Alison Stewart: This is All Of It on WNYC. I'm Alison Stewart. On the way, we want to hear about the way you are giving back this holiday season through charitable works, so get ready to call in in about 30 minutes. We also have some great conversations slated for this week. Tomorrow we'll speak about the New York Times article, Is Gen X Actually the Greatest Generation? You're going to get to call in and shout out your favorite contributions from this cohort, of which, full disclosure, I am a member.

On Wednesday, we'll hear a live in-studio performance from singer-songwriter Jay Som. On Thursday, we'll talk about The History of Money with author David McWilliams. Speaking of money, let's get this hour started with shopping in Brooklyn.

[music]

Alison Stewart: It is the gift-giving season. We have Hanukkah coming up, Christmas, St. Lucia's Day, Kwanzaa, Three Kings' Day, or this is simply a time to say, I just want to show you some love this winter. To help us through our shopping season is Caroline Weaver, the author of The Locavore Guide to Shopping NYC. She's our ride-along for our series, Go Local, a guide to keeping your money in the community during the holiday season. You can follow Caroline on our Instagram and TikTok, @thelocavorenyc, and visit her establishment, The Locavore Variety Store in the village.

Each Monday, Caroline is going to join us to shout out some favorites in the five boroughs. We've tackled Staten Island and Manhattan. Today, we are headed to the most populous borough: Brooklyn. From Bed-Stuy to Cobble Hill, from Bushwick to Boerum Hill. We are talking about stores in Brooklyn where you can get a great gift. Listeners, get ready to call in. Do you have a store you want to shout out that is in Brooklyn, a place you go to get a gift or something special, food, toys, jewelry? Maybe you've gotten a gift there. We're asking you to recommend your favorite place. Our phone lines are wide open. The number is 212-433-9692, 212-433-WNYC.

We are asking that you don't shout out your own business. Brian Lehrer, he does that on Tuesday. We're asking you for your favorite place to spend your money. Our number is 212-433-9692. Caroline, welcome back to the studio.

Caroline Weaver: Happy to be here.

Alison Stewart: I wanted to start by asking you. You have a business, you deal with business. What have you noticed about gift-giving thus far for 2025?

Caroline Weaver: This year definitely looks a little bit different. I think that there's some consumer anxiety about availability, especially in the wake of this big, bad tariff conversation. In my store and many of the shop owners I've spoken to, they are telling me that shoppers have started earlier. In my store alone, our sales this time of the year are up 60% over last year, which is a startling number. I think shoppers are being more strategic. They're being more organized. They are starting earlier, which this is all music to my ears as a shopkeeper. I hope it stays like this.

Alison Stewart: [laughs] All right. We broke this up into categories because Brooklyn is so big. We'll go through our categories, and if we have some time left over, we'll talk about other stuff as well. Nature lovers. Let's say you have a nature lover in your house, a city mouse, country mouse kind of person. You say send them to Tula House in Greenpoint. Who is this store for?

Caroline Weaver: Tula House is a really cool plant shop that is really built for people who understand plants. They even have drains in their floor so they can just like water everything.

Alison Stewart: [laughs]

Caroline Weaver: They have amazing, often handmade, locally made pottery to put your plants in. They offer plant rehabilitation services. It is owned by a couple named Christan and Ivan. They started as a truck in 2016 and have grown into this very modern plant shop. What I like about it is that it's great for people who know a lot about plants. You can find really special types there, but it's also for people who know nothing. If you are buying a gift for somebody who loves the outdoors, who loves plants, you can be sure that you can go there and find something that's not going to annoy them or drive them crazy. Something really thoughtful and wonderful for their home.

Alison Stewart: I read, also, on their website, they have the Tula lifestyle. You're not necessarily ready for a plant commitment. What can I find that's sort of plant adjacent at the store?

Caroline Weaver: They have all sorts of books and home goods as well. They have scented things that smell like nature. They have tools to help you with your plants if you are new to them. First of all, their branding is amazing. It's so colorful and poppy. Especially if you are a new plant person, they have a great product that comes in a spray bottle for deterring flies and all the little pests that you get in your home window setup.

Alison Stewart: Sounds like they have everything for people who are really into plants.

