The ROTUNDA GALLERY, 33 Clinton Street in Brooklyn Heights, presents Design Brooklyn 2000, showcasing the work of the expanding community of Brooklyn-based designers and furniture makers. Curated by Janet Riker and Meridith McNeal, Design Brooklyn 2000 opens with an Artists' Reception from 6-8 PM on Thursday November 9, and runs through December 22, 2000. The Gallery's annual benefit, on November 2nd, will serve as a special preview and sale. Regular Gallery hours are Tuesday-Friday, Noon - 5 PM and Saturday, 11 AM - 4 PM. Admission is free. Information: 718-875-4047; or www.brooklynx.org/rotunda.

Brooklyn has a rich history as a center for artisans dating back to colonial days; in the nineteenth century the borough enjoyed preeminence in the fields of furniture design, craft and manufacture. In 1996, the Rotunda Gallery presented its first survey of work by contemporary Brooklyn-based furniture makers -many of whom work in the waterfront districts of DUMBO, Red Hook and Williamsburg in warehouses and loft spaces once occupied by their predecessors. This year, the Rotunda will re-visit this growing community of designers to showcase furniture, lighting, and other decorative accessories in Design Brooklyn 2000. The exhibition will explore the use of innovative materials, including exotic woods (bubinga, wenge and liana), vinyl-skinned foam and mica, as well as the inventive use of traditional materials such as ceramic tile, glass, wood and metal. The exhibition reflects the best of today's Brooklyn designers who are forging a place for themselves in an increasingly sophisticated home design market, and showcases young firms that are part of our borough's growing small business community.

Designers in the exhibition include:

Hannah Brand, whose low fire ceramic serving dishes display a loose, modular geometry while referencing organic forms.

COTULE Lighting Design/Stephane Pagani, maker of fluid sculptural lighting fixtures that often reference the soothing motion of water.

Julia D'Amario/Carreaux, whose ceramic tiles capture the energy of the natural world with designs based on pre-historic sea life and fossilized remains.

Elseware Inc., whose modular ceramic wall tiles house a variety of innovative bathroom accessories from towel rings and toothbrush holders to flower vases.

Janice Farley, whose delightfully subversive ceramic vases Circe and Mrs. Simpson are from her series "Bad Girls".

5x5 design studio/Lynn Lane and David French, whose refined line, fine finishes and rich lusters, contribute to the zen-like perfection of their work.

Roberto Gil, designer of inventive children's furniture that combines bright colors and natural wood surfaces to meet children's needs while appealing to their active imaginations.

Girth Design Ltd, whose astounding juxtapositions (including a wine rack of fur-lined foam) blur the distinction between fine art and design.

Evan Hughes Studio, whose elegantly proportioned plant stands are created in steel and colored glass.

Klydelights/Charles Flickinger and David Rosencrans, presenting an innovative line of bent glass tableware from a series entitled Float.

Konrad Kaletsch/Burgeoning Studios Inc., whose table and floor lamps created in space-age resins and fiber are one of a kind luminous art objects.

Pearce Lashmett's who playfully combines improbable materials such as rubber, plexiglass and metal to create wacky lighting fixtures in a UFO aesthetic.

Robert Martin who has designed a unique, adjustable desktop easel engineered in clear anodized aluminum and wenge.

Amanda Moffatt, who uses ancient ceramic forms as models for functional stoneware bowls, urns, vases and pitchers.

Michael Puryear whose superb studio furniture uses a range of exotic woods, including bubinga and wenge to create refined and graceful forms

David Provan/Provan, whose wood and metal Palanquin Cabinet references the ancient Asian carriage for which it is named.

r+d design, whose delicate white porcelain cups and vases convey an Asian-inspired simplicity.

Von Robinson, displaying his upholstered and wicker chairs that are strongly reminiscent of the human form.

Janet Rutkowski/B.F.D. Firehouse Studios, whose miniature steel and plexiglass coffee tables reflect her duality as a sculptor in metals and designer of furniture.

Siegel Arts, whose painted modular benches and storage units are part of a long tradition of minimalist sculpture.

Carol Sun, whose handmade wool rug and silk organza curtains use text as a decorative motif to urge the viewer to "Look, See, Read, and Think".

T.O.M.T./Rodney Allen Trice, whose drawings of improbable constructions and free-wheeling assemblages transform a wide range of found objects into functional works of art.

David Weeks Lighting, whose lamps, wall sconces and ceiling mounted lights strike a balance between sculpture and engineering.

Tony Whitfield/Red Wing & Chambers Inc., whose newest line of furniture utilizes sustainably-harvested rainforest materials.

Michael Whitney, whose "found object" clocks employ an astounding variety of propellers and fan blades to hilarious effect.

John Wigmore, presenting minimalist wall sculptures made of steel and Japanese paper lit from within by candles and incandescent bulbs.

Jonah Zuckerman/City Joinery whose exquisitely crafted pieces combine the best of traditional arts and adventurous contemporary design. The Rotunda Gallery, housed in an award-winning space designed by Smith-Miller + Hawkinson, showcases the work of Brooklyn artists. The Rotunda Gallery's educational programs reach 6,000 students each year with gallery visits and in-school artmaking projects. The Rotunda Gallery is a project of the not-for-profit BRIC/Brooklyn Information & Culture, Inc. (Nanette Rainone, President)

Located in Brooklyn Heights, just over the Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridges, the Gallery is also easily accessible by public transportation. It is a short walk from the 2,3; 4,5; M; N or R trains at the Court Street/Borough Hall station; or the A, C trains at High Street.