'Potager' Pop-Up Shop On Court Street Offers Beautiful, Practical Tools For Kitchen And Garden

Jessica Peck of potagernyc.com has launched her first ever pop-up shop on Court Street in Cobble Hill.  For the next few week-ends, Peck's thoughtfully selected  housewares, hand-forged garden tools,  as well as seeds and peat-free soil will be available at 262 Court Street.
Many of the items are hand made by New York City artisans.

"Potager began as an idea to create a space for a community to form around sustainable gardening
community and delicious cooking, " Jessica Peck explains. The pop up shop is a big step in realizing her vision for Potager. "Ultimately, the goal is to have a place for retail as well as classes and workshops: a place where people can get inspired about the whole process of food."

The Potager pop-up shop has been graciously hosted by Pietro Costa and Denver Butson of Vespa Properties.  They write:

"VESPA Properties Group (aka VESPA Projects) is proud to continue to give back to the community by offering their lovely storefront/office/gallery space, pro-bono, to Jess from Potager for her pop-up store. Having curated and hosted eight art exhibitions, a few performances and poetry readings, and a number of political and not-for-profit fundraisers, VESPA (and its owners, visual artist Pietro Costa and poet Denver Butson) are happy that their space can help this young entrepreneur launch her business -- with carefully chosen, durable and aesthetically elegant kitchen and garden products."

Potager Pop-Up Shop

at Vespa Projects

262 Court Street, Brooklyn

March 15th, 16th, 22nd, 23rd, 29th and 30th from 11 am to 7 pm

Of course, items can be purchased online at www.potagernyc.com.

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Works By Brooklyn-Based Artist Orazio On Display At Joint Neighborhood Shows

 Orazio's paintings on display at Vespa Properties, above,

and at Court Tree Collective, a new gallery/event space. 

TERRAE, a show featuring the works of Brooklyn-based, Italian artist Orazio can currently be seen in two different spaces in the neighborhood. You should most definitely seek out his works and meet the man behind them.
His paintings not only reflect a deep connection to the earth and to his Italian roots, they also combine his many talents and a real passion for his craft.

Born in Benevento, Italy, Orazio became interested in art at a young age. By 13 he apprenticed to a sculptor, then studied sculpture at the Academia di Belle Arti in Rome.
He moved to the United States in 1983.
Besides pursuing art, , Orazio is a sought-after master craftsman in the art of Stucchi Veneziani, a traditional Italian wall finish made of lime and marble dust.
Over time, this ancient craft has provided the artist with new ideas and has filtered into his artwork.

For his Terrae series, Orazio borrows the Stucchi Veneziani technique, building up several different layers on his canvas to create a sculpted surface. He then applies earth pigments mixed with marble dust that he mixes himself. The results are beautiful landscapes that mirror those of Orazio's childhood.

Some of Orazio's more current works can be seen at Vespa Properties, the realty office at 262 Court Street. Vespa's partners, Denver Butson and Pietro Costa, make their space available to artists and writers regularly to stay connected to the community. Orazio's is the seventh show hosted in their offices.  To accommodate some of Orazio's larger works, the brokerage firm has created additional wall space. The paintings will stay up till February 8th.

At the same time, Orazio's earlier work is being shown at Court Tree Collective, a new gallery/event space that opened at 371Court Street just three months ago. The paintings on display here are  part of the artist's Map Series and were inspired by the Galleria della Carta Geographica at the Vatican Museum.

Besides displaying his work, Court Tree Collective will be hosting an Italian cooking demonstration by Orazio this Saturday, December 15th from 2 to 5 PM .  The cost is $50.  Apparently, the artist is quite a chef as well. And I was told he makes his own wine, which he will be serving.


***Update***
After meeting Orazio this past week, he was kind enough to invite me to his studio in Boerum Hill on Sunday.  Below are some of the photos I took during the visit.  The photos don't even come close to conveying the light of the amazing space and of Orazio's art.

Below is a small film on Orazio and his art. It was made by Stephen Lipuma, one of Court Street Collective's partners.

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Hooters Coming To Court Street? No, Wait! Actually, It's Just Another Real Estate Office

Hooters coming to 232 Court Street? I spotted the sign hanging in the window and crossed the street immediately to investigate. When I asked the construction crew if the chain known for its wings and busty waitresses was indeed coming to this location the men smiled.

"Sure they are!" the shirtless worker in the photos said. "And they are hiring waitresses right now!" he added.

I was wondering if he intended to apply himself...

After a bit of prodding, he admitted that the crew was just having fun.

Actually, a real estate office is coming to that location.

The storefront was occupied for years by the Oh Family's "Trusting Dry Cleaners" business, until they were forced out by a huge rent increase. Since then, the space and the building itself have undergone a major renovation.

The rental agency for the empty storefront was Vespa Properties, a few doors down at 262 Court Street. Vespa was in negotiations with a restaurateur, who was willing to take over not only the storefront, but the two garage spaces attached to the building on Baltic Street, to open a gourmet food store related to the restaurant.

However, at the last minute, the owner pulled out of the deal with the restaurateur in order to rent to the real estate office on his own. The two attached garage spaces will become separate businesses, but their completion has been delayed because of a landmark's issue.

No word yet if the realtor is related to a big chain. Stay tuned!

***UPDATE***

One of my readers just pointed out to me that "Mr. Shirtless" in the photos above is none other than the owner of the building.

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