Caroline Weaver: Yes, or people who want to be into plants or people who know nothing about plants. It's really a plant store for everybody, which is a rare thing, I think.

Alison Stewart: That is called Tula House in Greenpoint. Upstate Stock in Williamsburg. On its website, it says, "Upstate Stock is a unique company founded on the belief that New York State's long tradition of manufacturing is far from dead." How does that shape what you'll find at Upstate Stock?

Caroline Weaver: Upstate Stock is a brand that manufactures mostly-- well, not mostly. They have candles. They have incense. They have amazing knitwear. You can get fingerless gloves. You can get mittens. You can get gorgeous hats, blankets, all of this knitwear that is made right here. The shop itself is now independently run, though they do sell the entire range of Upstate Stock products. It feels very organic and natural when you're in there. They have tons of provisions. I think it's a great place to put together your own gift basket.

Alison Stewart: Oh, that's a good idea.

Caroline Weaver: Yes. They have amazing health and beauty products. They have lots of pantry things, spices, snacks. They have all of the wonderful knitwear that they manufacture, and you can find it all there. It's great for your friend who has a house upstate to stock their bathrooms or to give them new things to keep them warm in the winter. It's a wonderful place.

Alison Stewart: That is Upstate Stock in Williamsburg. Let's go to calls. Let's go to Earl, who is calling in from Brooklyn. Hey, Earl, thanks for taking the time to call All Of It.

Earl: Hey, how are you? How you doing?

Alison Stewart: Doing great.

Earl: I'm not really a shopper. I don't know if that'll really help you or not, but I went to this incredible event at this place called Awesome Brooklyn on Flatbush between Fenimore and Hawthorne, I believe, by a lot of other places. It's incredible. They have everything you could possibly want. I saw stuff for my kids. I saw stuff for my mom. I saw stuff for my homies. It has candles, cards, furniture, records, books, and an incredible backyard. It's just like a great space to shop. That's my take on shopping when I have to do it.

Alison Stewart: [chuckles] Okay, Earl, we appreciate it. Have you heard of Awesome Brooklyn before?

Caroline Weaver: Oh, yes. It's a really wonderful gift shop, where, you're right, they really do have something for everybody. It is perfect for a shopper like Earl, who doesn't necessarily want to shop, but wants to just get everything in one place and really nail their gifts.

Alison Stewart: Let's talk to Lily from Sunset Park. Hi, Lily. Thanks for taking the time to call All Of It. What do you have for us?

Lily: Thank you for taking my call. I want to talk about one of my favorite stories in Brooklyn.

Alison Stewart: Oh, Lily, you know what? I'm going to put you on hold because you're going in and out. I'm going to ask you to find a spot and stay there, and I promise we'll come back to you, okay? Let's talk to Joanie in Bay Ridge. Hey, Joanie, thanks for calling All Of It.

Joanie: Oh, Alison, thank you very much. I'd like to recommend this cute little boutique in Bay Ridge called Charmed. It's owned by three lifelong friends. It's been around for about 13 years. They've been so successful. They've recently expanded. They sell jewelry and hand beds and candles and pajamas and sweaters. It's a cute little shop on 83rd Street and 3rd Avenue, the big shopping street in Bay Ridge.

Alison Stewart: Love it. Thank you so much for calling in. This text says, "Community Bookstore and Terrace Books in Park Slope and Windsor Terrace. They have the best curated selection for adults' and kids' book, and the booksellers are all incredibly knowledgeable and helpful." Are you familiar?

Caroline Weaver: Oh, yes, I am. They are really wonderful bookstores. I think there's something to be said for a bookstore that really edits their selection so you're not overwhelmed.

Alison Stewart: Today, we're talking about Brooklyn. Listeners, call in. Do you have a store that you want to shout out in Brooklyn, a place you go to get a gift or something special, food, toys, jewelry, or maybe you got a gift from the store and you want to tell everybody about it? We're asking you to recommend your favorite store in Brooklyn. Our number is 212-433-9692, 212-433-WNYC. It's part of our Go Local series. We're asking you to keep your money in our community. My guest is Caroline Weaver, the author of The Locavore Guide to Shopping NYC. She's our ride-along for Go Local.

