Home goods. Furniture and lighting.

373 Atlantic Ave,
Brooklyn, NY 11217
347.689.2562
assemblyline.co
@assemblylineshop
Tues—Sun 11am—6pm

Brodsky Neighbors perk:
15% off first-time purchases

Filling a need:
For fourteen years, Colin Stief and Sarah Zames have been leveraging their expertise in architecture, furniture, materials, and lighting via their full service interior design studio General Assembly. In the process, they’ve built a reputation for creating upscale and elegant interiors tailored for everyday city life. Their projects are large scale, the studio not really set up to offer smaller targeted services—but when Covid hit, they saw an opportunity to try something new.

“We realized that there was this gap,” Stief says. Customers wanted quality materials and furnishings they couldn’t easily find. “We opened the shop as exactly that—as a way to give these people access to things that we use in the studio”—especially the products and designers they keep returning to. “We just know what works really well in a New York apartment because you can’t move the junction box from the ceiling…. There’s a lot of New York problems we’re very familiar with.”

Décor Tip: Focus on the big stuff.
Whether you’re tackling a room or a full home remodel, “Always think about going from big to small,” advises Colin Stief, co-founder of Boerum Hill-based interior design studio and store General Assembly and Assembly Line. “Let’s just say it’s your living room. I would start with paint color, [then] rug, furnishings, lighting—go from the biggest things to the smallest things.” Why? “I think it helps with making decisions,” Stief explains. If you start with the areas that will have the most impact, it’s easier, he says, to “find the next thing that works with it, and then keep layering.”

Handcrafted gift shop.

377 Atlantic Ave
Brooklyn, NY 11217
718.254.9378
collierwest.com
@collierwest
Mon—Sun 11am—6pm           

Brodsky Neighbors perk:
10% off products

Décor Tips:

1. Trust your taste.

There are no rules—let your aesthetic lead. “I usually just start with ‘What’s your vibe?’” says Mary Jo Pile, founder of Collier West Home, Rugery, and Studio 369 art annex. “Is it mid-century? Victorian? Is it contemporary? Is it traditional? Is it farmhouse?” When you find a style you gravitate toward, she adds, “you can go from there.”

2. Choose key colors.

Pile suggests picking out a few shades or a print to build your décor around. “For example, with pillows, here’s three colors plus a neutral, and try to stay within that so your house has some kind of harmony.” 

Home goods.

600 Vanderbilt Ave
Brooklyn, NY 11238
347.897.6202
rdgoodsbklyn.com
@rdgoodsbk
Mon—Sun 11am—6pm

Brodsky Neighbors perk:
10% off products

Hosting Friends with Less Stress
If you love hosting dinners for your crew, and love a theme even more, you’re on the right page. But if the idea of entertaining a group in your home has you taking short shallow gulps for air, we’ve got you, too! We asked chef, author, and R&D Goods co-founder Ilene Rosen, and her style-astute daughter Isabel who co-manages the R&D stores, for their dinner party hosting hacks. Read on for the revelations that freed them from overworking—and overspending—to get everything “perfect”.

1. It’s okay if you don’t have matching plates.
“If someone’s hosting a dinner party, of course you want—or I would want—to have everything brand new, and I used to do that,” Ilene says, acknowledging, “it’s absurd.” Instead, she advises: “Put together whatever hodgepodge you have and… [use] napkins or one thing that kind of unifies everything together.” Her daughter Isabel concurs, mixing things up makes for a fearless and fresh tabletop look.

2. The right candles do most of the work for you.
“Candles set a good atmosphere,” Isabel says, and not just because they create instant warmth and intimacy, If the candles are colored or textured, or come in interesting shapes, they can give the effect of a well-planned, thoroughly thought-out theme.

3. Fuss over the feeling, not the details.
The most important thing to keep in mind is how you want your guests to feel. If you’re stressed about every little detail, you risk passing that on to your guests. Instead, unless the occasion absolutely calls for it, err on the side of “Nothing that’s too fussy.” Instead of family heirloom China, Isabel advises going with plates, glasses, and serveware you can stack up and throw in the dishwasher afterward.

Homewares and goods.

221 Court Street
Brooklyn, NY 11201
917.909.1385
thesixbells.com
@thesixbells
Mon—Fri 12pm—6pm
Sat—Sun 11am—6pm

Brodsky Neighbors perk:
10% off in-store products

A note from the owner:
“I wanted to create a space that felt like stepping into another world,” says Audrey Gelman, founder of The Six Bells, a lifestyle brand nostalgic for a time when candlesticks, cake stands, and ruffled pillows were the style du jour for home interiors. Taking its cues from yesteryear-English-countryside-chic and an American prairie aesthetic, these designs are thoroughly modern vintage you can wear or decorate with for an ultimately timeless effect.

Every piece at Six Bells has to feel like it belongs in an imagined country house—one that’s been layered over time with objects that tell a story. That means I look for things that feel timeless, tactile, and a little bit offbeat. I source from antique fairs, independent makers, and small-batch artisans who share our ethos of craftsmanship. But ultimately, an item is “Six Bells-worthy” if it sparks a feeling—if it has that bit of magic that makes you want to reach out and touch it, learn its history, or make it part of your own home.

Décor Tips:

1. Small details make a big statement, especially when you’re hosting guests. Lay out handcrafted soap on an artisan-made soap dish and your bathroom has instant charm.
2. Not a master chef? Elevate the simplest servings with a beautiful bowl.

Womenswear and homeware.

367 Atlantic Ave
Brooklyn, NY 11217
718.290.2661
us.toa.st
@toast
Mon—Sun 11am—6pm

Brodsky Neighbors perk:
15% off first-time in-store purchases

Hailing from Wales, and new to New York City, the sustainable lifestyle label TOAST is focused on making more of the things we love last longer. That means offering free mending services, hosting clothing swaps, selling and repairing vintage items, and educating customers about the ways we can keep our favorite pieces in our wardrobe or home—or in someone else’s.

A Noble Mission:
TOAST is on a journey to create a more thoughtful way of being in this world. We bring together like-minded, creative individuals through a series of events, talks, and workshops both online and in person. Each week we also host live styling conversations, talks with our makers, and guided tutorials led by the TOAST team. We believe in fostering thought and in enriching others. On our online magazine, we publish articles on the arts, culture, travel, and literature. The design aesthetic of ease, functionality, richness of texture and thoughtful contemporary design sits at the heart of the TOAST brand and is reflected across all our collections. We endeavor to create pieces that are unique, designed with great care, made of natural materials, and to present them in simple and inspiring ways.