Park Slope Profiles In Courage: Grace Bonney of Design*Sponge

image courtesy of Grace Bonney

I thought Jake Dobkin was going to be a hard act to follow, but now that I've communed with Brooklyn Belle Grace Bonney, I'm thinking this is going to be FUN! Grace is the founder of the galactically popular design blog, Design*Sponge, which she started in 2004 when she was like 18 or some unconscionably young age.

Flash forward to 2011, and she's now in the RSS readers of, well, everyone. She's newly married, has a book coming out soon, speaks at events and conferences all over the place, and basically is her own one-woman design empire...and she lives and works right here in Park Slope! Well, until she jilts us for Greenpoint, anyway.

What's it like to be a newly(ish)wed in Park Slope? And follow up: do you subscribe to the view that Park Slope was responsible for the death of the Taylor Swift/Jake Gyllenhaal romance, on account of us being so staid and terrifyingly child-focused?

Park Slope can be an incredibly frustrating neighborhood if you're married and "without" children [ed. note: A-FRIGGIN-MEN, Sista!--Erica]. Most of the younger parents I knew jumped straight from asking us when we were getting married to asking us when we were having kids. But to be fair, I knew what I was getting into when we moved here. I try to just smile and nod and ignore those people. 

I'm not sure about the Slope breaking up Taylor and Jake, but I think if they spent any amount of time listening to the moms that drop off their kids and then gossip about other moms at Sweet Melissa's that may have been enough to do it. Any time I take my husband there for coffee he starts to get antsy because the mom groups there can be especially obnoxious. I appreciate that they need and deserve time to unwind and chat, but sometimes the things they say (loudly) are incredibly vicious. For some reason I'm still surprised when I hear moms talk crap about other moms.

Where do you come down on the hot topic of Park Slope BREEDERS: their levels of annoyingness, their pint-sized pashas, their conspicuous parenting or lack thereof, their strollers...?

Well, you know how I feel about their judge-fest coffee breaks, but frankly I'd probably just prefer to leave them alone and have them leave me alone. Except for the guy in my building who thinks it's normal to punish his kids by leaving them on our communal stairs to cry and scream until they're cried-out. I think he forgets that our communal hallway is not a private home. That guy sucks.

I heard a rumor you may be ditching Park Slope? Where might you be moving and why?

RGuskind's flickr via Gowanus Lounge

Ha — the web moves quickly! We're not definitely leaving, we're just moving on to a new apartment. Park Slope is definitely in the running, but we're also looking into Boerum Hill and Greenpoint. Our apartment location is great, but the space itself just doesn't work for two people who work at home together. We need a little more breathing room, so I think we're gonna have to say goodbye to 7th ave. I think the only thing I'll miss in our area though is Tarzian (Hardware, NOT homeware. That homeware store is terrible) and La Bagel Delight. Mostly I'll miss the guys that work at both of those places-- they always make us feel welcome and like family-- something that's not easy to find in Park Slope where I feel like people without children aren't absorbed by the community as willingly. 

Would you ever under any circumstances hire a stylist to do your holiday decorating? And do you not agree that this is a soulless practice that should be condemned under all circumstances? (or do you hire out as one yourself?).

Oh lord no. I've hired stylists for professional work shoots, but not for my home or myself. My apartment looks like a messy college dorm right now [ed. note: yeah right--Allison], but I can't imagine hiring someone to come fix it. My readers would never let me hear the end of that one. I've got to put my money where my mouth is when it comes to home design so I try to do that on my own.  [sidenote: That's her "dorm" below as featured in Lonny Magazine].

Patrick Cline for Lonny MagazinePatrick Cline for Lonny Magazine

Do you buy shit at the P.S. 321 flea market?

I remember hearing about the Wary Meyers' finding such amazing things there for a New York Magazine shoot and wondering "Is there some other 321 Flea Market?" Since I started visiting it back in 2003, I've yet to find anything good there. Though I did buy a bonsai tree from the guy by the jungle gym one time. But as for furniture, the prices are astronomical-- even by NYC standards. And mostly it feels like the same 8 mirrors and faux Mid-century tables over and over.

On the topic of day jobs and subway commuting: anything you miss? And what was your worst commute ever?

Patrick Cline for Lonny MagazineI don't miss commuting in the winter at all. I used to work for House & Garden magazine when they were on the Upper East Side and that commute was awful. Park Slope and the UES weren't meant to meet, subway-wise. And considering my boss had a car service take her to and from her house in a different state, it seemed to suck more than it should. But I've been working from home since 2006 so I'm pretty spoiled by the bedroom-to-living-room commute. 

Favorite place/way to procrastinate in Park Slope?

