In the Back Rooms of Brooklyn's Boutiques

Today the New York Times takes a behind-the-scenes look at what it’s like to run one of the “new generation of mom and pops that has thrived in regentrified Brooklyn.” This means places like the oddities antique shop Holler and Squall, Smith Street clothing boutique Epaulet, and popular cafe One Girl Cookie, which just expanded to Dumbo, above. (Flea fave Red Hook Lobster Pound also gets a shout out.) All these businesses are run by a husband-and-wife team, who share the trials and tribulations of ownership. Some relationships, like that of Ralph Gorham and Susan Povich of the Lobster Pound, struggle under the constant shoptalk of the business. Michele Pravda and Patrick Watson, owners of Stinky Bklyn and other Cobble Hill joints, found a balance after Pravada stepped back from the business after she had a child. So are these “co-preneurials,” as the Times calls them, living the Brooklyn dream? Maybe, but one thing is clear: No matter how cute the merchandise, 80-hour workweeks are the norm.
And the Boutique Makes Three [NY Times]