The Empty Dry Cleaner That Became a Printing Studio

Leslie Diuguid needed a real studio. In 2019, Diuguid was running her fine-art print business, Du-Good Press, out of her bedroom in Bed-Stuy. The room was only about 150 square feet, which meant it didn’t leave space for a real bed; Diuguid set up her drying rack on top of her futon during the day, and turned the futon back into a bed each night. Every place in the neighborhood she toured was too expensive or looked run-down or filled with junk. One day, while looking at another property down the street, she saw a “For Rent” sign at Rodriguez Dry Cleaners on Patchen Avenue. It was one square room, about 750 square feet, and — miraculously — clean and empty, a ready canvas for the larger equipment that had been sitting in a storage unit. Diuguid decided to keep the exterior as it was.