The Spirit of Brooklyn

Last night, I invited my good friend Keith out to a talk on the subject of sacred books at the Rubin Museum. While I admittedly am very wary of social media platforms like Facebook, Keith's life practically floats on them. So, there we were waiting to hear about how centuries old religious texts were created and illuminated for the benefit of the masses discussing what medium I may use to produce something of value for the benefit of my online friends. Inevitably, Keith, who's company ITESA just launched the SocialGogo brand to educate ignoramuses like me about social media, brought up Facebook and I immediately went on the defense.

Still, I don't want to make my first authentic post about Facebook vs Twitter vs Google and all the rest. I'd rather write about why I want to blog in the first place. Without a reason, I’m just making more unnecessary noise in cyberspace. So, here’s why: I want to share my experiences with the people I meet on Made in Brooklyn Tours. These people inspire me and, more than that, they inspire my guests. No doubt, my guests go on to inspire their friends and family. It's a beautiful thing. These experiences give my life and hopefully the lives of others meaning. When I'm designing, leading, talking and, yes, even dreaming about my tours I'm very happy and, let’s face it, the world could be a bit happier.

When we take a coffee break on my tours, we meet people like Mike and Jim at the Brooklyn Roasting Company who are dedicated to making coffee green in every possible way. From the Fair Trade, Organic, Rainforest Alliance certified coffees and Loring Kestel 83% fuel efficient coffee roaster to its delivery by way of biodiesel powered vans and bicycles. When we visit an illustrator, we may meet Jane at Foxy & Winston who designs and creates her own line of stationery and textiles using screen printing and letterpress techniques on recycled or cotton paper with water based inks in her cozy little shop on Van Brunt Street. And when we visit a chocolatier, we may visit the brothers Mast who really do make their chocolate from beans to bar, some of it sailed – yes, sailed – directly from the Dominican Republic.

Making anything in Brooklyn is challenging. The tallest building in Brooklyn is a condo. The construction of new residential developments is relentless.  It’s surprising that any real estate is preserved for industry. And the regulations that manufacturers face here are onerous. Yet, if one gets to know Brooklyn as I have, one can find start-ups like the Red Hook Winery making significant investments for the production of wine right here in Brooklyn and others like Pastosa’s Ravioli that have persevered and even thrived for decades. I want to share about the people behind these companies because their story is about the spirit of Brooklyn.