4
BROOKLYN WEEKLY, JANUARY 26, 2020
BY KEVIN DUGGAN
The Gowanus Souvenir
Shop is set to close
its doors on Jan. 31, when
the shop’s owner said she
will focus on selling her
toxic-waste-themed novelties
online and in select
stores.
“It’s always been more
of a passion project than
a business scheme,” said
Ute Zimmermann. “It’s a
big time burden to have
a storefront and to keep
it stocked. Now we can
focus on doing more fun
things.”
The Union Street store
between Bond and Nevins
streets will remain
open until the end of the
month, when the business
it shares the space
with, the gift shop From
Here to Sunday, will take
it over and continue selling
some of the Zimmermann’s
goods, such as Tshirts
and postcards, she
said.
“They’re going to take
over my half of the space
and will be carrying a lot
of Gowanus products,”
Zimmermann said. “We
hope people will still come
back to the old place.”
They will also continue
to sell their goods at
the Brooklyn Museum’s
gift shop and at Artist
and Craftsman on Second
Street in Park Slope, according
to Zimmermann.
The gift emporium
launched in late 2015 as a
four-month project when
Zimmermann heard that
Proteus Gowanus — a
gallery and reading room
that previously occupied
the space — made a killing
selling postcards
and the artist saw the potential
to sell Gowanusthemed
stuff.
The store became a
treasure trove for ironic
products crafted by neighborhood
makers, including
poison bottles labeled
with toxins found in the
waterway, a puzzle of its
oily surface, a calendar of
Gowanus manufacturing
businesses, local history
books, and other goods
inspired by the neighborhood’s
zany mix of creatives
and toxic waste.
“It started out of my
love for Gowanus and that
it’s such a weird, beautiful,
and nasty mix of
things,” she said.
The artist plans to invest
more time in getting
the goods to other stores
and she wants to partner
with local organizations
The Gowanus Souvenir Shop made a name by selling quirky goods, such as bottles labeled with toxins
found in the noxious canal. Photo by Colin Mixson
on Gowanus-related projects,
starting with some
more classic keepsakes.
“We still haven’t done
the Gowanus key chain
like any good souvenir
shop should,” she said.
“I’ve so many ideas that I
want to fulfill.”
Wasting away
Gowanus Souvenir Shop to close before month’s end