The Narativ House x Brooklyn Kettle
Curt Saunders
Okay, Massive. Now that we’ve reached the “acceptance” stage of summer’s end, let’s get into these fall vibes! May we suggest savoring a rich cup of coffee, hot cocoa or chai while also shopping sustainable artisan goods from around the world? That’s the idea at The Narativ House and Brooklyn Kettle, a joint concept store and café where you’re invited to “Shop. Eat. Drink. Chill.”
Husband-and-wife team Ayo Agbede and Farai Simoyi merged what were originally two separate Bed-Stuy businesses, one right around the corner from the other, into a literal one-stop shop last year amid the pandemic. When the city mandated the lockdown of non-essential businesses, Farai had to temporarily close The Narativ House, her hand-curated store of clothing, accessories, books and beautiful home design objects.
“The only way that we could stay open was to have food, so we decided to bring the coffee shop here,” Farai says of joining forces with Brooklyn Kettle, Ayo’s cafe. “People come through the door and realize, ‘Wow, I can get coffee and then shop all of this stuff too.’ So it just worked out. We have a marriage in real life, and now we also have a marriage of our businesses. It’s been nice to see both grow together.”
Curt Saunders
Curt Saunders
Curt Saunders
“We have a marriage in real life, and now we also have a marriage of our businesses. It’s been nice to see both grow together.”
Tayo Giwa
Curt Saunders
Tayo Giwa
Curt Saunders
Curt Saunders
Tayo Giwa
Tayo Giwa
With a background in fashion design — you might recognize her as a contestant from Netflix’s 2020 competition series, “Next in Fashion” — Farai opened The Narrative House in 2017 after more than a decade in the industry. The Zimbabwe-born designer, who was raised between her home country and West Virginia, spent most of her career designing for celebrity streetwear lines, including Beyonce’s House of Deréon and Jay-Z’s Rockawear.
“The inspiration to start my own company came from realizing that I’m working for these multi-million-dollar companies and making them a lot of money,” says Farai, 37. “I felt like I could do that for myself.”
At The Narativ House she sells ethically sourced clothing (including her own designs through the shop’s in-house label), as well as accessories and home decor products, with an emphasis on sustainability and traditional craftsmanship from across the globe. Mudcloth-print tunics by Farai and partners in India. South African earrings inspired by symbols and patterns found across the Motherland. Bags and baskets hand-woven in Ghana and Liberia. Throw pillows intricately embroidered by indigenous artisans in Central Mexico. Bracelets and cuffs made in Kenya and Burundi from brass and discarded cow horn.
“Everything here has a story about who made it and what it’s made from,” Farai says (hence the store’s name). You’ll also want to linger over The Narativ’s selection of books on Black art and culture, journals and stationery, and artisanal food products, from loose teas to hot sauce.
Tayo Giwa
Tayo Giwa
Tayo Giwa
Curt Saunders
Tayo Giwa
Tayo Giwa
Tayo Giwa
Tayo Giwa
Originally a standalone coffee shop around the corner from The Narativ House, Ayo opened Brooklyn Kettle in 2016 after 10 years working on Wall Street. “I was losing interest in my financial job, so I figured it was time for me to quit,” he says. The pivot to coffee came from seeing a neighborhood need. “At the time, you could hardly find any good coffee around here,” says Ayo, who moved from his native Nigeria to Bed-Stuy during his college years. “I was complaining all the time about not having a coffee shop, and finally Farai was like, ‘Why don’t you just start one?’” After learning all things java from YouTube and the help of friends at The Council Cafe, he did.
Today when you walk in The Narrative House, you’re greeted by the barista on duty (oftentimes it’s Ayo himself) at a coffee bar stocked with freshly roasted coffee, tea and delicious pastries sourced from local bakeries including Brown Butter and The Good Batch. “I’m so proud to say that we created this in our own community, in our own way,” Ayo says, referring not only to being in business with his wife but also the thriving business community on Tompkins Ave, which boasts row after row of Black-owned shops. “Whatever’s going on on Tompkins right now, it’s one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen in my life.”
385 Tompkins Ave., 718-676-5154, thenarativ.com, brooklynkettle.com
