A new vintage store has recently soft-opened in Greenpoint, though its proprietors (joke-intended) are old pros at the local retail scene.
Proprietors, a vintage and handmade boutique at 157 Green Street, brings together Clo Testa of Walk the West and Laura Lanz-Frolio of La Poubelle, two stores that served Greenpoint for years before moving to Hudson, NY. Below, the owners tell Greenpointers all about their new space.
How did you make the decision to return to Greenpoint? How did you end up in this particular space?
Coming back to Greenpoint was a no-brainer for us! After having to close Walk the West during the early days of the pandemic, we decided to move our family up to Hudson, NY. After a few months of living there and seeing the amazing vintage and retail scene in Hudson, I got the itch to open another store. This time around, I wanted it to be a collaborative effort so I recruited some other businesses to join me in starting a collective shop including Laura of La Poubelle Vintage who was a new vendor at Walk the West right before we had to close.
After an amazing year and a half in Hudson, we felt like opening a sister store in Brooklyn was a natural next step. We immediately thought of Greenpoint because of Walk the West’s roots here. There’s also a great Hudson to Greenpoint connection and we were finding lots of our upstate customers lived in Greenpoint or had moved to the Hudson Valley after many years of living in Brooklyn. After looking at several spots around the neighborhood, we finally found our perfect location on Green Street. It was a pretty raw space, a former garage and plumbing business, and we spent the next three months transforming it into our perfect little shop which is open and airy with lots of late ’70s and early ’80s influence including brown velvet drapes, lucite fixtures, and our mirrored disco ball corner! It has been so amazing to be back in the neighborhood reconnecting with our old customers and meeting the new neighbors.
Are there any brands or vendors you’re particularly excited about?
Our Greenpoint location has four vendors in addition to Walk the West and La Poubelle Vintage and we’re excited about all of them! Anoushka’s Attic has a gorgeous selection of effortless and bohemian-leaning pieces, we especially love her selections from the ’30s and ’70s. Flower in the Mirror has such a killer eye for high-end vintage from the ’60s and ’80s, and Hamptons Vintage Market has brought in an amazing selection of super wearable pieces including ’70s button ups, vintage denim, blazers, and her own collection of hand-dyed lingerie. We also have our great selection of home goods curated by our vendor Bones featuring hand-blown Moroccan glassware, organic bath products and candles, handmade Turkish blankets, and greeting cards.
Is the opening party open to the public? If so, what can people expect?
Our grand opening party is March 17th from 6-9 pm and is open to the public! We’ll have the champagne and beer flowing, a rainbow macaron tower, and lots of amazing vintage to browse!