Two local clothing and design stores announced that they will soon shutter.
Treehouse Brooklyn, a clothing and jewelry store at 430 Graham Avenue, and Copper + Plaid, a home decor store at 655 Manhattan Avenue, have announced that they will be wrapping things up in the weeks to come.
Treehouse Brooklyn enjoyed nearly twenty years in Williamsburg, first opening on Graham in 2006. Aside from highlighting the area’s many local designers, Treehouse carried its own in-house clothing and jewelry brands, BIG FUN THING and Sirius Lux, respectively. The Treehouse team told Greenpointers:
“After 18 years, Treehouse Brooklyn, a woman-owned boutique dedicated to unique handmade, upcycled, sustainable and vintage clothing jewelry and gifts, will close its doors. The landlords are selling the building, from the 1860’s, and it will most likely be torn down for condos. Treehouse Brooklyn (@treehousebrooklyn) owner, Siri Wilson, will miss this magical corner of Graham Ave beyond measurement, but is currently working on building a summer popup store in a shipping container in Rockaway and hopes to see you all there!”
The mixed-use building at 430 Graham Avenue is currently listed on Zillow, for more than $2.5 million. The listing touts the building’s unique history, which would further add insult to injury if the building ends up being demolished: “Originally a clandestine speakeasy during Prohibition, remnants of its illicit past remain, including a wine press and secret cache in the basement.”
Copper + Plaid first opened in 2015, specializing in mid-century and Danish modern furniture. While the team announced the closure of the storefront, they reassured customers that the business will still be around online (not to mention, they’re having an “everything must go” sale on right now)
“I have loved Greenpoint with all my heart and soul for the last nine years and have gotten such immense joy from connecting with the neighborhood via a storefront. We have added something special to thousands of peoples homes over the years, given forever pieces to forever homes,” owner Erica Lewis wrote on Instagram.
While no rent increase or landlord dispute reason for the closure was given, the statement references the current climate for small businesses in the neighborhood, marked by so many recent closures, as they’ve “[w]atched the neighborhood grow and change (sometimes for the better, sometimes for the worse- the neighborhood has gotten….uncomfortably small lately with all of our favorite other businesses closing). But it’s never been anything less than a labor of love.”