Karen's Body Beautiful: Myrtle

When I first moved to the Hill, Karen's Body Beautiful resided in a tiny storefront on Clinton Avenue north of Myrtle. I was thrilled to see her move to an exponentially larger site on Myrtle earlier this year -- the store is spacious, peaceful and warm, and really makes sense on our ever-changing Myrtle Ave. The absolute coolest thing about Karen's store is the fact that she creates ALL of her products right there, on-site! A modern kitchen sits directly behind the front counter, allowing shoppers to watch her work her magic.

Getting to know Karen:

When did the store first open? I know it was originally in a different location. We opened the first store in February 2004 and the current location (our expansion) in Feb 2006.

How did you learn to make your own beauty products? My friends and I tried it once, and nothing turned out correctly. My husband and I spent our 2003 summer vacation (from teaching High School History) learning how to make personal care products. We bought books and ingredients and did lots of experimentation. We signed the lease on our original location on Clinton Ave in November 2003. Since we were still teaching at the time it took us 2 months to make enough products to stock the store and we opened in Feb 2004. It was very exciting because we taught at the same school in the history department, we would come home make shower gel, shampoos, body butters, etc. and drive them over to the store every day. Out of the experience making the products off site (at home) and hauling them to the store did we decided that it would be wonderful to put the kitchen in the store to streamline our production and we thought the customers would get kick out of actually seeing the products being made.

Do you live in the neighborhood? If so, how long have you been here? I live in Bed-Stuy. I've lived there for 2 years.

What have been some of the challenges in owning your own business in Brooklyn? On of the challenges is maintaining a daily production schedule to keep up the our internet and in store demands. Since we make all of our products from scratch in the store we have to be open daily making products in order to fill internet orders and keep the store stocked. It takes alot of work and time to hand-make and package thousands of soaps, lotions, candles, etc.

Favorite place to eat in the neighborhood: My favorite place to eat is ABistro* on Carlton and Myrtle. The Senegalese Fried Chicken and French Toast (on Sunday Brunch) are FABULOUS!

What would you love to see open in Clinton Hill? There are sooo many things Myrtle Ave needs! A few more restaurants (including a vegetarian one) and bars are necessary to generate more foot traffic to support businesses like a butcher shop, flower shop, clothing stores, gourmet fruit and vegetable grocery store and bakery.

Any insider info on what else will be opening on Myrtle? A new hair salon that caters to white hair will be opening soon on Myrtle between Waverly and Washington. I also know that several flower shops and a butcher are very interested in opening on Myrtle.

I see the shop is quite roomy. Do you ever offer classes, seminars or events? We have KBB Spa Days where a masseuse and an esthetician come in to do spa treatments, birthday parties, and seminars on health and beauty.

What's your most popular product? Our Body Scrubs are most popular. They are very moisturizing, they exfoliate, soften and leave you with brand new skin.

If you were a flavor of ice cream, what flavor would you be and why? Hmmm... I dont eat ice cream any more, but my favorite dessert is a mango, pineapple and strawberry home-made smoothie sweetened with agave and stevia with a dash of lemon essential oil.

KAREN'S BODY BEAUTIFUL 436 Myrtle Avenue Between Clinton Avenue & Waverly Avenue Tel: (718) 797-4808 Hours: M-Sa 12p-8p; Su 12p-5p

* When ABistro first opened, I visited several times and absolutely loved it! The service and food were both top notch. For some reason, I haven't been in awhile. Thanks, Karen, for reminding me!!

Clinton Hill's Oral History

A local resident and Pratt graduate student has contacted me looking for information on an oral history project completed in the area a few years ago. She writes: Hi, I'm wondering if anyone who visits the blog remembers an oral history project about gentrification and Clinton Hill? I believe interviews for the project were conducted about 3 or 4 years ago. Would you post my question and any answers or links that come up about it? I'm working on a paper for graduate school. Thanks.

This is the first I've heard of the project, but I'd love to know more! Anyone out there have any information?

It would be fun to do an "oral history week" on the blog and talk to lifelong residents.

Tickling the Ivories

Local musician Shawn Onsgard offers piano lessons to students of all ages in the neighborhood. Plus, he's about to "make it big" -- his music is slated to be available on iTunes very soon! Always been wanting to study piano? Start locally.

Here's more info: an interview with Shawn

How long have you been giving piano lessons in the neighborhood? I started teaching piano full time in 2001 when I finished grad school at Wesleyan University, CT, and really enjoyed it, so when I moved to the neighborhood in 2003 I started my little piano studio here.

