Bed-Stuy boutique owners sell ethical, handmade Haitian-American clothing

A clothing boutique in Bed-Stuy is run by two Haitian-Americans who combined their innate love of fashion and their desire to give back to their country.

Rony Byas and Harvey Leon launched their own brand, Byas Leon, in 2013.

The brand started off with selling button down shirts that were handmaid in Haiti.

Six years later, the two have opened a brick-and-mortar store in Bed-Stuy that sells more than just shirts.

Their brand is also made up of vests, pants and more, and they are all inspired by fashion designs of the 60s and 70s.

Byas and Leon design all of the clothing and bring the fabrics to Haiti. There, tailors make the clothing. Their goal is not to pay minimum wage but a thriving wage.

Byas and Leon say the concept came so naturally to them.

"We had an interest in apparel, and we also wanted to do things in Haiti. So, boom, we put those two things together," says Leon.

The Byas Leon store has been open in Bed-Stuy for seven months and also carries other sustainable and ethical brands next to their own.