Let's go to creatives. We have a lot of folks who are creative who listen to this show. You suggest Photodom. Am I saying that right?

Caroline Weaver: Yes, that is correct.

Alison Stewart: It's in Bushwick. I'm going to let you explain this place. It really looks so cool.

Caroline Weaver: Yes. Film cameras are having a moment in the zeitgeist of creative tools. This store was founded by Dominick Lewis, who is a Brooklyn native. He started it as a sort of merch brand for people who love film photography and grew it into a small store, I think, on the third floor of a building. Earlier this year, he expanded to this enormous storefront on the ground level in Bushwick. He creates a really great access point for people who are new to film photography. You can rent studio space, you can rent cameras to test out, and you can get your film developed.

For people who love this stuff, it's a great place to shop for gifts because he has his own line of film with different color treatments, and they come in really well-designed packaging, and they're under $20 for the most part. It's a really cool gift for somebody who loves film photography. You don't have to know anything about it yourself.

Alison Stewart: Oh, that's so interesting. You're talking about not digital film, like Ilford film.

Caroline Weaver: Yes.

Alison Stewart: That's amazing. I don't know if you know this or not. Does he have developing on site?

Caroline Weaver: Yes, you can get your film developed there as well.

Alison Stewart: Oh, that has got to be really exciting. I don't want me to shout them out, but I think they have an event there tomorrow, so people should check out their website. I don't want to blow them up, but I think they do have events throughout the year.

Caroline Weaver: Oh, yes, they have multiple events every week. I think it's about 1,500 square feet, this store. It's quite big. It's very much a community hub for the film photography community.

Alison Stewart: All right. We got Lily back. Lily from Sunset Park, fingers crossed, we can hear you.

Lily: [chuckles] I'm back. Thank you so much for trying again. I appreciate it.

Alison Stewart: No problem. What do you want to shout out?

Lily: I wanted to shout out Drama Club in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. It's a really great store. Has men's and women's clothing, accessories, and stuff for the home, as well as vintage. I worked for Bird Brooklyn. Not sure some of your listeners might remember it for about 15 years with--

Alison Stewart: Oh, yes.

Lily: Jack, who owns Drama Club, opened his own store. He and I worked there forever together. It's just a wonderful store. It's really community-based, and they've just got stuff for everybody. It's a really wonderful place to shop.

Alison Stewart: Thank you so much for calling in. Let's talk to Judith, who is calling in from Bed-Stuy. Hi, Judith, thanks for calling All Of It. What do you want to shout out in Brooklyn?

Judith: Oh, Alison, thank you for taking my call. I'm so thrilled. I'd like to shout out Green in BKLYN. It's on Myrtle Avenue, just at the intersection of Clinton and Myrtle. It's next to Citibank. It's a woman-owned boutique that focuses on ecological goods. It's a refill station. She has amazing jewelry; she has amazing gifts. I've been in the store when people have come in just to browse, and they always leave with something. She supports a lot of local businesses, and she emphasizes women-owned businesses as well. Everyone who works there is super helpful and wonderful, and it's just a great nugget in our neighborhood.

Alison Stewart: Thank you so much for calling in. Caroline, I want to get back to creatives here. You have Brooklyn Craft Company in Greenpoint. Now, is this for kids or is this for adults?

Caroline Weaver: It's for everybody.

Alison Stewart: [laughs]

Caroline Weaver: I personally am a crafter. I love all sorts of crafts, especially fiber arts. Craft stores are really lacking in the world of independent retail. You have to have a lot of knowledge to run a craft supply store. Brooklyn Craft Company is run by Carolyn, and she has an amazing selection of fabrics and yarns, and things for people who know how to do this stuff. For gifting, they have an incredible selection of kits. If you know somebody who wants to get into cross stitching or punch needle or crocheting, there is something for you there. They also offer lots of classes, which is nice. You can gift somebody a class.

Alison Stewart: A lot of time I think of classes, I think of like sewing or knitting, and it's things for myself. Looking at their classes, they have things for your home you can make as well, pillows and stuff?

Caroline Weaver: Yes. Actually, practical things. They even do felted pets, which I think is so much fun. Felting is surprisingly easy and very enjoyable.

