Elias Alvarez, Brooklyn Tree House

The Brooklyn Tree House is a sweet little boutique perched at the end of Graham Ave in the heart of Williamsburg, with a nice balance of hipster and "regular" new yorkers. The owner-founders Siri and Rebecca are Brooklyn based clothing and jewelry designers. They sell their own wares in the shop alongside with 24 other local artists. In addition to selling artful fashion items, the space is also host to ongoing clothing craft and design classes for the community. The space is very warm and inviting, you should check it out soon!

Siri is also a teacher of craft classes in Bushwick, which is where she met Elias. Elias set up the internship for himself and then told me about it. It was all his initiative and he seems to be learning a great deal about the field of design and small business management. The only challenge is that his two mentors have little time to spare on Thursday afternoons because like any beginning business, they have to devout all of their time together to development and promotion. Elias has been extremely helpful with day-to-day organizational tasks and creative stuff such as planning window displays.

He has also been working on his own clothing design and crafting projects, however Siri would like to be able to give him more time and attention in this respect. Toward this end, I suggested that Elias work as a helper in Siri's classes or raise money to attend as a participant. I trust that Elias and Siri will find a way to make the internship sustainable with enough attention, time, and energy to meet everyone's needs. I for one am very proud his intiative and creative spirit and I hope he keeps it going.