Page 469 - Demo

Looking to the Backyard Or Basement:Brooklyn BusinessitesDiscover%u2014BrownstonesVera Johnson in her Clinton Hill brownstone boutique, Studio 14ABY JEANNETTE WALLSWhen looking for a place of business, many Brooklynites have looked no further than their own backyard and have turned a seeing eye towards the ample room offered by the three stories and basement that their brownstone offers. So they%u2019ve made the structure double as their home and business.One such innovative businessman is Bill Sikes, who has set up a complete home renovation headquarters in his home. On the first floor, Sikes sells real estate and contracts carpentry and designing jobs on the main floor while he sells heat guns in the basement. Sikes, who has been living in his Washington Avenue brownstone for 14 years now, has only been in business there for three years. The business %u201c evolved%u201d from a job he did for a neighbor. %u201c It%u2019s great working here, 1 have all the business 1 can handle,%u201d Sikes says, pointing out that his wife Lucy works from the location but with electronics.Sikes says his customers are seldom upset by the double identity of his office. On the contrary, %u201cThey usually like it,%u201d he commented. %u201c It%u2019s very pleasant. I%u2019m here with my whole family most of the day. They usually help out and things go very smoothly.%u201d Sikes says that the set-up not only brings the family a little closer, but it sharpens his children%u2019s skills. %u201c Everyone at their school is always surprised at how manual they are%u2014they%u2019ll fix things around the school and my son, who%u2019s 14, sells skateboards to friends%u2014he has his own logo and everything.%u201dMORE THANSOCIAL ADVANTAGESHaving his business located at home doesn%u2019t offer just social advantages. As for money matters, %u201c It%u2019s simple%u2014I would go out of business if I didn%u2019t work here. 1 just couldn%u2019t offer the prices that I do and pay rent on an office.%u201dSikes says he doesn%u2019t ever foresee leaving his place of business. %u201c Sometimes 1 wish 1 had a little more room and I always wish 1 had more time, but 1 wouldn't get much more out of a conventional office than 1 would here. And 1 fit right into this neighborhood; a lot of people in Clinton Hill are the artist-type and quite a few in the direct area have their businesses set up in their homes.%u201dOne such Clinton Hill artist and entrepreneur person is Vera Johnson, who has a beautiful boutique shop, Studio 14a, in her brownstone%u2019s basement. %u2018%u2018Well, I'd rented out the basement to a few groups and organizations before, and I said to myself, %u2018Well now, if they can run a business here, why can%u2019t I?%u2019 %u201d noted Johnson. Johnson's six-year-old business began four years after she moved to her brown and yellow St. James home. She began selling crafts made by Pratt Institute students, then added ordered gift-type merchandise, but now specializes in highfashioned women's domes and accessories.BLOSSOMING BUSINESSThe whole business blossomed from some $250 and a lot ofpleasant shop keeper, who now runs an operation not unlike most established clothing stores. %u201c Sometimes it gets difficult,%u201d Johnson admitted. %u201c The home atmosphere is nice, but people always expect a lot more out of a business when they know the determination and even more community spirit. %u201c I didn%u2019t know a thing about business,%u201d laughed theowner. I used to have a lot of problems with my hours because someone driving by at midnight would see the sign in front of my house and think the store was open so they%u2019d pop on in. But I%u2019m beginning to get all that straightened out.%u201dJohnson says that though the shop isn%u2019t open seven days a week (it%u2019s open Wednesday throughFriday), it keeps her constantly occupied. Smiling, Johnson said, %u201c I wouldn't have it any other way.%u201dHerb Fowcll has been living in his Warren Place Mews brownstone for three and a half years now, but has been doing commercial art and watercolor paintings from different homes for 25 years now. %u201c So it was just a naturalthat I set up here too,\apartment is typically attractive of the Mews, and likewise, typically small. Powell%u2019s \living room transformed into space for clientele conferences and a space with two drawing tables and all his supplies. It's the epitoim d compact working quarters.When Fowct;' home was included in a V; s house tour on October 1. %u2022. guests weren'tsurprised to sot his home doubling as his office, %u201c it%u2019s done freuuca, around here.\%u201c What did surprise them was to see the back of m v piano (which : s used as the divider fot flu- %u2022%u00ab. q* f and leisure space) functioning as a %u2018push board.'%u201c Working here is a real pleasure,\says he saves a lot of headaches in the way of transportation, bills, meals, and just general atmosphere. %u201c I like being able to take a walk during the middle of some of my jobs and when 1 go outside here I don%u2019t run into that hectic crowd you find on Court Street. Of course 1 like to go there sometimes, but working here at home, 1 have the choice.%u201dAre there any disadvantages? %u201cThere%u2019s one big one,%u201d Folwell says. \Sunday afternoon and work that%u2019s being done on a Monday deadline is staring you right in the face. You just can%u2019t escape the job. But the advantages definitely override the dissad vantages.%u201dLAW AND ORDEROne of the most well organized brownstone businesses is a couple who operate from their Second Street brownstone. Joe Dirks runs an attorney business and .- Sara, deals in Oceanic tribal The e!_ ! v - * . %u25a0arc >rknv; %u25a0 -ntbe >t t %u2022 s p c: . %u00bb , , , /%u25a0 ,men? .%u2022.!i%u00ab%u25a0%u2022.%u25a0 %u2019 . ; %u2019;don led ' . ,Haiti cm .takof the owners has disci\trenter. Jons ad\\ ant ai operating from a %u201c home 1 %u201cThis is the way that law nesses wire run vears ae commented Joe Dirks. \most of the other businesses, tuns people are looking at %u25a0 'Orion unities open to them in t n home, and a lot of people turning to those convenienceLawyer Joe Dirks runs his law practice out of his Park Slope brownstone while Sara Dirks %u201cdeals%u201d %u2014 in tribal art.O c to b e r 1 2 ,1 9 7 8 , THE PHOENIX. Page