What's the normal clientele? Mostly children? I teach a lot of families ... parents and children, which is nice, I like facilitating music in family life. A little over 1/3 of my students are adults, and my students range in age from 5- adult at all abilities from beginners to people with professional goals.

Did you take piano as a child? I grew up in a musical family and learned my first song at the piano, "Boogie Woogie," from my Aunt and Grandmother when I was 7. I signed up for piano lessons then, continued my studies at the conservatory in Milwaukee through high school, and just haven't stopped playing.

What kind of music do you write and perform now? My website www.Onsgard.net has a good downloadable selection of my music from the last several years and albums for sale. My own music is avant-garde, avant-jazz, new classical, experimental ... these are names people tend to to describe it. I have composed a lot for dance, film, media performance with lap-top, sound sculpture and installation. Right now I'm developing an improvisatory solo piano repertoire using 'home-made' scales that don't repeat at the octave and irregular rhythmic structures. Think Thelonious Monk picnics with Alexander Scriabin in Charles Ives' backyard.

How long have you been in the neighborhood, and what's your favorite aspect? I've been here 3 years, and have family who've lived on Vanderbilt Avenue for more than 30 years. I love the people here. I like the diversity in this neighborhood... ethnicity, income, religion, language, etc. Gentrification hasn't homogenized the place. I enjoy the small town feel I get here that I never got in any of the small towns I've lived in. Go to the farmers market on Saturday, any play ground anytime, the 5spot on Myrtle, you see what I mean. People know each other here.

What would you love to see open up nearby? Bookstore!

How do you feel about the neighborhood as a musician? Do you think it promotes creativity? There's a supportive network of successful musicians, artists, and freelance creative types here which is really supportive. I would like to see more local venues opening to live music performance. Does anyone but Parlor Jazz on Vanderbilt even have a piano in this neighborhood? Musicians I know are mostly performing in other parts of Brooklyn and Manhattan. Also, the rents have got to slow down, or intentionally diversify, or something!

Favorite neighborhood place to eat: Too many. My local regular go-to is Cafe Martino (Tino's) for breakfast sandwiches and espresso. My all time favorite is ici on DeKalb any time. Also in my top seven are Pillow Cafe, Urban Spring, Graziella's, Ft. Greene Park on Saturday morning, and the 5 Spot. If I wasn't vegetarian, I'm sure Lou Lou's would be in there too. I haven't yet been there, but I suspect Kush on Fulton would be in there too.

***

Shawn does exclusively in-home lessons, and presently has time available on Saturday afternoons.

Shawn Onsgard www.Onsgard.net

Shawn@Onsgard.net 917.553.2064

Polish Bar: The Interview

I recently caught up with Tricalee Riley, owner of Myrtle Avenue's Polish Bar Brooklyn, to find out more about the inception of her business and why she loves Clinton Hill.

How long have you lived in the neighborhood, and what brought you here? I have been a Clinton Hill resident for 2 years. I love it because it is authentic, it wasn't created... it's a real community, with real people... real families and everyone belongs.

What's your favorite thing about it? the unpretentious people and the Pratt students... they keep me young and hip.

How long have you been planning to open Polish Bar, and what gave you the idea? 7 years. The idea came from being disappointed with the options in inexpensive nail salons; a part of my weekly routine. Sometimes you feel like you can do something better than it's currently being done. It was one of those situations. My makeup background brought the other facets of the business into the plan. So I started documenting my ideas (daily) about 5 1/2 years ago. I started my business plan in 2004.

Any unexpected hurdles in opening your own business? Yes, too many to count. I've learned to spend 5 minutes on defining the problem and the remainder of time on RESOLUTION.

What sets your shop apart from other area salons? Simple. We're a customer based business. Every decision we make as business professionals puts the customer first. We are continually looking to improve the service, the products, and the overall experience. I believe as long as we remain committed to this, we will continue to grow as a brand. We're improving day by day.

Did you use any local organizations' resources in opening the salon? (MARP, PCC, etc) I met with MARP to introduce the business and get some feedback on my storefront design. Luckily, they were pleased with everything I wanted to do and very supportive. I could have used more resources, and now that I’m open I plan to reach out for help.

What's your background, professionally? Beauty? Business? I worked in cosmetics for 10 years. I managed makeup artists, retail stores and opened freestanding stores for cosmetic companies. I have 7 years in Business Management and 11 years in makeup. My experience ties directly into this venture and has helped in the transition.

Do people, um, think that the name of the salon is Polish, as in Poland? I myself misread it, as did many others. Any funny stories about that? LOL... truthfully, they're aren't any funny stories. I came up with the name 5 years ago, so I've heard Polish Bar... (as in Poland) over and over again. People come in a dozen times a day and say, "I thought this was a Polish Bar..." They laugh and I try to laugh too, but it's so hard. I would compare it to, "knock knock... who's there?" I want to laugh, but there's nothing left.

