perpetuating love

Byas & Leon is a Brooklyn-based boutique specializing in ethical and sustainable apparel, providing wares from fair trade and zero waste brands, independent creators, and curated vintage from around the world. Before Owners and Founders Harvey Leon and Rony Byas opened the Shoppe, they focused on employing artisans in their native Haiti and paying them a "thriving" wage to truly have a higher standard of living. Over time, sustainability (or the lack thereof) within the fashion industry took on great importance to them both, and the Shoppe was born. 

“This too was only the beginning, as we recognized a tremendous opportunity to truly have an impact on our mostly Black community,” Leon and Byas told BLK OCEANS. 

Today, the Shoppe has become an Afro “Diasporic” cultural hub for creatives, intellects and entrepreneurs to socialize and exchange information. Leon and Byas shared their thoughtful insights on the growth of the Shoppe and their continued impact on their community and beyond. 

To what do you attribute the success of Byas & Leon?

The Byas & Leon Shoppe has birthed many beautiful moments. We are very much a part of the Bedstuy Brooklyn community, and have striven to keep that at the forefront of everything we do. We have a monthly art showcase and discussion series from artists who live in Brooklyn called "Heart to He(art)", a photo-walk activity series called "Shoot & Tell" that we encourage all members of the community (regardless of skill level or age) to partake in, a sustainability/environmentalist educational curriculum called "Root(ED), a number of book readings from independent authors, in-Shoppe celebrations for Juneteenth, cooking for the neighborhood for a "FriendsGiving" event, and so much more. All of this amounts to numerous beautiful connections, idea sharing, community building and most importantly - perpetuating love. This indeed, more than anything, is what the Shoppe has become known for and sets us apart.

Are there products in the Shoppe that customers are most drawn to? 

Our best selling products have probably been our earrings and our collared shirts. All of the jewelry sold in the Shoppe is hand-made by black women (woop woop) and we're ever so fortunate to have some of the best brands in the business (84 Gem, The Gilded Stone, Lingua Nigra, etc). Our curated vintage collared shirts are also very popular, and I guess that's just from having a good eye for pattern/fabric combinations (a lot of silk, rayon/viscose, etc).

What does the future of the Shoppe look like?

We'll actually soon be providing Black owned everyday (yet essential) commodities at the Shoppe, things such as soaps, body butters, toothpastes/brushes, exfoliants, detergents/cleaning products, etc. Really excited to provide those. People can also expect to see an evolution of our in-house community events. We're working hard to bring back the energy that people have come to love but in a way that's adherent to this new COVID-19 conscious world. 

You can shop select items on their website or visit in person at their Bedstuy location. Be sure to follow Byas & Leon on Instagram for more.