Published
Nov 28, 2019
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Industry City connects shoppers with artisans via The Makers Guild

Published
Nov 28, 2019

Brooklyn’s Industry City is expanding its retail offering with the launch of The Makers Guild, a new retail concept that allows shoppers to watch artisans, as they produce products in their studios. 


The Wrap Life's studio within The Makers Guild - Industry City


Located at 51 35th Street, The Makers Guild takes up a 25,000 square-foot space within Industry City, a six million-square-foot mixed-use complex located on the waterfront in Sunset Park.

Inside, visitors can peruse nine artisan-retail studios where entrepreneurs make shoppable products on-site, in full view of potential customers. Opened on November 1, participating artisans include jewelry maker Saskia, headwrap maker The Wrap Life, and ceramics maker Micòl Ceramics, among others.  

“Products take on greater meaning when you understand how they’re made and you see and interact with those doing the creating,” said Jim Somoza, Industry City’s director of development.

“The value of a product is found not just in its quality and use, but in its story. The Makers Guild gives shoppers the opportunity to discover those stories and feel a direct connection to both the product made in Brooklyn and the real people behind those same products.” 

The Makers Guild is part of a broader Brooklyn Design District and innovation economy ecosystem that includes more than 550 companies that collectively employ 8,000 people, according to Industry City. 

The latest instance of the retail world endeavoring to spice up consumers’ shopping experience, The Makers Guild has a more down-to-earth approach that appears to align with Generation Z shoppers’ craving for authenticity, according to a recent study conducted by management consultancy firm Bain & Company.

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