But I get it, and still I was adamant about the name, even though I knew it would confuse people. I spent many nights inside of the shop listening to neighbors and their excitement about a new bar opening. I guess that's why I felt compelled to offer cosmos at my Grand Opening. I guess I felt a bit guilty.

Favorite place to eat in Clinton Hill: so my typical day is breakfast at Cafe Martino, lunch from Pillow Cafe or Smooch... then take out from Thai 101 or Zaytoons. They are all my favorite. I spent a lot of time at these places when I was planning my opening.

What's your greatest wish for the neighborhood? That's too hard... so many things. Hopefully more small businesses will open, new restaurants, lounges, clothing shops, etc... I do want change for Clinton Hill, but I hope the people remain the same.

If you were a flavor of ice cream, what flavor would you be? I would be Neapolitan. Something for everyone to love.

A Chat with Leticia James

I'll admit, I know very little about politics. What I do know, however, is that Councilwoman Leticia James is a very visible fixture in the community. I emailed her a detailed list of questions and she called me back the very next day! She went through my list verbally, as she's obviously short on time. Props to her for being so quick to give a few minutes to a neighborhood blog!

I took notes while we chatted, so here's the summary:

How long have you been Councilwoman for our neighborhood? Since 2003, after the assassination of Councilman James Davis

What are your responsibilities? Responding to constituent concerns, budgeting, financing affordable housing and parks, and supporting local organizations

What did you do before becoming an elected official? What inspired you to run for public office? Worked in politics for more than 12 years

We hear a lot about "affordable housing." What exactly does that mean? Who actually qualifies? I get the feeling that the "NYC middle class" (who, in any other part of the country would be upper-class based on income) are left out of the equation, meaning single people making less than 80k or so. The affordable housing Ms. James currently works on covers individuals making between 30 and 60k/year. She also works with PACC and non-profit groups on affordable housing initiatives.

Favorite place to dine in Clinton Hill: Night of the Cookers

What amenities do you feel are lacking in the neighborhood? Successful public schools. She hopes her legacy will be the renovation of all parks in her district, as well as meeting the needs of those in public housing. These people have long been ignored, which she feels contributes to the higher crime rate concentrated in these areas.

What would you most like to see open up here? "NOT Atlantic Yards!" She'd prefer a bookstore, ice cream shop, drug store, and "Crate and Barrel and Ann Taylor," two of her personal favorites.

How do you envision Clinton Hill ten years from now? A continually diverse community, where we celebrate children and families.

Name a few adjectives you would use to describe Clinton Hill: "Brownstoney (is that a word?), diverse, community-oriented, active."

Hobbies and interests: Reading, walking to book stores in Park Slope, attending church in the neighborhood, a new interest in studying architecture specifically relating to the neighborhood, visiting schools and stopping into police precincts to thank them for their hard work.

Councilwoman James asked me to remind readers that the primaries are just seven days away! She is endorsing Bill Batson for Assembly, as she feels he'd be a great partner: independent, values the area and most importantly shares her concerns about Atlantic Yards!

Music/Vespa-Fest

OK, so this upcoming party lies more in Gowanas than Clinton Hill, but is being thrown by BrooklynBretta, a supercool scooter shop. AND, the shop owner, Nicholas Mendizabal, lives right here in Clinton Hill! Recently, I asked him a few questions about being a small business owner, and living in the Hill:

How long have you lived in Clinton Hill, and what brought you here? I've lived in Clinton Hill for 2 years, and before that Greenpoint for previous 6. I moved to Clinton Hill to be closer to the shop. Working late is typical, even the 2 mile commute to Greenpoint proved to be too far!

What do you do for a living? I own and operate NYC's best scooter shop :)

How did you come up with the idea for Brooklynbretta? I knew there was a need for a scooter shop here.

How did you pick the shop's location? Sackett Street between 3rd and 4th is ideal because it's on a commercial block where we are able to do our own thing. Being part of a string of retail shops presents its own issues - so I avoided it.

Any tips for small business owners? Doing the math helps a great deal. Having a worst case, best case, and a most likely case really helped keep fiscal expectations in line. Starting a small business is relatively easy, keeping it going is another challenge . . . I would also recommend businesses with 'seasonality' be avoided. Maintaining the proper staffing can be difficult.

Craziest story resulting from owning a business: It has to do with someone asking to use the rest room 'for just one moment'. I can't possibly sanitize this story for you, so going any further is a little difficult.

