works available at the benefit auction: Sanford Biggers’ Psyche, 2009  Lithograph 25 3/4 x 43 1/4 inches; Hank Willis Thomas’ Absolute Power (framed); Stephanie Dinkins’ Americana I, print no. 10, 2008  Transfer print on book page.

The Laundromat Project’s First Annual Art Auction

Envoy Enterprises

131 Chrystie St, New York City

Skulls and Skellies

From Damien Hirst to Dan Akroyd’s vodka bottle, skulls are everywhere and today of course, skeletons will dance in windows and ring our bells looking for treats. Amid the vast product boneyard a few things have piqued my interest:

From Japanese designer Nobuhiku Kitamura’s extravagant, rock-influenced line, Hysteric Glamour.

Beijing-born, New York-based artist Jing Yu’s 2003 litho,”Gold Teef”
Lithograph with 24k gold leaf
10 x 8 in. (25.4 x 20.3 cm)
Edition 12

And my favorite… from the magical mind and gifted hands of Brooklyn artist, Adrienne Patrick, a floral wreathed marionette brings whimsy and light to the skeleton motif.  I snapped this shot at BedStuy’s wonderful SOLA festival, where Adrienne displayed her fanciful, earth-friendly, one-of-a kind creations. For more on Adrienne, check out this EcoBling interview.

Happy Halloween!

Talkin’ Shop: Hooti Couture

To tell the story of the Brooklyn boutique, Hooti Couture is to share the various incarnations of Alison Houtte as cover girl, vintage maven and author.  The vivacious proprietor gives first props, though, to her fashionable grandmother, Clemence Houtte, whose sense of style shaped her own and whose pronunciation of the family surname as “hoo-tee” gives the store its name.  Alison’s infectious joie de vivre is shared with Jacqueline Houtte, her recently deceased mother, a stylish woman glad to have walked the earth whose joyous 1970’s visage smiles on visitors to the shop.

Major life and fashion influences include Grandma Houtte, circa 1940 (on right in black and white photo) and Mom, Jackie in 1973.

I sat down with the infinitely quotable Alison recently to get the goods on her beloved Prospect Heights emporium. She’s got an eye for style and a keen sense of value.  Her business philosophy is simple, “keep it fresh, cheap and chic!”  Since the inception 12 years ago of Hooti Couture, she’s offered prime vintage goods at affordable prices.  Her neighboring Park Slope predecessor, the well curated, Weeds, was her foray into vintage apparel and furnishings retail, but it is with Hooti and her priced-to-move merchandise, that she’s struck gold.  A mint-condition Blackglama coat at $1200 is the highest ticket item in the store right now, though most pieces fall well below that figure.  I snagged a chevron stripe, wasp-waisted Ronnie Heller dress for thirty bucks — love it!

Alison is as warm and welcoming as they come, but she has little patience for the snippy commentary that’s come with moving her base just blocks from Berkeley Place to Flatbush Avenue.  One customer, indignant about the locale change said, “you will never survive because a stroller will not cross that avenue.”  Alison’s response: “Do you see baby clothes in here?”  Eight years later the business is thriving.

I’m a little secondhand shop in Brooklyn, but I cater to each client like she’s in Bergdorf’s.  I think the success has come with the service and price points. It’s great, fun stuff in a fun environment and we get new merchandise weekly.  I buy with love, what I love.

And it is with great love she’s culled the mines for the largely 1980’s collection in store now. “I am loving fashion right now.”  The resurgence of eighties style is clearly delighting her.  The era that thrust her onto the runways and into top fashion mags is evident throughout the store.  Having spent a decade on the catwalks of Paris and New York and posing for celebrated photographers such as Peter Lindbergh and Patrick Demarchelier, she’s traveled the world and seen the very best of fashion.  “I sold myself for ten years, Vogue, Marie Claire, forty-two grand for one day on a Woolite campaign but when the phone stopped ringing,” as it does fairly quickly in the modeling universe, she transferred skills.  “I brought my personality to the game in modeling; I bring the same to the counter at Hooti.”

The cover that launched a decade-long career.

Courrèges and killer brows.

Pretty legs and all.

She uses the personal pronoun when referring to the gently loved resale merchandise she stocks. “What about her, isn’t she a beauty?” she queries, motioning to a brooch. With unabashed glee she helps each item find the right home by getting to know her customers and their tastes very well. She’s not likely to forget a face or a name and her customers genuinely seek her counsel.  With giddy self-deprecation she says, “I’m flattered when someone asks for my advice.  I’m just an ex-fashion model…and they listen!”

Looking for the perfect accessory for a big night out, Hilary Van Santen scores at Hooti.

When asked to shoot some of her store favorites for this piece, Alison jumped back into mannequin-mode tout de suite.  And not for nothing did the experience of coming under the brushes of makeup superstars like Kevyn Aucoin and François Nars have her whip up a flawlessly “beaten” face.  So without further ado, “sexy, cheeky and affordable,” some of Ali’s faves — merchandise available in store, with a few personal pieces thrown in for good measure.

What becomes a legend most?  Alison luxuriates in a late-60’s chocolate mink, $1200 and Wolford tights. This faux-fur capelet, $75, is a perfect topper for Alison’s own Miami thrift find, a sassy zebra print dress.  Red lucite earrings, $10; wood and abalone bangle, $12.

Personal paste:  Alison’s own costume jewelry and similar brooches $25-45, adorn these sequined panties, $28.  “I looove the Peace panty,” squeals Alison, “sometimes a gal just needs a little bling for her booty!”

Fabulously feathered:  Dyed cock feather headpiece, $125 and jaunty fedora, $55.

Warmth and whimsy: nostalgic needlepoint meets modern lucite in this handmade purse, $75; crystals adorn this earring bursting with shooting stars, $28.