Alison Stewart: All right, I want to ask this question about a little store versus a big box store because we know what the big box craft stores are. What is the difference in terms of shopping at a little store like Brooklyn Craft, which is great, versus shopping at a big box store? Can you make a case for shopping at the little guy?

Caroline Weaver: Oh, yes. When you're shopping at a big store, you are also paying for their marketing budget. You are paying for them to pay out their shareholders. Those prices are inflated because they have all these other enormous expenses in order to operate the way that a big box store does. If you're buying something that costs you $20, that product costs less than $5 to make. Whereas when you're shopping at Brooklyn Craft Company, they don't have a marketing budget. They are selling the things that they sell at fair prices.

That $20 craft kit that you're buying costs a lot more to make, and you're getting better quality for what you are buying. It's more honest pricing. These big stores can offer these huge black Friday sales and these huge 30 to 50% off sales because they bake that into their margins, to begin with. In some ways, you're kind of being tricked into thinking you're getting a good deal when really you're probably paying what you should have been paying in the first place.

Alison Stewart: This text says, "The coolest new record store opened in Dumbo, Vinyl and Thread, which has the best curated vinyl as well as artistic and avant-garde clothes. It's in a garage. I went nuts when I wandered in. It is on J Street." Thanks for the tip. Let's go to Jennifer, who's calling in from Manhattan. Hi, Jennifer, thanks for calling All Of It.

Jennifer: Thanks for having me. I stumbled upon a shop in Brooklyn in Red Hook called-- I believe it's pronounced APOTHEKE. It is a candle and home fragrance store. Also, you can make your own candles there. I bought a couple of their candles because the smells were so unique, but also so rich. I burned one, and I use a candle warmer on another, and everyone who's been in my apartment has asked me, "Where is that from? Where can I get it?" Everyone in there is just so nice and easy to work with, and it's fun to make your own candle, too.

Alison Stewart: That sounds like a lot of fun. You know it?

Caroline Weaver: Oh, yes. It's in this stretch of industrial buildings.

Alison Stewart: I know exactly where it is.

Caroline Weaver: It's facing the water. It's beautiful. I'd also like to shout out, there's another fragrance company in that same stretch called Joya Studios, and they do a lot of amazing artist collabs and a great collab with A24 Films. You can get movie genre-themed candles.

Alison Stewart: That sounds fun.

Caroline Weaver: Yes.

Alison Stewart: After the break, we'll talk about kids, little kids, where to go to get your cool teen. Something I need to know about that, and something to give the in-laws. Stay with us.

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Alison Stewart: You are listening to All Of It on WNYC. I'm Alison Stewart. My guest is Caroline Weaver, the author of The Locavore Guide to Shopping NYC. She's our ride-along for our series, Go Local, a guide to keeping your money in the community during this holiday season. Today, we are talking about Brooklyn. Call in, tell us your favorite place to spend money and pick up a gift in Brooklyn. Our number is 212-433-9692, 212-433-WNYC.

Let me read a couple of texts here. This says, "In Park Slope, Lumiere, 7th and 4th Street. Cool gifts and beautifully curated jewelry." This one says, "Prema Yoga in Clinton Hill on Fulton Street and Grand Street. It's a yoga studio, but they have a storefront with the most unbelievable selection of beauty products, candles, books, and jewelry. Also, R&D Goods on Vanderbilt and Prospect Heights. Beautiful homeware, candles, and cookbooks."

All right, let's talk kids. Little Green in Park Slope. On its Instagram, it says, "It's for the next generation of cool kids. What do cool kids want?

[laughter]

Caroline Weaver: This store is so colorful and quirky and fun to shop in, even for an adult. They sell a lot of, for lack of a better term, more sustainable toys. You can find beautiful wooden toys. You can buy plastic toy trucks that are made from recycled materials. They have this doll who is an activist. She's so cute, and she's got her little sign and her buttons on her jacket. It's adorable. It's a really interesting kids' store with a lot of brands I've never seen before.

Alison Stewart: The next one you have is Pizzazzz in Cobble Hill. One review of this place says, "These folks know what they're doing."

