Ever needed a last minute baby or house warming gift, but didn’t want to take the L to Manhattan’s Bed, Bath, and Beyond? No need to scramble for your Amazon password for that quick Prime shipping, either. If you live in Ridgewood, newly opened home goods store Saint Seneca at 797 Cypress Ave has your back.
Right off of Cypress Ave, between Putnam Ave and Madison St lies the cute new interior design and home goods store, Saint Seneca. Saint Seneca space was formerly a part of the neighboring urban store, Mula. We attended their opening party this past Saturday, November 7, and it felt as cozy and warm as Ridgewood is.
Owner of Saint Seneca, Yuka Anziano
Saint Seneca was opened by Yuka Anziano, a colorist who cohesively put together the homely, petite shop. She’s lived in the area, right around the corner of Saint Seneca to be exact, for about 12 years, and opening a store has always been a dream of hers. When asked why she picked Ridgewood to open her shop, Yuka said it’s because she really loves, and believes in the neighborhood as “the little neighborhood that could.”
“The owners of Milk & Pull came by as well. They live on the next block over, and they were my first sale! I was so happy they came over and wished me good luck,” said Anziano.
With the help of some money Yuka’s late father left her, and the support of her friends and family, Saint Seneca was born. Cool fact: Yuka’s friend, Aaron Miller, designed Saint Seneca’s replaceable wooden shelves.
The store was designed to have removable shelves, in the event of having art exhibits placed by local artists. “I want to support local pop-ups shops, and my boyfriend and I decided to do monthly art shows. That’s why the removable shelving was so important to us – we wanted to have a multi-functional space,” said Anziano.
Saint Seneca’s first art show is expected to happen sometime in December of this year. But for now, some of the art pieces that Yuka has on display are from local artists, like Nina Ventura, Travis DeMello, and even her boyfriend, Leonardo Micarelli.
Saint Seneca has a great selection of international and national products like Marvis Toothpaste and Nell & Mary tote bags, to locally made wares like Wilcoxson Brooklyn Ceramics. In order to find vendors for the shop, Yuka went to a several craft shows for inspiration.
“I went to a lot of trade shows at first, and a few friends recommended some stuff. I started a Pintrest and added things that really spoke to me. I just kind of selfishly picked the stuff that I really loved, and hoped everyone else really loves it too.” said Anziano.
While Yuka is working on building a website for the store, she wants people to experience shopping physically in Saint Seneca as well. “I want people to feel impacted by what we have,” said Anziano.
And if you were curious about the shop’s name Saint Seneca, it ended up being a combination of two things: location, and a cat. At first, Yuka wanted her store to be on Seneca Ave, but after her lease fell through with the previous space, she looked elsewhere. But, if you want took look at godly coincidences, Yuka’s boyfriend, Leonardo, once had a cat named Seneca, who wasn’t as darling as you would think.
“It was a devil, and we would laugh because it was such a saint, but it would attack you if you looked at it,” said Anziano. She decided to combine both Senecas in an homage to her neighborhood, and a “saintly” feline friend.
What’s even more hilarious is if you look up Saint Seneca on Google, you’ll be directed towards an American folk band from Columbus, Ohio, that has the exact same name. “They liked my Instagram, thanking me for posting, because they’re getting hits through the store!”
Saint Seneca is located at 797 Cypress Avenue, Ridgewood, New York, 11385.