RED HOOK — Red Hook will celebrate its local artisans with a holiday shopping “makers” market next month.
“A Red Hook(er) Holiday" will showcase Red Hook’s talented makers, who create everything from homemade salsa and wine to jewelry and wreaths, from 12 p.m. to 8 p.m on Dec. 7.
More than a dozen vendors will be setting up shops and tastings at Atelier Roquette, an event hall at 63 Commerce St., like the Red Hook Winery, Uncouth Vermouth, Sweets & Bitters, wreaths from Saipua and metal work from She-Weld.
“I got the idea because Red Hook is just filled with tons of creative people,” said Monica Byrne, one of the event’s organizers along with the Southwest Brooklyn Industrial Development Corp. and real estate firm Realty Collective.
While bringing more New Yorkers into Red Hook, Byrne also hoped the market would create a platform for makers in the neighborhood, many of whom don’t have their own shops to display their work.
A year ago, residents were aggressively trying to raise money during the holiday season, only a few weeks after Hurricane Sandy had struck.
“It was kind of a dark Christmas year,” Byrne said.
But through their recovery work, Red Hook found ways to celebrate and support one another, and the holiday market is a way to continue helping local businesses, she said.
Along with the holiday market, Realty Collective will be hosting “Discover the Hook,” offering tours of available retail and commercial properties in the neighborhood. They hope to attract renters and buyers to Red Hook “to fill vacant properties along Van Brunt Street and complement the existing mix of great neighborhood businesses,” according to a press release.
The tours will leave from Realty Collective’s 351 Van Brunt St. location at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m.
And look out for a holiday window contest, where local shops and restaurants will be showing their creative sides through window décor.
