The First Thursday Dumbo Gallery Walk is tonight, Thursday, February 2, 2012, between 6-9pm. The gallery walk is free.

For gallery listing, go to dumbo.is/itineraries/127.

From Dumbo.Is:

Come out for February’s First Thursday Gallery Walk, a festive night in DUMBO that offers visitors the opportunity to see gallery shows from a variety of disciplines. Retail businesses also join the festivities with extended hours and in-store events; two to note – Olga Guanabara and TRUNK.

Local bars and restaurants also get in on the action – AlMar has 2 for 1 drink specials from 4-6PM. The Gallery Cafe offers a $29 per person, 3-course meal and half-priced bottles of wine. Water Street Restaurant & Lounge has 2 for 1 cosmos for ladies at the bar. Superfine’s Happy Hour features $3.50 select tap beers, $3.50 well cocktails & $3 Bud/Bud Light.

(Photo from Grubstreet)

(Photo from Gothamist)

Shake Shack, the popular burger stand that opened in 2004 in Madison Square Park in NYC by Danny Meyer opened its first Brooklyn location in December 2011 and its seventh in NYC. But there’s a little bit of Brooklyn in every location. CounterEvolution, the Dumbo Broolyn based growing business uses reclaimed wood to create one-of-a-kind handmade tables and seating for Shake Shack. CounterEvolution owner Jim Malone created the tables and one wall at the Brooklyn Shake Shack using reclaimed wood from bowling lanes.

According to the CounterEvolution website, CounterEvolution began in 2007 when Jim, a life-long musician and songwriter who was at the time producing cartoons for children’s television, needed to make a change. (He was also the original director of the English-language version of Pokemon.). We’ve admired his tables since we saw them at the first Brooklyn Flea and at BKLYN Designs. CounterEvolution has been at 10 Jay Street in Dumbo for three years, but is moving near the Navy Yards in Brooklyn later next month. We caught up with Jim.

Q: Can you give us a short description of counterevolution’s philosophy?

A: We strive to elevate the artistic possibilities of reclaimed wood and other materials through unique designs and quality craftsmanship.

Q: How did it get started and how long have you been in Dumbo?

A: We started with a few postings on Craigslist then began showing at the Brooklyn Flea just as they were getting started. We had a lot of support from design blogs early on and that really helped get the word out. We’ve had a showroom in Dumbo for 3 years.

Q: How did your partnership with Shake Shack start?

A: They found us through our work at Starbucks and Sweetgreen. Our first location was Miami Beach and we’ve been fortunate to partner with them through their expansion. Our most recent Shake Shack was downtown Brooklyn where we did the tables and a large wall installation.

Q: What were some challenges you faced early on? Current challenges?

A: We started just as the banks stopped lending in late 2007. So, financing was an early obstacle and remains a challenge as we seek to expand our retail sales in a slow economic climate.

(Photo of Jim Malone. Photo credit: Sandra Kress)

Thanks Jim and looking forward to seeing your beautiful pieces in upcoming locations soon.

CounterEvolution (counterev.com)

Episode 9: Sarah Walko (www.sarahwalko.com and triangleworkshop.org)
Directed by David Castillo
Produced by Blue Barn Pictures, Inc. for DumboNYC on vimeo

In this episode of Crossing Dumbo, Blue Barn Pictures interviews Dumbo based artist Sarah Walko, artist and Executive Director of Triangle Arts Association. She was awarded a scholarship during graduate school, and as part of it, she took an internship at Triagle. “The focus of Triangle is about process and experimentation over product. The emphasis is not on what is the actual thing that comes out of that but it’s about the entire journey. All of that together under one umbrella is art.” Isn’t the journey what life is about?

Crossing Dumbo, a web series of video portraits of artists, entrepreneurs and residents in Dumbo Brooklyn. This is a collaboration between DumboNYC and our talented friends over at Blue Barn Pictures. Different directors from Blue Barn Pictures, a creative content agency, bring their own approach to each interview to create a distinct profile of the person being interviewed and place them within the Dumbo community. Blue Barn Pictures truly love what they do and support the community in a positive way, and for that we’re grateful to have them be a part of Dumbo.

