Michael:

Q: What was your favorite childhood activity with your dad?
A: I loved going to Padres games with my dad.

Q: What is one thing your dad taught you?
A: Have a sense of humor.

Q: If your dad was a fictional character, who would he be?
A: I can see my dad as a character in any Mel Brooks movie.

Q: What Maptote would you get your dad and why?
A: The dopp kit! My Dad is a dentist and he is quite fond of the dental artwork.

Rachel B:

Q: What was your favorite childhood activity with your dad?
A: Playing “mackees”. It was a game my Dad invented which basically consisted of a massive wrestling/pillow/tickling fight. He continues to play it with all the grandkids.

Q: What is one thing your dad taught you?
A: Don’t sweat the small stuff. Although I do sometimes.

Q: If your dad was a fictional character, who would he be?
A: Snake Plissken from Escape from New York (at least my Dad would want me to say that)

Q: What Maptote would you get your dad and why?
A: My Dad is from New York and has lots of nostalgia for the city. He would love one of the NYC shirts we have on sale. They are a soft nice quality t-shirt and would make him the coolest Dad in Boca.

Rachel G:

Q: What was your favorite childhood activity with your dad?
A: My brother and I would build massive snow forts filled with snowballs and when my dad would get home from work we would surprise attack him – which would inevitably turn into a huge snowball fight free for all until we were all exhausted and would go inside for some of his homemade hot cocoa.

Q: What is one thing your dad taught you?
A: The importance of being self sufficient/sustaining.

Q: If your dad was a fictional character, who would he be?
A: Wilson – the neighbor in Home Improvement.

Q: What Maptote would you get your dad and why?
A: I would give my dad a London beach tote because it is where he grew up and he loves over-sized bags to carry groceries!

Lizzie:

Q: What was your favorite childhood activity with your dad?
A: Exploring old building sites and digging up glass bottle artifacts from Camp Gordon Johnston, a WWII amphibious training site that was based in my hometown.

Q: What is one thing your dad taught you?
A: He taught me to think outside of the box: that with a little creativity, there’s nothing that can’t be fixed or figured out.

Q: If your dad was a fictional character, who would he be?
A: Definitely Macgyver!

Q: What Maptote would you get your dad and why?
A: I’d get him a NYC Bandana to keep his head cool when he is working outdoors and gardening.

Ever wanted a Maptote location on a t-shirt? Our latest collaboration with Urban Outfitters has you covered: more Maptote locations added, a women’s line of shirts, and multicolor prints for men! You can find them in select stores and online.

The use of maps in Matthew Cusick’s paintings and collages creates a grand sense of space in even the most intimate images. The material lends to this effect as the landscapes and subjects in his work are confined and constructed by the very method used to define our vast world and locate our minute place in it. Check out more of his map paintings and collages online.

Our mistakes are your gain! All Sale items are in great condition but are 50% percent off because they are in the wrong ink color or bag type for our standard line. It’s time we did a little spring cleaning and got these Maptotes to a loving home! All items are FINAL SALE.

Q: Please describe your store aesthetic:
A: By Brooklyn is an adorable gift shop with equal parts rustic and industrial accents to showcase a wide array of colorful, delicate and playful wares. Wooden jewelry cases from the 1920′s play along side copper piping used as clothing racks and an authentic pressed tin ceiling for an overall homey feel of comfort and whimsy.

Q: Are there any fun or interesting facts about By Brooklyn that you would like to share?
A: You can rent out our gorgeous backyard for BBQ’s and parties!

Q: Tell us a bit about your neighborhood and why you love it:
A: Carroll Gardens in a community filled with vibrant, creative, and supportive people. We’ve got some of the best bars and restaurants int he whole city, other than that, we’ve got two words for you…Bastille Day!

Q: When not in your store, where is the next most likely place you’d be?
A: Gaia: Trying a new restaurant or dining at one of my favorite local spots like Char No 4. Mindy: In the summer, definitely the beach!

Q: What is your favorite restaurant in your neighborhood?
A: Gaia and Mindy: Battersby. We both absolutely agree that Battersby is serving up the tastiest, freshest, most delicious food on Smith St. right now.

Q: If there is one thing that someone ‘must do’ when they visit your area, what would you recommend?
A: Gaia: Take a stroll over the Brooklyn Bridge. Mindy: Have an egg cream or old timey ice cream sundae at Brooklyn Farmacy.

Q: What was your inspiration or motivation to open By Brooklyn?
A: Gaia: I was interested in procuring honey made in Brooklyn and was having a very hard time finding a place to buy it. I decided it would make a lot of sense to have one place where everything made in Brooklyn was sold so folks like me would know where to go to support our community and find great products! Nine months later, we were opening the doors!