Caroline Weaver: It's a very serious toy store. It is packed full of stuff. It's two storefronts. One is toys, and one is kids. It's great for little stocking stuffers. You can get like a mini Etch a Sketch. You can get cool sticker books. It's a very classic toy store. You can expect to find all the big brands, big and small gifts. It's really a one-stop shop.

Alison Stewart: I wanted to ask you about-- I saw it has all great reviews, and there's one review on there that was, I think we should point out, it was about stock. I think we need to talk about little stores versus big stores, the kind of stock that they hold on to, because this person was fairly upset that they didn't have what she wanted. It's a small store, right?

Caroline Weaver: Yes. It's really hard for independent retailers to keep everything in stock because they simply don't have the space. They are really good at reading their customers, knowing what time of year people want certain things. You just can't expect them to have everything in stock all the time like a big box store is. There's also an availability issue where bigger manufacturers, this is very much true in the world of toys, they tend to favor their accounts who buy larger quantities. If there is a scarce toy product during a holiday season, it is much harder for a smaller store to get that inventory than it is for a bigger one because they're at the bottom of the food chain.

Alison Stewart: Let's talk to Judy. Judy's calling from Brooklyn. Hi, Judy, thanks for calling All Of It.

Judy: Hi. A handmade chocolate store on Avenue R between Nostrand and East 29th Street. They've been selling for at least 60, 70 years. Everything is handmade. They also ship around the country. My go-to purchase that I have to bring anytime we have a family function is dark chocolate almond bark. One year, I didn't bring it, and I never heard the end of it.

[laughter]

Alison Stewart: Judy, quick question from you. What's the name of the store again? I didn't think I heard you the first time.

Judy: Jo, J-O, Mart. I think the owner was Martin, M-A-R-T. JoMart on Avenue R.

Alison Stewart: Thank you so much for calling in. Are you familiar with JoMart?

Caroline Weaver: Oh, yes. JoMart is in my guidebook. The barks are really great. I agree.

Alison Stewart: Let's talk to Mac from Brooklyn. Hi, Mac, thanks for calling All Of It.

Mac: Hey, how you doing?

Alison Stewart: Doing great.

Mac: It's not really a store, but I have a shout-out for something called TeamWRK, which is a running club. Black-owned Brooklyn-based running club. You can buy different subscriptions, like Coach Joe and Coach Jen. Like if you want to run a marathon, it can help you with a full training plan, or you buy a different subscription for just the meetups and the weekly runs. It's Brooklyn-based. TeamWRK. It's T-E-A-M-W-R-K. It's also an awesome family.

Alison Stewart: Ah, love that part of it, too. Thanks for calling, Mac. All right, we're hitting the cool teens part of it, and I am paying a lot of attention because I got a cool teen, and I want to know where I should go. You said SEED in Brooklyn in Bed-Stuy. What kind of fits are we looking for here?

Caroline Weaver: Ooh, SEED. This is probably the most intimidating shop category of them all.

Alison Stewart: It is. [laughs] It's so funny you should say that because I was researching, I'm like, "I don't know if I can go in these stores."

Caroline Weaver: Even the coolest stores are staffed with usually very friendly people who are there to help you. They can tell you how to impress your teen.

Alison Stewart: Okay, good.

Caroline Weaver: The SEED Brklyn is an amazing concept store. They have a cafe and a greenhouse. They sell books, but they especially sell clothing for your hypebeast teen. This is where you want to go. They have Telfar bags. They have whatever the latest Carhartt collaboration is. I saw online, they have a Jean-Michel Basquiat Funko toy. You know those toys with the big heads?

Alison Stewart: Oh, yes.

Caroline Weaver: They have a Basquiat one, which I think is so cool. Go in there blind, ask for help. They will know how to steer you.

Alison Stewart: Actually, somebody just wrote in, "SEED in Bed-Stuy is a cafe, fashion hub, event space, lifestyle shop. Visiting the store is an experience in itself, as a general shop local gift. I like to give teachers gift cards to coffee shops near school, support the hyper-local community, and let teachers get themselves a little treat in the neighborhood they spend a lot of time in, but might not know well." That's a really good suggestion.

