Christine Costello and Patrick Noecker wanted to curate a selection of items—books, clothing, housewares, records, incense sticks and other trinkets—that make people feel good. And so, today they opened their store Feels in Ridgewood.
The co-founders are a married couple who met when Costello, who spent time living in Portland and Austin before relocating to New York for art school, was working at Beacon’s Closet in Park Slope. Noecker, who comes from a farming family in Nebraska, is a musician who has been in Liars, These Are Powers, and others (his current project, Casc, has been written about by Vulture). Costello had gone to see his band play live a few times, but it was his presence shopping at Beacon’s that made them get to know each other.
And so, paying homage to their history, the two have opened a vintage store that shares their story and everything that tugs at their heartstrings. Noecker curates the records and the menswear, while Costello—who is also a composition and literature professor at CUNY—handles the books and womenswear. “That being said, everything we do is a collaborative effort,” she says.
The store operates in the business improvement district of Ridgewood, in the 71st Avenue plaza just off of Myrtle Avenue, where Costello and Noecker would often wander on walks from their Bushwick home. They would frequent their friend’s nearby bar, and fell in love with the space. “The area was just so warm,” she says.
The result is a mish-mash of everything: ceramics, work from three local artists, soaps, coffee table books, plants, and anything else that makes somebody feel something.
Feels is located at 59-17 71st Avenue in Ridgewood; it’s open 11am to 7pm on weekdays (closed Mondays) and until 9pm on weekends.
