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Barbara Leech-Lugo's pocket sized boutique on Washington Avenue isn't just about bringing a touch of fashion to prospect Heights. It's about supporting jewelry, clothing and handbag designers who create for a cause.

"It's good to know the whole back-story [of] the company," says Leech-Lugo, owner of Diva Desires, Located at 687a Washington Ave. "I like to have lines that help communities. This one goes to help the Cancer Foundation -- Leukemia -- because the designer lost her son to Leukemia so the proceeds go to the organization."

Diva Desires opened in August of 2008 and, like most businesses, is currently battling a sporadic sales environment.  

"The last year was really good, but now people aren't spending as much," she says.  "Hopefully the kick off to the holiday season will be good but it's been off and on. One week will be really good and the next week will level off to nothing really so it's up and down." 

Leech-Lugo was born and raised in Brooklyn's Crown Heights neighborhood in a household where her entrepreneurial and fashion-minded parents were a major influence.

"My father started Cambridge and Leech Insurance on Nostrand Avenue and it's been there for 50 years", she says. "My mother and my aunts were definitely fashionistas, loving to go shopping every weekend. Then, when we went on trips, we'd always hit the small boutiques around and see what unique stuff is out there."

An anthropology major in college at Buffalo's SUNY Fredonia, Leech-Lugo brings her love of travel and culture to Diva Desires, selling handmade jewelry from Thailand where the proceeds support the family that created it for week at a time and items that support women who've suffered from genocide and rape for the women's cooperative in Africa, among others. She also favors high quality faux-leather bags because of their vegan friendliness. 

"I just contacted Soles4Souls where I'm going to collect shoes," says Leech-Lugo. "Then I'll send them in with the dollar that people donate with their shoes and they send the shoes to people in the US or around the world.

Leech-Lugo's boutique caters to women of all ages, offering options from across the price scale. And while major name brands like Steve Madden and Big Buddha are also available, it's the humanitarian lines that distinguish Diva Desires.     

"I like that stuff," she says.  "Especially since fashion is such a fun thing -- sort of could be decadent -- so it's nice to have some things that give back."