Brooklyn Women’s Exchange celebrates 160 years
Handmade Brooklyn crafts are booming
Before Etsy, there was the Brooklyn Women’s Exchange.
The cozy shop, which houses the oldest continuously-operated women’s charitable organization in Brooklyn, celebrated its 160th Anniversary on Monday.
Volunteers, crafters and local dignitaries packed into the storefront at 55 Pierrepont Street in Brooklyn Heights, snacked on hors d’oeuvres and applauded a proclamation from Borough President Eric Adams, who was unable to attend, which acknowledged the institution’s importance to the history of Brooklyn.
Founded in 1854, the Brooklyn Women’s Exchange – known as the Brooklyn Female Employment Society at that time — provides a venue for the sales of gifts made in the American hand-craft tradition. The shop, staffed by volunteers, assists those who are elderly, handicapped or of limited income by providing space to display and sell their handmade items.