Design*Sponge - Sneak Peek: Bellocq

A few weeks ago, Grace and I participated in an event put on by the folks at Atlas Obscura. One of the stops on the tour, was Bellocq, a tea house in Greenpoint, Brooklyn that is literally around the corner from the Design*Sponge offices. For some reason, I had never stopped in before. When Grace and I walked inside, we literally gasped. From the Venetian plaster walls, to the pink velvet upholstery, we felt like we stepped into a little jewel box. You just felt that this was a real labor of love. 

Image above: The Bellocq walls are color washed venetian plaster. The tasting room has two plasters applied in panels followed by three hand applied color washes. The walls improve, and take on a life of their own, thanks to the careful efforts of experienced craftspeople. All the lumber used in the counter, shelves and flooring was salvaged.

Heidi Johannsen Stewart and Michael Shannon had been friends for nearly ten years – since they first met at Martha Stewart Living. It was a little tradition between them to search out beautiful teas when traveling and bring it home as gifts. When the pair began talking about a tea shop, it was only natural that Heidi’s husband Scott Stewart of Saaw, who has an amazing knack for creating unique environments, get into the act. With such a creative team, it’s no surprise that every detail of the business was completely planned out. Even the Bellocq tea canisters are custom designed, and the tea, itself is pretty fabulous, it’s collected from small purveyors around the globe and then the blends are put together in Greenpoint. Thanks, Heidi, Michael and Scott! -Amy Azzarito

Photography by Max Tielman

(Note: Bellocq was on the radio with Grace yesterday on After the Jump!)

Image above: It was important for us to embrace the emotions of the home in our atelier. That effort led us to create the “fern room”. The walls surfaces are created by Saaw.

Image above: Our Limited Collection is currently only available in the Atelier and on-line. These are our most rare teas.

Image above: We love to share extraordinary teas. The richness of the teas we source is truly exciting to anyone that has a passion for scent and flavor.

Image above: These teas are from the Bellocq Pure collection.