Q: How did you come up with the name ‘By Brooklyn’?
A: I wanted the name to tell people what’s inside, fine goods made ‘by Brooklyn’ites!

Q: What blogs or magazines do you follow?
A: Gaia: NY Magazine, Gowanus Your Face Off, Nona Brooklyn, and F’d In Park Slope. Mindy: For style inspiration I love Bleach Black and Mister Mort. The Skint keeps me in the know of things to do around the city. My guilty pleasure is D Listed.

Q: Where do you find all of your products?
A: We have a vendor application on our website that lots of people use to fill us in on what they’re making. We keep an eye on Etsy, Brooklyn Flea, Dekalb Market, and other markets around the city to find fresh new items.  If we’re looking for a specific type of product, we’ll scour the internet and ask our vendors to see who’s making it in Brooklyn.

Come visit us at POOL Tradeshow! The show runs from February 19th to February 21st and we will be in booth 42026. For more information check out the POOL website.

Happy Valentine’s Day from everyone at Maptote! We’d be lost without you!

Our Natural Dopp Kit was featured in the December 2012 issue of Pregnancy and Newborn Magazine!

Black Ink’s tagline is ‘unexpected necessities’ – and it truly does live up to it. It is filled with gadgets that are not only excedingly functional, but are also made with an eye for design. It’s sister store, the ‘Museum of Useful Things,’ which celebrates ‘the beauty of function’ with items that no house should be without.

Q: Please describe your store aesthetic:
A: Black Ink’s by-line is “unexpected necessities” as many of our customers say they find things here that they didn’t know they needed. When buying for the stores I try to find functional items that are well-designed and fill a need, are made of appropriate materials and are well priced. I’m happy when i find a great product line that is made domestically like Maptote’s!

Q: Are there any fun or interesting facts about Black Ink that you would like to share?
A: We started as a rubber stamp and paper store, hence our name, as black is my favorite ink color to stamp with. We soon expanded to include a diverse collections of home, personal, and stationary goods.

Q: Tell us a bit about your neighborhood and why you love it:
A: We are located in two destination neighborhoods; Harvard Square in Cambridge and Beacon Hill in Boston. Both neighborhoods are thriving commercial/residential communities with lots of travelers and students in addition to our local residents. The Shop Local movement is important in our communities and we’re proud to be an independent and locally owned business.

Q: When not in your store, where is the next most likely place you’d be?
A: My kids and I love to travel when possible, I like to expose them to other cultures and I find inspiration and perspective outside of my usual environment.

Q: What is your favorite restaurant in your neighborhood?
A: That’s a hard question, we have so many great choices here! For pizza Cambridge 1 in Harvard Square, for vegetarian fare Life Alive in Central Square and Veggie Planet in Harvard Square.

Q: If there is one thing that someone ‘must do’ when they visit your area, what would you recommend?
A: Again, so many choices! I usually send visitors on a walk through Harvard Yard to the Harvard Museum of Natural History to see the Glass Flowers and the Great Mammal Hall.

Q: What was your inspiration or motivation to open Black Ink?
A: My husband was in school here in Cambridge and I wanted to find a business we could both be involved in. My background was in visual arts and retail was my job experience so it was a natural choice.

Q: What’s next for Black Ink, any upcoming sales or events?
A: I’m preparing for our 20th year in business in 2014. I’d like to make it a special year with some promotions to benefit some of our favorite charities and I’m pulling together parts of our archives to compile a visual history of Black Ink.

Q: What blogs or magazines do you follow?
A: It’s hard to keep up with all the great blogs available, I usually start on a tangent and find unexpected sources.

Q: Where do you find all of your products?
A: Of course I shop the Gift Fairs, but I’ve found some of my favorite products from industrial sources. Our on-line store has a collection of our best functional/industrial goods.

Recently we have been very busy designing custom Maptotes and now we are ready to show off some of them! Below are totes we created for various stores, companies, and weddings:

Nebraska Maptote in several different styles for The Mix in Omaha, NE.

Marin County Maptote for Farm House Local in Larkspur, CA and a customized Washington DC Maptote for a wedding.

Santa Cruz Maptote for Cameron Marks Boutique in Santa Cruz, CA.

East Village Maptote for Sustainable NYC in Manhattan and a South Florida Maptote for a wedding in Ft. Lauderdale.

Customized two-sided Hawaii Maptote for L’Occitane.

World Maptote for Viceroy Hotel Group.