All right, let's talk about another store that I might be afraid to go into. Tangerine in Williamsburg. This is for the fashion girlies in your life. It's got a very specific aesthetic. How would you describe it?

Caroline Weaver: It's very minimal. It's very fashion-forward, and it is, of course, very cool. It was founded by two women who have their own respective made in New York City brands.

Alison Stewart: Cool.

Caroline Weaver: Nu Swim, which is a swimwear line, and Coming of Age, which is a fashion brand that currently has this amazing pair of gingham silk mittens. I would love to be wearing those while I'm on my bike. You can find not just clothes there. You can get great accessories, really fancy hair clips, and ruffly scrunchies by local designers. You can find even bags of amazing matcha and little skincare bits and bobs. It is another type of store where the people who work there really live this lifestyle and can steer you in the right direction.

Alison Stewart: I was going to ask because I was on their website and I noticed things that were very, very spendy and then things which were really affordable, like $3 sponges or $8 creams. Why do stores have such big price ranges?

Caroline Weaver: Most stores are trying to appeal to the widest possible audience. They know that if they're selling you a beautiful under $10 Japanese sponge that you'll come back for every couple of months, that when you are ready to spend $400 on a dress, that will be the first place you go, and I think that's what's great about independent retail is that they're so often thinking about their entire audience and not just that one customer to spend the most money.

Alison Stewart: We've got a text here that says, I love this store, "peace & RIOT on Tompkins in Bed-Stuy has creative and fun gifts for all ages and all prices. Next door is Mommy and Papi, which is also a super cute toy store indoors as well." Let's go to Steve, who's calling in from Westchester. Hey, Steve, thanks for calling All Of It. You're on the air.

Steve: Hi. Thank you. My favorite store is somewhat arcane, but there are plenty of us out there and plenty of people to buy it for. It's a woodworking supply store, not a lumberyard, at 112 26th Street, just off 4th Avenue under the elevated highway in Brooklyn. They have every tool your great-grandfather would have wanted to have if he touched wood at all sorts of price ranges. They have chisels, they have saws, they have back saws. They even have a foot-operated lathe. It's a small family business, as large as it may be. It's a great place. They know what you need. All you have to do is speak to them. They'll help you.

Alison Stewart: Thank you so much. You're getting two big thumbs up.

Caroline Weaver: He's talking about tools for working wood, which is one of the most special shops in New York City. It is owned by Joel Moskowitz. I made a video about it for TikTok and Instagram. He manufactures many of these tools on site, and they are historically informed woodworking tools. He studies old books to find these tools, and he resurrects them and manufactures them. They are stunning, and they are shockingly well-priced, considering that they are handmade in Brooklyn.

Alison Stewart: We are talking to Caroline Weaver, the author of The Locavore Guide to Shopping NYC. She's our ride-along for our series, Go Local, a guide to keeping your money in the community during this holiday season. Today, we are talking about Brooklyn. Do you have a store that you want to shout out in Brooklyn, food, jewelry, toys? Give us a call. 212-433-9692, 212-433-WNYC. We also want to mention that this segment, there will be transcripts up on our website for these segments, so don't feel like you have to write everything down, everything we say or everything we talk about. You can catch up a little bit later.

All right, your babysitter. Everybody has a babysitter you call at the last minute who can stay a little bit longer if you need them to. You want to just give them a little bit of an extra gift. You suggest The WonderMart on India Street in Brooklyn and Greenpoint. WonderMart could mean so many things. What does WonderMart mean?

Caroline Weaver: It is a tiny store that just sells wonderful things. It is owned by a woman named Perri, who is so passionate about sourcing unique products that are made by New York City and New York State-based makers. It is all independent makers. She always has an amazing selection of ceramics, specifically. Not just little mugs and espresso cups, but objects as well. It's a lot of home things. There are things for kids. If you want something small that's under, say, $75 or $50, and you want something unique, this is a good place to go if you're just kind of looking to see what's out there.

Alison Stewart: This might be my favorite place that you have mentioned. I can't believe I've never been here. Leroy's Place. Leroy's has a very '80s, early '90s vibe, sort of Pee-wee Playhouse-like. What can a person get at Leroy's?

