Boerum Frills: Stribling celebrates office launch: PHOTOS

Some 250 brokers and guests crowded into Stribling & Associate’s new Boerum Hill office last night, though the residential brokerage sent out only 150 invites to the opening of its first Brooklyn location.

Perhaps the attendees were there to scope out a space, at 386 Atlantic Avenue between Bond and Hoyt streets, repeatedly described as “quirky.”

Indeed, the former furniture store — decked out with white and turquoise walls, custom floral wallpapered ceilings and chandeliers with handmade plastic fixtures — “embodies Brooklyn’s quirky spirit with bright and unexpected colors,” as a company spokesperson put it.

And in true Brooklyn fashion, guests sipped wine from the Brooklyn Winery and sampled an array of deli sandwiches and mini cupcakes topped with Stribling’s signature “S.”

The crowd at Stribling’s party last night

Elizabeth Stribling, the firm’s founder and namesake, had three words to describe the office: “fantasy, energy, happy.”

She and her daughter, Elizabeth Ann Stribling-Kivlan, the firm’s president, greeted guests as they filtered through the door, with the pair working their way through the crowd towards the back of the office.

“We’re so happy” with the office, Stribling-Kivlan said.

Also in attendance was Catherine Witherwax, who joined the firm from Douglas Elliman to head up the Brooklyn office. At Elliman, Witherwax said she helped build the company’s Brooklyn presence from its office at 156 Montague Street in Brooklyn Heights. Elliman now has five Brooklyn offices.

Meanwhile, Stribling’s Brooklyn office has about 10 agents, Witherwax said. The brokerage intends to hire 50 agents for the office eventually, but Witherwax stressed that Stribling will take its time bringing on new talent.

From left: Kirk Henckels of Stribling, William Brockschmidt and Courtney Coleman of Brockschmidt & Coleman, Elizabeth Ann Stribling-Kivlan and Charles Russell of Stribling

While some have concluded that the office’s location — off the beaten track of brownstone Brooklyn — was unusual, guests noted the heavy foot traffic on Atlantic Avenue, the success of the Barclays Center and the office’s proximity to popular Brooklyn areas, like Smith and Court streets, as benefits.

Plus, Stribling has been trying to remake its “stuffy” image, as The Real Deal has reported.