Cultivating a Creative Ecosystem in Bed-Stuy

Cultivating a Creative Ecosystem in Bed-Stuy

Christophe Roberts came to Bed-Stuy from Chicago 15 years ago, long enough to watch the neighborhood change around him and long enough to think hard about who gets left out when it does.

He is a multidisciplinary artist first. For more than a decade he has kept a studio in the Navy Yard and his last major commission was a ten-foot sculpture for the Shakur family in Los Angeles. But his sense of what a creative space is for goes back much further than that. 

His own roots are Bahamian, and the island has a way of gathering folks where the yard is essentially another room and everyone knows one another. That sense of connection and community is something he’s been striving for ever since. Growing up, his aunt ran a community art center and describes; he describes being “babysat in community art centers." So when he founded SEED Brklyn(opens in a new tab), he set out to build what he calls “the community space of the future.”

An Artist's Answer to What a Business Could Be

SEED runs three spaces under one roof. The Greenhouse, a lush green café, is the entry point. Beyond the café is The Garden, an immersive retail floor built to spotlight independent Black and Brown designers, who make up the majority of the floor, alongside international independents and a handful of major labels, all presented with style and care. Then there's The Oasis, a gallery and community hub with open collaborative space. That structure explains the phrase Christophe returns to most: SEED is built “for a mindset, not a demographic.”

Christophe reiterates the importance of not just being a part of the fabric of the community, but getting involved. SEED built a garden at PS 9, the elementary school across the street, while its own space was still under construction, before the doors had opened. It is led by SEED’s lead gardener, Samuel, who supports community gardens across the city. Its run club offshoot, Block Runners, marked its first year this spring, has already hosted its first trail race, and draws 50–60 runners every Saturday. The commitment to community goes well beyond the walls of SEED.

Supporting my people matters more for longevity than immediate success.

Taking Care of the People Who Show Up

As founder and CCO of SEED, Christophe knew he not only had a responsibility to his community, but to the people he hired, too. “I didn’t want to be Venmoing staff or tracking things on a spreadsheet”, he says. “I didn’t want payroll to be something I was piecing together by hand."

From his background as an artist, he understood the strain of going without health insurance, so as the business grew, benefits became a priority rather than a perk. Everyone on the team has health benefits, front of house included, which he frames as part of what it means to support people who are giving their time and energy to the business.

Justworks filled that gap early. New business owners don’t get a grace period. Month-end comes whether you’re ready or not, and payroll has to be right every single time.

Reliable benefits and payroll that runs correctly on its own mattered, because so many small businesses are figuring things out in real time. “You also need other founders who understand,” he says, referring to the community of founders he leans on for both the practical and the emotional. He doesn’t romanticize the labor of love that is brick-and-mortar; managing people, culture, operations, and growth all at once is hard. For him, practical support and a founder community go hand in hand: one helps run the business, and the other helps carry the weight of it.

Planting the Next Seed

But with HR, payroll, and benefits running smoothly, he’s able to focus on thinking bigger and bolder. SEED just secured new space just down the street for its agency arm. 

Christophe is planning a solo show of his own work in early 2027, a chance to show that side of his process and how it shaped SEED. “Every city needs a SEED,” he says, and he’s thinking globally; Chicago, LA, Tokyo, maybe even the Bahamas. Wherever the seeds land next, the instinct behind it stays the same: build something real where everyone is welcome.