Tire(d) of supporting big corporations?
Well, today is Small Business Saturday!
The Brooklyn Museum Shop
From ornaments to limited-edition candles to chocolate, the Brooklyn Museum Shop has partnered with some of our favorite small businesses to stock special finds. Browse our gift-worthy offerings both online and in person.
Did you know that tomorrow is Museum Store Sunday? To celebrate, we’re giving you 30% off the Brooklyn Museum Exclusives Collection and select holiday products through December 2. Rep your local museum and feel good about your purchase, which helps us make the arts accessible to all.
Holiday Market with Brooklyn Pop-Up
Sunday, December 8, and Saturday–Sunday, December 21–22, 11 am–5 pm
Stop by our holiday market, copresented with Brooklyn Pop-Up, to shop one-of-a-kind, handmade items from local artisans and vendors. Selections include artwork, jewelry, fashion, and home and apothecary goods.
The best of Brooklyn: staff recs
Want to show other local shops some love? We asked Brooklyn Museum staff to recommend their favorite small businesses in the borough. Check out the list below. (An asterisk* means it’s close to the Museum!)
Food and drink
*Tom’s Restaurant: If you’re looking for an old-school (cash-only!) Brooklyn diner, this is it. Tom’s Restaurant opened in 1936 on Washington Avenue. Fun fact: author Jeffrey Eugenides wrote part of Middlesex at one of those tables—and the diner is even featured in the novel. Come for the local lore, but stay for the tuna melt and fries. Plus, treat yourself to a classic New York delicacy: the egg cream.
*The Barlow: This watering hole is a staff favorite—the perfect spot for casual happy hour drinks. In the summer, they’ve got frozen piña coladas. And the fries are highly recommended year-round.
*Little Zelda: The cutest little coffee shop you ever did see, located in Crown Heights.
*Branded Saloon: A queer honky-tonk bar with Southern-style snacks.
Brooklyn Tea: This Black-owned bespoke tea shop has super cute vibes. The white peach tea is really good.
Mercado Central: A delightful little store in Gowanus that sells Spanish delicacies like tinned fish, candy, and sauces. (They also have the potato chips featured in Oprah’s Favorite Things.)
Dastarxan Kafe: If you find yourself in Kensington, check out this restaurant that serves traditional Uzbek dishes. Try the lamb shish kebab, shurpa (a stew that’s perfect for brisk weather), manty (similar to dumplings), tandyr (a Central Asian flatbread), and Korean carrot salad (a variation on kimchi, created by Korean communities in Central Asia).
Yun Hai: Started as an online shop during the pandemic, Yun Hai connects people in the U.S. to small farms and food producers in Taiwan. They now have a brick-and-mortar shop in North Brooklyn, stocked with specialty products, ingredients, and flavors that are hard to find outside of Taiwan. (P.S. You can nab Yun Hai products in the Brooklyn Museum Shop!)
Bookstores
*Unnameable Books: One of the best used bookstores in Brooklyn! They’ve got all the fiction, essays, plays, and poetry you could ask for. Plus, you can sell your used books here for store credit or cash.
*The Nonbinarian Bookstore & Book Bike: The Nonbinarian Bookstore began as a mobile project to distribute free queer-authored books; you may have seen their signature pink Book Bike around the borough. Now, the initiative has expanded to a permanent space. It aims to “become the ‘third place’ our community deserves but does not have”: a queer-focused bookstore, a space to connect with like-minded book lovers, and a source for free resources.
Florists and plant shops
Artisan shops
*Franklin’s Makers Market: This adorable shop is full of goods made by Brooklyn artists and craftspeople. Featured artists also rotate taking shifts behind the counter, where you can ask them about the local art community.
Brooklyn Clay Industries: Tucked into a quiet but scenic corner of the Brooklyn Navy Yard, this lovely little studio offers a broad range of ceramic classes and workshops at reasonable prices. It’s been a Brooklyn-based, Black-owned studio for over 20 years. They offer multiweek workshops, one-off classes, and date nights.
Leroy’s Place: Do you have a friend or family member with an amazing sense of humor or wonder? Perhaps you need the perfect white elephant gift? You’ll find something delightful here. There are plenty of artist-made products at a variety of price points.
Brooklyn General Store: This spot has everything for a sewing, knitting, or embroidery enthusiast at any level: fabric and other supplies, starter kits, and handmade products for inspiration. It’s a warm, soothing, welcoming place, where the staff will take time to demonstrate knitting basics to get you started.
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From the top: N. Jay Jaffee. Tire Store (Pennsylvania Ave., Brooklyn), 1955. Gelatin silver print. Brooklyn Museum, Gift of the artist, 79.47.7. © artist or artist’s estate. (Photo: Brooklyn Museum); Brooklyn Museum Shop. (Photo: Adrianna Glaviano); Brooklyn Museum Shop. (Photo: Diana English); Marsden Hartley. Handsome Drinks, 1916. Oil on composition board. Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Milton Lowenthal, 72.3. (Photo: Brooklyn Museum); Suzuki Harunobu. Page from Haru no Nishiki, 1771. Color woodblock print on paper. Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Peter P. Pessutti, 83.190.1. (Photo: Brooklyn Museum); William McGregor Paxton. Girl Arranging Flowers, 1921. Oil on canvas. Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Mrs. William Paxton, 45.157. (Photo: Brooklyn Museum); Félix Vallotton. Le Bon Marché, 1893. Woodcut on wove paper. Brooklyn Museum, Henry L. Batterman Fund, 42.422. (Photo: Brooklyn Museum)
200 Eastern Parkway, Brooklyn, NY 11238