{DumboNYC.com/category/crossing-dumbo/}

From Mighty Tanaka Gallery:
Look around you; the world is full of art. We all know the saying, “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure”, however, some individuals choose to take that phrase to heart. Artists from a range of disciplines utilize a world of scattered debris, creating an array of striking creations from the items that many people would find worthless. Mighty Tanaka is pleased to bring you our first show of 2012 entitled Lost & Found, a group show of found objects and the artwork that is created from them. Featuring the vision of Adam Void, Alice Mizrachi, Curtis Readel, ELLE & John Breiner, each artist represents a unique idea of the world through their chosen method of creation.

Lost & Found intends to demonstrate a cross-section of aesthetic interpretation of objects that are generally taken for granted in daily life. Artwork made from found materials provides the artist with an endless amount of inspiration, as all the necessary components are easily accessible and free to use. This is the art of the juxtaposition, both complimenting and conflicting itself, as the work is literally born from the streets and transformed into something that is new, exciting and fresh.

Through the usage of mediums such as old beat up currency, abandoned pieces of wood, detached doors and tattered textiles, the artist is able to rebuild forgotten memories and forge them into a new identity. Lost & Foundoffers the viewer the opportunity to reconnect with the pieces of the past and the chance to begin anew.

Lost & Found Opening Reception:
Friday, January 13th, 2012, 6:00pm – 10:00pm
(Show closes February 5th, 2012)

Mighty Tanaka (mightytanaka.com)
111 Front St., Suite 224, Brooklyn, NY 11201

The First Thursday Dumbo Gallery Walk is tomorrow, Thursday, January 5, 2012, between 6-9pm. Gallery specific information will be published on the Dumbo Improvement District website, dumbo.is.

The gallery walk is free. (Thank you to Dumbo Improvement District for the images).

(Photo by Blake Zidell for NYTimes)

The New York Times ArtsBeat reports that St. Ann’s Warehouse signed a new three year lease at 29 Jay Street in Dumbo. After getting the approval by The National Park Service to house St. Ann’s Warehouse to the Tobacco Warehouse in February 2011, the Federal District Court ruling stated that the National Park Service violated federal law by removing two historic landmarks from federally protected parkland, and therefore prevented St. Ann’s move to the Tobacco Warehouse. The availability of the 29 Jay Street space will keep St. Ann’s in Dumbo, at least for the next three years.

The highly acclaimed performances at St. Ann’s Warehouse will open in the fall of 2012 after leaving their current home of 11 years at 38 Water Street. Dumbo is fortunate to have St. Ann’s in its neighborhood and today, we find out that they will stay in Dumbo.

December 16 – 21, 2011
Hours: 11 AM – 7 PM
Opening Reception: December 15, 6 – 8 PM

50% of sales benefit DAC and the creation of new art!
50% of sales benefit the participating artists!

Dumbo Arts Center (DAC) is hosting a Pop-Up Holiday Art Sale! Prices starting as low as $30.

Dumbo Arts Center is pleased to present our 2011 Holiday Pop Up Sale, featuring more than 50 artists selling art affordably priced, with special selections by each artist at $30! 50% of sales benefit DAC and the creation of new art and 50% of sales benefit the participating artists! So you can get great art and support emerging artists!

DAC will use the funds to continue our cutting edge programming, like building a summer library, making human pyramids that represent the economic system, doing experimental mediations, and more exhibition and events than you can shake a candy cane at. While we can’t say for sure what the artists will do with their share, we are pretty sure it will go to producing more art.

Particpating artists include:
Leesa Abahuni, Nicole, Abahuni, Steven Anderson, Nicole Antebi, Bridget Batch, Sarah Bostwick, Jude Broughan, Robmat Butler, Sean Cavanaugh, Barb Choit, Elizabeth Conn, Megan Cump, Kenneth Dale, Rodney Dickson, Tim Dowse, Karl Erickson, Shingo Francis, Gina Fuentes Walker, Jesse Gelaznik, Katy Hamer, Linda Herritt, Cathrin Hoskinson, Patrick Jewell, Aileen Leijten, Catherine Lewis, Jen Liu, Lia Lowenthal, Peter Max Lawrence, Kayla Mohammadi, Kaveri Nair, Rick Parker, Walter Patrick, Tara Romero, Bill Roundy, Jennifer Schwartz, Sam Seawright, Karen Shaw, Janos Stone, Holly Sumner, Gabriela Vainsencher, Michelle Vaughan, Barbara Weissberger, Bradley Wester, Michael Wilson and more!

