Collectors Will Love Perusing This Online Shop’s Offerings of Tabletop Treasures

Text by Elizabeth Czapski

The seeds of Feast Vintage, Eleanor Brooks’s online tableware and décor shop, were sown early on and in many ways. Not only did Eleanor discover a passion for retail through her first job at age 15, but she grew up with entrepreneurial examples close to home. “You could say entrepreneurship is embedded in my genes,” she says. “Both of my grandfathers owned their own businesses. I have spent most of my adult life in the retail industry and spent most of those years dreaming of owning my own brick-and-mortar store.” This dream came full circle in an unexpected manner thanks to another enduring hobby—the hunt for vintage treasures—when Eleanor decided to start selling her finds on Etsy in 2013.

“I have loved vintage and secondhand goods since I was a little girl who used to ride her bicycle to neighborhood yard sales Saturday mornings,” she recalls. “That love has never waned, and thrifting has always been my favorite way to fill my surroundings with lovely things. I would always come across pieces that were amazing but didn’t necessarily fit into my home or aesthetic. Deep down, I knew someone would love these items, or I recognized the value in them, and that made it difficult to leave them behind.”

Initially, Eleanor sold a broad spectrum of home goods, but after the first year, she found herself naturally gravitating toward a niche. “I realized the items I loved the most and had a hard time parting with revolved around cooking, dining, and entertaining,” she says. So, she honed down her inventory to tabletop-related pieces—from china and serveware to glassware, linens, decorative accessories, and more—which was the true beginning of Feast Vintage.

“I wanted a name that evoked gatherings but also abundance, and ‘Feast’ came to mind almost immediately,” Eleanor says. “Something magical happens when people gather together around the table. I wanted my shop to inspire people to do just that—make memories around the table.”

Eleanor finds her products by scouring antiques and thrift stores, flea markets, and estate sales both in her home base of Franklin, Tennessee, and all over the South, always seeking out little shops “off the beaten track,” as she says. “The best treasures are usually found there.” But it is Eleanor’s home on a small farm that offers a backdrop of distinctive character to the inspirational styling and photography of her pieces, bringing them to life across the website she launched last year and helping patrons easily picture how the wares might enhance their own homes.

“I am a visual merchant at heart, so it was challenging for me to have products that were only shown online in a catalog format,” Eleanor says of her move from Etsy to her own site as a Shopify merchant. “I was searching for a place where the stories of these items could be told in a more impactful way.”

It’s these stories—the unique histories woven into each vintage ware—that continue to entice Eleanor after so many years, and ultimately, that’s what she believes appeals to her customers as well. “I think people are drawn to the shop for many reasons beyond aesthetics,” she says. “These items tell stories.” Some of these stories may evoke recollections of childhood or time spent with loved ones, elicit the joy of replacing items that have been lost over time, or simply help to recall a nostalgic memory.

“There is nothing more heartwarming than getting an email after someone receives their package, sharing how that item brought them back to a place in time they’ll always cherish,” Eleanor says. “It is a powerful thing and one I am honored to play a part in.”

For more information, visit feastvintage.com.