The German Handyman of Greenpoint Will Screw in Your Lightbulb
“The way I ended up in Brooklyn is a classic love story—not with the city at the beginning, but with a Brooklyn-born girl.” And, really, is there any better reason to move to another country? Marko Khan might have come to Brooklyn for love, but, once here, he began working to build on his earlier successes in the arts. Khan has launched a business—The German Handyman—in Greenpoint that, he tells us, is both “a tool shop and a prototyping laboratory. Back in Berlin I was involved in film and fine arts, and I’m reaching out for possibilities to make things happen here as well.” He first caught our attention when we saw him walking down the sidewalk, sporting a perfectly tailored black suit and… a reciprocating saw. Have you ever fantasized about what the guys on Craigslist who say they’ll help put your Ikea furniture together actually look like? Marko is that fantasy come to life. Nothing would make us happier than having him help hammer together a Trollsta table. But he can do much, much more than piece together particle-board side tables.
Khan has over 12 years of experience working not only in Berlin but also in other places scattered around the globe. When Khan first moved here, immigration issues kept him from working right away, but he told us that this gave him time to “check out Brooklyn. It felt like a home away from home, since I’d been a member of the vivid Berlin art scene for so long. Both worlds are pretty well connected, and I wanted to contribute to that ongoing cultural exchange.” Khan has become more and more integrated into the Brooklyn art community, working on remodeling projects like his “friend’s gallery, Rouge 58, on Metropolitan Avenue, and also on programming international short film screenings there.” And whatever happened to the girl that he followed to Brooklyn? They eloped at City Hall in February 2011. Khan tells us that now, “my dream is to be a member of a constructive community, to develop meaningful, sustainable, and aesthetically valuable projects and products. I have just begun.”