The Clemence collection:  Alison treasures her grandma’s golden oldies from the Whiting and Davis evening bag to the Tura reading glasses she’s transformed to sparkling sunglasses.  Gilty pleasures available in store:  a mesh shoulder bag with a hint of Clem, $75 and a bejeweled Andrew Geller shoe, $25 for the pair.  The diminutive shoe is smaller than many contemporary feet but Alison refers to it as “bedroom art, a pretty thing to look at.”

Alison knows her skins and keeps a steady supply of structured handbags from lizard to croc’ and ‘gator, $75-$375.

The wonderfully nostalgic Montauk Club was the perfect venue to launch her delicious romp of a memoir in 2005.  Written with her journalist sister, Melissa Houtte,  Alligators, Old Mink and New Money, shares their modest Florida upbringing, replete with thrift store wardrobes; her “discovery” as a lanky 18-year-old and subsequent launch onto the Paris catwalk, both instrumental in developing her aesthetic and training her eye to find diamonds in the rough; and her often humorous musings about her new life in the vintage trade.

The dimpled author gives a lady-like, raccoon trimmed coat, $450, a quirky twist.   A 70’s era Samsonite travel satchel, $48, is “tagged” Hooti-style with silk flowers and a sequined lion applique.

The power of a great line: arrow brooch, $35; late-eighties Geoffrey Beene, $175 and python-embossed pumps, $25.

She loves creating her windows and the entertainment value of it all.  Go, check out the campy Halloween window display, “I love the silliness of it,”  Alison enthuses, “A sexy dress with a grotesque mask.  Deep down, I’m a little girl.  I love a holiday and Halloween is one of my favorites.”  Have the inevitable holiday yummy, but the real treat is in unearthing a happily-affordable treasure from a fun-loving gal who doesn’t take herself too seriously.  As the sign on her door says, “No drama allowed.”

Hooti Couture

321 Flatbush Avenue

(at Seventh Avenue)

Brooklyn, NY

718.857.1977

Out of South Africa

An Ndebele woman.

The past few months have been a whirlwind for creative wunderkind Montgomery Harris.  She was invited to present workshops in August to South African crafters and designers in conjunction with fashion week in Cape Town.  Spending time there as well as in Johannesburg, she volunteered her services but received beautiful inspiration in return.  On Saturday past, she participated in a fashion show of stellar designers such as the always wonderful Byron Lars and Kai Milla (Mrs. Steve Wonder) benefiting the Thurgood Marshall College Fund. Her presentation featured many of her archival pieces reimagined through the eyes of one exposed to the beauty of South Africa.

Richly textural, the show featured a melange of global textiles. Fashion show photos by Elan Artist.

Hand-dyed “toadskin” fabric and fluid butterfly tops — both Montgomery signatures — worked to dramatic effect on the runway.

It is in this celebratory spirit that the South African Consulate General is sponsoring Out of South Africa, a shopping night of fashion and culture at Montgomery’s Harlem boutique.  An incubator for emerging local designers and a showcase for Montgomery’s own creations, the shop will host guests with wine and hors d’œuvre, from 7pm-9:30pm on Wednesday, October 28 and present South African-inspired Fall collections as well as one-of-a-kind artisanal pieces direct from the “sub-continent.”

The designer at the Mandela House in Soweto.

Montgomery

2312 Adam Clayton Powell Blvd

(136th Street and 7th Avenue)

Harlem, NY

The Gentry Lands in Brooklyn

Years ago before marriage added motherhood and the Adams to her name, I met Nichole R. Thompson Adams on an indie film project.  In recent years I’ve come to live in the same nabe as the Clinton Hill homeowner/real estate broker/performer.  Just the other day as she walked her palm-sized pup we bumped into one another and spoke about neighborhood changes.  With a characteristically beaming smile, she shared that her one-woman show, Black Girl, You’ve Been Gentrified is being staged at Cherry Lane Theatre’s Cherry Pit.  “Come out, for ten bucks you get the show and a beer…it’s fun.”  From the promo:

Race, culture, class …Jamaican born and Brooklyn raised, Nichole Thompson-Adams has just a few things on her mind.  The neighborhood around her is changing.  Is Nichole changing too? Revel in the zany and poignant experiences that told her quite clearly, she’s been gentrified.

Glad to see that the jovial John Y. Church III (with whom I’ve done commercial work) is directing Nichole in her self-penned piece, I plan to check out one of the two Monday performances on October 26 or November 23 at 8pm.

The Cherry Pit

155 Bank Street

(West Beth Complex)

989 2020

Brooklyn Moment #13: A Little Night Music

Walking down Fifth Avenue in Park Slope last night I was charmed by a street-side performance of Girl From Ipanema, by a duo wearing Brooklyn Conservatory of Music t-shirts.  “How lovely,” I thought as the mellifluous sounds wafted into the night air.  Two blocks later, an upright bass and more music. A sax solo across the street and a quartet off in the distance.  I learned that this intermittent musical melange, Music in the Streets, a program of the Fifth Avenue Business Improvement District extended from Dean Street all the way to 18th Street.

The accomplished musicians, all faculty members of the Brooklyn Conservatory of Music are lending their talents in an effort to bolster sales in the shops and eateries of the BID.  It was a wonderful “surprise” as I went about my business on a beautiful fall evening and I encourage anyone who can make the stroll on October 29 to do just that — from 6:30 to 8pm, get your shop on, treat your belly to a great meal and your ears to an eclectic mix of genres from Balkan flute to New Orleans jazz.

As I was sans camera, I was unable to photo-document the lyric loveliness.  But this evocative photo from Jill on the cool photo blog For the Love of Brooklyn is actually a stretch of Fifth Avenue.