Brooklyn is only a short distance from Manhattan yet it has its own, highly distinctive identity. Talk to Brooklyn’s tight-knit but burgeoning community of designer-makers and you get the impression that this New York borough is widely seen as more romantic, bohemian, less overtly worldly than the more commerce-focused Manhattan. Yet it’s also easy to exaggerate the differences between these two creative hubs. After all, Brooklyn’s new generation of designers are, in their own way, highly ambitious and entrepreneurial. Even so, the ethos of their businesses is more leftfield, possibly more laid-back than those of Manhattan.