Get hip people! In visiting shops in Brooklyn, we felt compelled to re-review Matter, a design store in Park Slope, and to award it accolades for selling beautiful and cutting edge modern design. So many stores play it safe and so many won't dare to sell the big stuff (furniture) because, let's face it, how often do we buy a dining table and chairs? Matter is to Brooklyn what Moss is to Manhattan: a design showcase, modern museum and down home, comfortable store all in one (Moss wouldn't get the last compliment quite so easily).
Owned and run by Jamie Gray, Matter sells everything from glassware to dining room tables to art to pet toys. All are unique, restrained, beautifully made and bear an eye for fine design that is Jamie's own. You will find items in his shop that you will not find anywhere else in the city, and he is often cited in The Times' House and Home section as selling the latest neat thing they have found. Prices? About as good as you can get. While many items sell for under $50, chairs, lamps and dining tables will run you from $250 to $1,500, as Jamie keeps his prices within range for reasonable people with reasonable budgets.
Interested in beautiful, new design? Then Matter is a definite destination (and when you get there, encourage Jamie to finish the website, so we can order without taking the subway). MGR
Know Matter? Have a review? Please comment below...
227 5th Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11215
Tel 718 230 1150
Fax 718 230 1156
405 Broome Street
New York, NY 10013
Tel 212 343 2600
Fax 212 343 2610
This is not the moss of Brooklyn at all as noted in the NY Mag ask a shopclerk section last week. Not sure what he was talking about when he said moss does not allow baby strollers in the store, I take mine in there all the time, and they are actually nothing but helpful, and they always greet me with a smile. I actually walked into matter recently and I was not even acknowledged. I could understand if he was on the phone or the shop was busy, but I was the only one in there. Oh well, I can choose where or where not to shop.
I have to completely disagree with Kelly G. When ever I shop at Matter I am always greeted graciously. Jamie is extremely helpful; in fact, he's even gone so far as to entertain my daughter while I shop.
I love the classic and forward thinking products there- and love the fact that they are accessible in a low-key, friendly environment.