The Brooklyn Women's Exchange has re-opened after its annual summer break. The store, located at 55 Pierrepont Street, just east of Hicks, sells fine handmade infant and children's clothing, handmade dolls, stuffed animals, wooden toys and puzzles, quilts, lap-robes, pillows, purses, placemats and napkins, house-gift items, greeting cards and books (including both children's books and Brooklyn-related adult books, as well as Brooklyn-themed cards, clothing and art), jewelry, candles and ceramics. Many of these items are handmade by local artisans. The Exchange itself is a not-for-profit organization.
The Exchange was founded in 1854 by Brooklyn Heights women to supplement the incomes of immigrant families by providing an outlet for the sale of handcrafted items made by immigrant women. Women of the Exchange made garments for soldiers in the Civil War, the Spanish-American War and World War One.
The store, which is staffed almost entirely by volunteers from the community, is open on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday from 11:00 to 6:00, Thursday from 11:00 to 7:00, and Saturday from 10:00 to 4:30.
