The Brooklyn Women’s Exchange is proud to display the work of more than 250 American craftspeople. We have chosen a few of our favorites who are showcased here. Many of them make will make their items to your specifications, so please contact us if you see something you like. This list will continue to grow, so check back often!

John Gallagher

Brooklyn, New York

Dubbing himself the “ubiquitous artist,” John Gallagher is a self-taught wood carver of “hungry” faces. Working with fallen tree branches found on Brooklyn’s sidewalks and curbs and other stray bits of recycled wood, John fashions whimsical tabletop sculptures and bottle stoppers.

Marcia Anderson

North Andover, Massachusetts

Beautiful, smocked cotton dresses are the handwork of Marcia Anderson, one of our treasured crafters for more than 15 years. Smocking is a type of decorative needlework used for holding gathers in place. One of the few peasant handcrafts of England, it is still carried on after hundreds of years. Marcia uses a manual “pleating machine” to evenly pleat and ready the fabric for the design. She feeds the fabric with one hand while cranking it with the other. The result is a unique, comfortable, heirloom-quality dress that will hold up to wearing and washing for years to come.

Jewelry by Andrea Corson

Brooklyn, New York

Andrea Corson takes fresh and innovative approaches to making her sterling silver, gold, bronze and brass handmade jewelry collection. Corson enjoys natural beauty, simplicity, detail, drama, glamour and humor. Corson is constantly challenging herself to produce ever evolving organic, yet modern, timeless designs.

Wolfgang Kurtz

Sugar Loaf, New York

An Emperor Penguin protecting his chick, a pink flamingo standing on a single leg, a crowing rooster… or perhaps it’s a Noah’s Ark with pairs of giraffes, lions and gorillas. All these and more are the products of Wolfgang Kurtz’s fertile imagination and sharp knife. Well into his 80’s, Wolfgang has been whittling since his retirement more than 20 years ago. Is it in his genes? His grandfather was a woodcarver who designed and crafted doors and furniture. As he tells it, “It gives me great satisfaction to always think of new items to create. It may be a picture I see or mostly my own imagination. All this keeps my mind agile and fresh.”

Ed Ratajczak

Massachusetts

Ed started making silverware jewelry in 1988 as a hobby. The silverware he uses is double or triple-plated, making it both sturdy and lustrous. Ed cuts, bends, solders, and polishes his pieces, recycling a flea-market find into beautiful bracelets, rings, and other useful objects. Spoon rings originated in 17th century England and were originally used as wedding rings. Servants at the at the time could not afford to have wedding rings made of precious metals so they would take a piece of silverware from the manor house and have it turned into a wedding ring. The manner in which Ed makes spoon rings is almost identical to the way they were made three hundred years ago in 17th century England.

Dick Sharp

Dick Sharp’s practice of wood scrolling began when he received his grandfather’s antique scrolling saw at the age of 9. What began as hobbywork cut from wooden milk crates he collected for free at the local A&P has become a source of delight and inspiration for adults and children alike. Dick’s favorite clients are his grandchildren, for whom he has crafted so many toys that his five-year-old granddaughter once asked him, “Are you Santa Claus?”