Honestly? Watching Hulu in my own apartment. But if I'm going to go outside I like to meet friends for coffee at Cafe Regular or Juventino (I love their chicken soup). And if it wasn't deadly for my already expanding waistline, I'd spend as much time as possible at Hanco's downing bubble tea and shredded chicken sandwiches. 

Are you now or have you ever been a member of any Park Slope coops?

NO. A thousand times, no. I used to work for a small PR firm right up the street from the Park Slope Food Coop, and one time my boss (a card-carrying member) was sick and asked me to go down and pick up something for her. We called ahead and they said if I brought her card it was fine. But when I arrived 10 minutes later you'd think I was there to rob the place. I had 4-5 people come at me and be like, "WHOA! WHOA! YOU ARE NOT [BOSS' NAME]". I politely reminded them we just called over and confirmed it was ok for me to pick up some dinner for her and they all panicked and asked me a lot of questions about why I "really wanted" to go inside. It definitely wasn't for the friendly employees. Bottom line, I left empty-handed and swore to never go back. 

Favorite shops in PS? And top five gifts to buy locally?

I dig The Clay Pot and Cog & Pearl. I really miss having Rare Device down on 15th street.

I prefer to buy most of my plants/flower gifts locally (through Park Slope Florist or Cog & Pearl's selection of terrariums) and the Flea always has a nice range of things to pick up from Park Slope artists. Though in general I find myself buying from people's web shops (even designers in my own area) more than in-person. It's the downside of being a blogger--I find an excuse to do everything online if possible.

Your local lunch spots and cravings?

Juventino is my favorite these days. A big bowl of chicken soup and their bread board is a good way to spend an afternoon. They'll let you sit there for a long time without bothering you, a plus when the 7th ave places I usually visit get pushy around 3pm. 

Hanco's (shredded chicken sandwich, spicy) and Luscious (goat cheese salad) are are my go-tos for lunch delivery. Easy, fast, and delicious. 

Do you go to a health club in PS? If that's a yes, describe the vibe of yoga/kickboxing/pilates/aerobics classes you've been to?

I'll refer you back to my sad web-ridden life. I'd have to be active to join a health club and right now that's just not happening. I used to belong to the Park Slope gym on Union and 7th but had to stop when I realized I was just throwing money away every month. I ordered a Wii Fit and am hoping that gets me moving this winter.

Do you spy into people's windows when walking around Park Slope? What have you seen that you like or don't?

That's like asking a Park Slope mom if she reads the PSP boards. I'm a huge home voyeur, so I always look inside people's homes from the streets. We've actually found home tours to run on Design*Sponge that way, and I love seeing how people choose to deal with spaces that are often so similar. Lately I'm obsessed with hunting down brownstones that have traditional facades but have been gut-renovated inside. Like this one we ran a while back.

What do you make of the pink house on Garfield?

I'm a pretty girly girl so I don't mind it. Do I wish he'd picked a less Pepto-shade of pink? Definitely. But I think a pink exterior could be done well if it was a little less, well, pink.

Most/Least favorite things about Park Slope?

Most: the abundance of places to eat, go, and do things during the day. That's crucial for people like us who live and work in the same building all day and need to GET OUT a lot. I also love the great restaurants and bars popping up on the fringes of the neighborhood--they close too quickly these days, but I like seeing that people are trying to start them up more frequently. Also, I oddly love the guy who sings opera around the neighborhood. I can be super annoying but I really admire being bold (or crazy?) enough to sing out loud, really loudly, anywhere you feel like it. 

Least: It seems silly to even say it out loud, but clearly the judgmental moms that I run into every day are my least favorite part of the slope. One time I was standing in line at Starbucks (yes, I actually like Starbucks. Faster and friendlier than Connecticut Muffin and Cocoa Bar --my closest options-- any day), and a woman had her little daughter hanging over her shoulder. The little girl looked at me and grinned so I waved and smiled. The mom whirled around and said "What are you DOING???" And I turned red and told her the little girl smiled at me so I waved and smiled back. She literally gave me a look like I'd somehow violated her child and got as far away from me in line as she could. I have never been so embarrassed or angry. I'm sure I'm not the only one who has stories like that, but they really add up after a while, especially when I think I'm one of the more accepting, child-loving "non parents" in the neighborhood. 

I also don't love the kids who sit on our building's steps when the high school lets out. One day I asked them to please move so I could get in and the girl said "Excuse YOU. YOU MOVE" and muttered some things I'll leave out. I know there are much bigger problems in life but it makes me feel like I'm right back in high school again.

See you round the hood Grace Bonney and... DON'T LEAVE US!!!!