Shop Hand-Made Brooklyn Apparel at Brooklyn Rock

It’s hard to miss the flash of neon blue at the corner of Dean Street and Flatbush. The storefront belongs to the independent T-shirt shop Brooklyn Rock, and it’s packing even more color and energy within its doors.

The inventory is the work of husband and wife team Chris Smith and Yukiko Wada. The duo makes thousands of silk-screen shirts right in the store, each design with a definite Brooklyn bent.

The store opened in October 2012, having sold previously at the Dekalb Market, and before that, on the streets of Williamsburg. The store’s focus is on shirts for kids and adults (tees, button-downs, thermals; all American Apparel), though they have expanded into aprons, mugs, and– some of their best-sellers– tote bags.

Their quirky styles involve Brooklyn-centric in-jokes and wordplay (e.g., a coffee mug that reads “I got mugged in Brooklyn”), and honors some of our greatest neighbors (e.g., a hands-crossed Larry David). And if, say, you love the Brooklyn Nets design but have a very specific idea of wearing it in blue ink on a red shirt, the owners are open to custom orders; it’s a perk of creating the inventory on-site.

If you haven’t checked it out yet, stop in and say hello!

Brooklyn Rock is located at 454 Dean Street at Flatbush Avenue, open noon-11:00pm seven days a week.