Partners by Design

EDIE VAN BREEMS and Rhonda Eleish are life partners in friendship and in business. The two women met as schoolgirls growing up in Westport and Fairfield respectively and became inseparable.

Creativity flowed easily in their families; van Breem’s mother was a Balanchine dancer and owned a ballet company, and her economist father aspired to be a fine artist. Eleish’s father was a diplomat and an artist, and so the two men became close friends.

The girls spent their formative years together but went their separate ways to college. However, they quickly reunited after graduating while working in the photography and fashion industries in New York City. It was there that they realized their shared love of art and design was more than a passing fancy.

BUILDING A BRAND

In 1997, they decided to open their first antiques import and design venture in Woodbury, Connecticut. Their European travels and shared Swedish roots naturally led them to sourcing and importing Gustavian antiques, often found in the barns and farmhouses of the rural Scandinavian countryside.

“Everything’s in balance in Scandinavian design,” says van Breems. “I think that’s something that we both really responded to after spending a lot of time there.” Combined with midcentury modern pieces and whimsical housewares, the Eleish Van Breems brand soon developed a distinct identity.

The business grew, and the pair were making trips to Scandinavia four times a year, each time filling a 40-foot shipping container with furniture pieces. After several years of this, Eleish took a step back, but she returned in 2015 after leaving her corporate job behind. The pair fully committed and soon opened their Saugatuck retail storefront at 22 Railroad Place. They quickly expanded to the next-door storefront, and then the office and studio on Franklin Street, each space with a slightly different personality.

RULES OF STYLE

After ten years in business, Eleish and van Breems have granted themselves permission to make their own design rules. After all, they have written three seminal books on the topic.

“We don’t really have one style,” notes van Breems. “We really are about the client and the project.” Across many of their interior design spaces, you’ll see the mixing and matching of midcentury modern with pieces that many people mistake for French classical. However, the simplified lines, muted color palettes and distinctive patina derived from chalky mineral-based paint are markedly Gustavian, named after the Swedish monarchs of the late 18th century.

This more traditional foundation allows van Breems and Eleish to play elsewhere in the space with color and form; punchy, large-scale posters are a fixture in their showrooms, and they’re currently obsessed with Italian blown glassware.

While the items in their stores change with what they find interesting at the moment, in their interior design work, they do adhere to general Scandinavian design guidelines.

“In the Scandinavian design tradition, one takes into consideration the natural light, the surrounding environment, nearby geographical elements and the building materials,” says Eleish. “All those environmental factors affect your interiors, so it’s a very holistic approach to how you design a house.”

MODERN CHALLENGES

Eleish and van Breems had a blueprint that worked for them and their clients, but they were faced with challenges with the arrival of online vintage and antique furniture sellers. The women had to reevaluate their business, both from a buying and selling standpoint. As pioneers in bringing Swedish design back to the United States, seeing others co-opt their unique brand was disheartening.

Thankfully, they were always a multichannel business and had a loyal following, which allowed them to stay true to themselves and their vision. “We are honored to have had such wonderful, long-term relationships with our clients,” says van Breems.

That being said, the pair diversified their business and now have trade partners, robust online retail and custom upholstery and furniture options, in addition to their design services. Their line EVB Home encompasses everything you could need, from linens and décor to tote bags and toiletries.

OLD MEMORIES, NEW HORIZONS

And business is doing well—so well that just a few weeks ago, their new flagship store and third retail location opened on Main Street here in Westport. The historic 1775 building, known to many Westport residents as the Remarkable Book Shop, holds fond memories from Eleish and van Breems’ shared childhood. Their parents often dropped them off there, at the top of Main Street, and allowed them to spend the day exploring downtown on their own.

They always knew the space was incredible, and after seeing multiple businesses occupy and then leave the storefront in the last few years, the two decided the time was right to make the space their own.

The extensively restored space features ample natural light, exposed wood beams, and a dramatic and sleek staircase, leading up to a wallpaper-bedecked second floor. And, of course, furniture, décor items, framed posters and examples of Gustavian antiques.

LOOKING TO THE FUTURE

With this new retail space, the women reflect on how they want to approach the future in business, together. “I hope that we’re always able to be authentic, and that we’re always fresh and interesting and six months ahead of everybody else,” says Eleish.

After nearly three decades of design, van Breems faces the future with one goal in mind: “I want to keep inspiring people around us to have fun in their space and make their homes a sanctuary.”

BY COLLEEN CROWLEY