Streetlevel: Flirt Crew Goes DIY in Gowanus

Gowanus may not have a store where you can buy stylish duds, but now it’s got a spot where you can make ’em yourself. This June, the co-owners behind the Flirt boutiques on Smith Street and Fifth Avenue opened Home Ec, a Third Avenue studio that’s offering sewing classes aimed at newbies and experts alike. The 2,000-square-foot space doubles as a design lab for Seryn Potter and Patti Gilstrap (see photo on the jump), who sell their own line at Flirt. They say the idea to teach classes grew out of customer demand. People have asked us for years whether we teach sewing classes, but there was no room for it in the back of our store, says Potter. She notes that though Home Ec’s Gowanus location means the business flies under the radar, there are plenty of changes coming this way. And the pair has had luck with emerging areas before: We kind of like going in before it all happens, like we did with Fifth Avenue, says Gilstrap. But though the two say an uptick in foot traffic would definitely help the studio, neither wants the things they like about Third Avenue to change. It’s still an old Italian neighborhood, says Gilstrap. And there are all these interesting warehouses with pockets of cool little businesses and artists.

Home Ec is offering classes in patternmaking, knitting, bag and skirt making, and kiddie and crafts workshops. They’re also planning on rolling out open studio time—where you can rent a sewing machine—soon. The studio is located at 303 Third Avenue, between Carroll and 1st streets. More info on the classes can be found on Flirt’s website. GMAP