Caroline Weaver: Oh, this is such a cool store. It's in Park Slope, and it is full of art and toys. They have hand-painted pet rocks. I've been told one of their most popular products is this plush thing called a pocket slug. That's this adorable plush slug that is truly a work of art. They have this corner of the store that they call the faux dega. It looks like a bodega, but it's all food-related items. You can get those old school chatter teeth that you wind up. Also, really cool educational things like sun prints, which you put in the sun and it bleaches plant prints onto paper.

Alison Stewart: Oh, that's so cool.

Caroline Weaver: It's a really special shop. They even have a whole shelf of hand-painted wooden VHS tapes. They look like VHS tapes, but they're just hand-painted pieces of wood.

Alison Stewart: There is a video of them describing their store online. If you haven't seen it, you should go watch it. It's hard to hear ,but we pulled about 19 seconds of it to play for people. This is Leroy's Place.

Speaker 8: Hey, did you guys see this floof in a house?

Speaker 9: Boo. Thumb hats.

Speaker 10: Bargain jar.

Speaker 9: This kooky rat wacky wiggler?

Speaker 11: My friend likes '90s hip hop and seasonings.

Speaker 12: How about these?

Speaker 11: Salt and pepper? Salt and pepper shaker?

Alison Stewart: Salt and pepper. Salt and pepper shakers. Nuff said. Nuff said.

Caroline Weaver: [laughs]

Alison Stewart: Let's talk about pets. Sometimes our pets need love, too. MR. FRIENDLY in Bed-Stuy. What's special about MR. FRIENDLY?

Caroline Weaver: Oh, MR. FRIENDLY is a very modern pet store. It's the least overwhelming pet store I've ever been in. It's very well merchandised. The thing that they do that is unique is that they have their own line of collars and leashes.

Alison Stewart: The leashes look awesome.

Caroline Weaver: They're awesome. They're locally made. Their branding is this specific smiley face, and they're these checkered, colorful, smiley leashes. They're so much fun. I haven't been there this Christmas season, but last year, they had this incredible display of decorated Christmas ornament dog toy, an entire wall. It was really, really fun.

Alison Stewart: You also mentioned Gone to the Dogs. This reviewer said, "Yes, I was dragged into the store by my dog and enticed by the extremely cute Boba tea stuffed toy in the window. Do I regret the decision? Absolutely not." What can I find there?

Caroline Weaver: Oh, they have the cutest toys that are made out of felt. They are fair-trade toys made in Nepal. They do have Boba. They have a bowl of ramen. They're exceptionally detailed and very pretty. You will not feel annoyed by them being scattered on your floor. They also have these gorgeous-- I think they're made in Ghana, these gorgeous woven basket pet beds. They're very stylish.

Alison Stewart: All right. I think we have to wrap soon. Are you looking at me, Kate? Yes. I'm going to give you guest's honor. Shout out any two other stores that we can mention. We could sit here and talk about Brooklyn for an hour, but what else should they mention? What do you think?

Caroline Weaver: Ooh, two more stores. There's a store in Brooklyn Heights on Atlantic Avenue called Art of Play.

Alison Stewart: Oh, it's cool.

Caroline Weaver: It's a really cool store. They started as a playing card company. They make very, very beautiful playing cards. It's great for a host gift for somebody who likes parlor games, or they just want a very stylish game to play when they have a party.

Alison Stewart: I think Analog Stationer. That's a good one, too.

Caroline Weaver: Oh, and new in Prospect Heights is this tiny, tiny little stationery shop with all sorts of pens and very fancy Post-its, great stocking stuffers.

Alison Stewart: Last call. Hank, give us a shout-out, where you want to go in Brooklyn. Hank?

Hank: Hey, Alison. I think the most unusual store in Brooklyn is BikePort. It's right across from the Navy Yard at the corner of Vanderbilt and Flushing. They make custom-made cargo bikes, but they also have a bookshop, and they sell old records.

Alison Stewart: Hank, thanks for the shout-out. We really appreciate it. Caroline Weaver, she's the author of The Locavore Guide to Shopping in NYC. Thank you so much for giving us so many great places that we can check out.

Caroline Weaver: Thank you. I'll see you next week.