Dumbo Arts Center
111 Front St. #212
Brooklyn, NY 11201

Episode 8: Stefan Killen (stefankillendesign.com and pinholeny.com)
Directed by David Castillo
Produced by Blue Barn Pictures, Inc. for DumboNYC on vimeo

In this episode of Crossing Dumbo, Blue Barn Pictures interviews Dumbo based artist Stefan Killen, a graphic designer and pinhole photographer. Pinhole photography involves a handmade pinhole camera, a small cardboard box wrapped in black plastic and electrical tape without a lens. Light from a scene passes through this single point and projects an inverted image on the opposite side of the box. The smaller the hole, the sharper the image, but the dimmer the projected image. Mr. Killen says, “There’s a quality of chaos and messiness in pinhole photography that I really like.” Growing up in Zurich Switzerland, Mr. Killen says, “the Swiss half of me is a graphic designer, and has to have everything to the pixel. The other half of me is American, artistically inclined, and loves pinhole photography for the messiness in it.“

Crossing Dumbo, a web series of video portraits of artists, entrepreneurs and residents in Dumbo Brooklyn. This is a collaboration between DumboNYC and our talented friends over at Blue Barn Pictures. Different directors from Blue Barn Pictures, a creative content agency, bring their own approach to each interview to create a distinct profile of the person being interviewed and place them within the Dumbo community. Blue Barn Pictures truly love what they do and support the community in a positive way, and for that we’re grateful to have them be a part of Dumbo.

{DumboNYC.com/category/crossing-dumbo/}

On Thursday December 8 from 6 p.m. – 9 p.m. ET, Etsy Labs in Dumbo Brooklyn will be open for you to bring friends, family, colleagues and comrades to get your photo taken and turned into a holiday card.

From Etsy:
Choose from one of three backdrops that we have hand-curated and decorated with merchandise direct from Etsy holiday shops and sellers, smile wide and bright, and leave with a digital file that you can customize and circulate near and far. Our long-time partners from the Magnolia Photo Booth Co. will be on hand to get those pictures print and sent.

We’ve also partnered with Moo for a 15 percent discount if you want to turn your digital file into a printed greeting card (discount codes will be distributed at the event). If you’d rather print at home, we’ll be leading small groups in workshops to make your own envelopes from paper ephemera (feel free to bring a favorite new or vintage paper to use). Every hour, we’ll be raffling off a chance to win one piece from the vignettes for use in your own holiday decor.

We’ll also be raffling off a few chances to take home an item from our hand-curated Etsy holiday goodness, offering some fun hands-on projects and making the season bright with festive food & drink.

Date: Thursday, December 8, 2011
Times: The event will be open between 6pm and 9pm, stop by anytime!
Location: Etsy Labs Brooklyn, 55 Washington Street, suite 712, Brooklyn, NY 11201
Registration link: makingsmilesbright.eventbrite.com
Cost: $5

More info: etsy.com/blog/en/2011/making-smiles-bright-a-holiday-photo-card-event

To mark the launch of their new art gallery space, United Photo Industries is doing seven shows in seven days. Their founding exhibition, titled 7 over 7: Seven Shows in Seven Days exhibits 7 talented photographers, each lasting for a single evening (6pm).

• December 1 | Bruno Pulici – “Domestico”
• December 2 | Alexis Courtney – “An Intimate Nature”
• December 5 | Bob Miller – “Pamoja: Youth Reform in Kenya”
• December 6 | Howard Heyman – “Toy Soldier Portraits”
• December 7 | Irina Firsova – “People of the Soviet Time”
• December 8 | Miguel Torena – “The Periodic Table”
• December 9 | Josep Echaburu – “Life Center”

United Photo Industries
111 Front Street, Suite 204, Brooklyn NY 11201