MAKERS’ MARK
By REBECCA PATTON
@BECCAPATTONSAYS
@BECCAPATTONSAYS
The concept of a boutique is nothing new, but a
collaborative storefront, filled with art and products
from local vendors, is a refreshing addition to the
Astoria/Long Island City border.
Boutiqueloo (pronounced boutique
uh-loo) is a new art gallery
shop located on 32nd Street — a
few blocks from the Museum of
the Moving Image. Its colorful
teal exterior and cheery, striped
awning helps convey the fun, creative
spirit of its founders. And inside, it's
been decorated and furnished, eagerly
awaiting both vendors to sell their wares
and customers to buy them.
Boutiqueloo is a wing of Okabaloo Fun-
ArtFaktory right next door at 35-52 32nd
St. Both are owned by Astoria resident Olta
Dokle and her sister, Bora. It's difficult to define
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what exactly Okabaloo FunArtFaktory is,
since it functions as a children's party space,
an art gallery and an art market, among other
purposes.
Okabaloo opened on November 11, 2017,
but it's grown fast. It hosts monthly art markets
for local vendors called NYC Made Market
(previously called Queens Made Market),
and its first one was in May of this year.
Dokle is an artist herself (her sister is a musician)
and she explained that she's currently
experimenting with glass.
“I'm doing upcycling and recycling art
right now, so I'm using jars and bottles,”
Dokle said.
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