Favorite Clinton Hill Hangout: My favorite restaurant is Zaytoons, those guys make some good schwarma!

What do you hope opens in the neighborhood? A Belgian mussel joint. They always have the best beers . . . and with a pot of moules - they're perfect.

Pookiellama Report: Local Sauce

Perhaps you've noticed the bearded man sitting at the northern end ofthe Fort Greene Farmer's Market, a respectful distance from the "legal" merchants, these past two Saturdays. Perhaps, like me, you at first didn't wander over to see what he was hawking in case it was, say, a self-published novel or something equally scary. But hopefully curiosity (or, in my case, a curious husband) won out, and you walked over. Cause if you didn't, you missed out on this:

Homemade, limited-edition, organic hot sauce, brewed right under our noses on Hall Street by local artist Matt Miller.

Matt moved to Clinton Hill in August 2000, to attend grad school at Pratt, and has been making hot sauce for the past three summers from peppers that he grows himself. He began with a small batch of only 94 bottles - made with peppers grown from seeds from "crappy Associated scotch bonnet peppers" - which he gave to family and friends and sold at work. He now makes two or three different small batches a year. Starting with a "general idea of the basics of how a hot sauce is made", he trawled web sites to see what other hot sauce brewers were up to, and eventually settled on his own formula. He wanted his sauce to be "natural, and made with high-quality ingredients". Matt, who names El Yucateo and Cholula as among his favorite commercial hot sauces, works mainly on his own, aided and supported by his girlfriend, family, friends, and "a team of Oompa Loompas (for Packaging and Quality Control)."

To come up with a name and logo for his creation, Matt explains, "First I thought of the hottest object in the universe, and then translated it into Flanders-speak. Next I photographed a sculpture I made from some peppers I grew, to get the logo. I guess I wanted people to get a chuckle out of the packaging too."

Matt had two varieties of hot sauce for sale the weekend that I ran into him at the Market. One was lighter, with a citrus flavor, and one was smokier and a bit spicier. Both are excellent - they have tons of flavor, not just heat. Devil's Doodad will keep for up to a year in the fridge.

Will the Devil's Doodad empire expand? Matt says it mainly depends on how his pepper crop does each year. At this point he only sells his sauce at the Fort Greene Farmer's Market and at his job, and doesn't turn a profit, though he breaks even.

Matt will likely be at the Farmer's Market again this Saturday, though he says his supplies are running low.... So get there early if you want the Doodad! You can also send him an email, with "hot sauce" in the subject line if you would like to reserve a bottle or get on the hot sauce mailing list that he is setting up.

This post contributed by hey mama.

Eight Wheels on the Hill

A month or so ago, I ran into a hyper group of girls enjoying some beers at Rope on Myrtle. We were introduced and they told me they had just been rollerskating.

Rollerskating! In the neighborhood!

They were serious, and serious about bringing back the fine art of moving along atop eight wheels. They call their group Sweet Action Skate Club.

For now, skating happens every Thursday. The ladies roll through Fort Greene Park for a little while, an then head to Rope (sans skates after an accident detailed below). Occasional field trips and gatherings are scheduled throughout the week.

Any woman can join, but no boys allowed. They should feel free, however, to start a men's auxillary!

Here's an interview with the club's two founders, Abby Synth and Our Lady Mess (those are their skate names).

1. So... rollerskating. Is this a new hobby for you?

OLM: yes & no. like all 20something year old women, i skated a lot when i was little. i bought my skates in the summer of 1998. I was 19, a total trouble maker & just skated around the east village w/ my friend - on sidewalks, knocking boys down. i skated to work & on the subway then too. i was much braver at the time. i hadn’t really skated in years before SASC.

AS: Like the Mess says, yes and no. I skated all the time as a kid (some of my fondest memories are of roller rink birthday parties) but had not laced up in at least ten years. I was happy to discover that it only took a few minutes to feel right at home in the skates again and it was like I had never stopped (although my ass muscles begged to differ the next day).

2. How did Sweet Action come about? And while I'm at it, where's that catchy name from?

OLS: i was apartment hunting and a friend of abby synth's was looking for a roommate. when she was showing me the closet space, i saw her skates, and thought yes! finally! a huge reason why i wasnt skating was because i didnt have anyone else to skate with. and it's not like bicycling, in that it's not utilitarian at all. skating is just for fun, and frankly, it's not that fun to do alone.

AS: I think it was kind of a case of both of us being in the right mindset at the right time. I had been talking about rollerskating and my interest in derby to anybody who would listen, and Mess was the first person who got as excited about rollerskating as I was (most people would just nod and change the subject). Soon after, visions of tube socks began dancing in my head. The rest is history.

OLM: every girl we spoke to was interested. at the beginning it was just me & synth and we spent a lot of drunken evenings formulating the "rules" and the "dress code." at first, abby was just really excited about color coordinated outfits. but we took it very seriously. and we were at Rope one day and she said, have you ever tried Six Point Sweet Action? and I said, no, but when i tried it, it was obviously quite inspiring. that was the first night of skate club, when it was just the two of us. we drank a lot of sweet action that night. maybe we'll get some corporate sponsorship someday from Six Point.

AS: I would also like to point out that while Mess likes to mock my minor obession with the stripey tube socks, she can get right down off her short skirted high horse. I am not only one for whom a big part of SASC's appeal is the chance to dress in cute outfits.

3. Do people actually own rollerskates? OLM: yes. although, a few skate club members bought skates especially for skate club. and i bought a second pair after my accident.

4. Membership: who's allowed in? OLM: women only. but all women are welcome. we have quite a variety of girls right now. a few are mothers, and two are in a band together. the majority of us are tattooed. someone on the GGRD forums wanted to know if men were welcome, and i had to say, sorry, no.

a huge part of skate club is women hanging out w/ other women in a non-competitive, non-shopping kind of way. what do girls normally do together? if it's anything athletic, it's usually competitve, and that kind of sucks. plus, at the time we started skate club, synth and i were in a place where we just needed to surround ourselves with a female support system.

but ALL women in our age group have fond memories of skating as girls, and i really wanted to tap into that mindset. i just wanted to bring back that really free feeling of hanging out with your girlfriends and having fun in a way that doesn’t include boys. but dont get me wrong, we can't keep boys away from skate girls. i think it's physically impossible for men not to look at girls in skirts & tube socks on 8 wheels.

5. Give me five adjectives that describe SASC: OLM: brave, cute, serious, trouble, fun

AS: tough, smart, independent, cute, and of course stylish

6. How many people skate with the club now? OLM: about 10. i get a few emails each week, so i imagine it will keep growing. a few girls are interested in trying out for roller derby next season and just want to get their "skate legs" back.

7. Are most skaters from Clinton Hill? OLM: most yes. but we have a few from park slope & other parts of brooklyn. and we have a chapter in DC that my friend Rachel aka Kitten Kong started after i dragged her to Modell's a few weekends ago when she was visiting Brooklyn.

8. Worst injury while skating? OLM: ha! there are a few pics up on the website & synth was keeping an injury log for a while. synth wiped out and landed with her entire body weight on her elbows, which was not fun for her. but it left a wicked perfectly circular bruise around her elbow. and Jamie (aka Tiger Baby) wiped out on the hill in Ft Greene Park and shredded the back of her thighs. those were actual skating injuries, though.

i fell during a post-skate drink at Rope. i was totally showing off, trying to perfect a new manuever and i just wiped out. Concrete+metal furniture = lots of blood. i got taken out of the bar in an ambulance. it was pretty hardcore i have to say. i have a nice scar on my knee.

9. What's up with the skate names? OLM: well, that's really a derby thing. and the derby girls go for the more hardcore names. like, Helen Highwater & Louisa May Bloodclot clearly have derby in mind. mine is from my inability to pronounce my name when i was a little girl. instead of "Marisa" i used to say "Messa" and I when I was visiting my family earlier this summer, one of my cousins kept calling me Messa, or Mess for short.

10. What do you hope for the club? OLM: we have a few goals. i think most of our short term goals have been fulfilled. we really just wanted to find other girls to skate with, so we can check that off our list.

AS: I think we both agree that one of the goals for SASC is for it to be a self contained, self motivated unit. We'd love it if SASC became established to the point where women know that if they want to rollerskate, they can just head over to the park on Thursday nights and there will be kindred spirits there. When it was just the two of us, of course we'd meet at The Mess's place first, but we're hoping it will eventually get to the point where skate club meetings happen whether we're there organizing it or not. I am really blown away by the great response we've gotten from just word of mouth online.

OLM: now it's about spreading the word. setting up SASC was suprisingly easy. it really only took the effort of word of mouth & setting up a blog that our friends linked to & posting about it on the GGRD forum. but i'd like to see other neighborhoods in brooklyn, and other cities, forming their own skate clubs.

i like that we take "field trips" as a club, and i'd really like to start having SASC-sponsored skating events. i think all of us are really excited at the prospect of tricks, disco & derby.

AS: I second the 'field trips' idea as well -- we've talked a lot about going to Empire as a group or taking lessons at the Roxy. The point of skate club isn't competition, but it's nice to be surrounded by people inspiring you to improve your skills. Personally, I'd like to learn some roller disco moves.