All products featured on Architectural Digest are independently selected by our editors. However, when you buy something through our retail links, we may earn an affiliate commission.
No one should need an extra incentive to support small businesses, but it never hurts to acknowledge the tireless work it takes to get a burgeoning company off the ground (or just to keep it afloat). And with the hit that so many POC-owned businesses took during the pandemic, there’s never been a better time to shop minority-owned ventures—especially those that sell solid home goods.
For AAPI Heritage Month, we’re spotlighting 12 of our favorite home and decor stores—by no means an exhaustive list—that make the tiresome task of shopping a delightful experience. Some of these brands broke into the design scene within the last couple of years, while others have been scaling up and innovating for over a decade. Even better, most of these retailers have physical brick-and-mortar locations where you can experience products in person and are well worth the visit (or just the online browse). Step right up and stay awhile.
Sun at Six
Furniture studio Sun at Six is all about preserving historic craft: Its creative director Antares Yee learned the art of Chinese joinery from his mother, who in turn picked up the tradition from a master in Beijing a few decades ago. What started out as a small family-run furniture workshop in his mother’s hometown of Guangzhou has evolved into Sun at Six, which debuted in 2017 with a range of forward-thinking designs—from wavy chairs to chubby nightstands and coffee tables—that are all perfected with ancient Chinese woodworking techniques. The studio hopes to celebrate Chinese design culture through its work and destigmatize the “made in China” label. For its fifth anniversary, the brand even released a trio of designs based on actual Ming and Qing dynasty originals that Antares’s mother—who is still involved in the business on the back end—specialized in when she first started making furniture.
Tantuvi
During an extended hiatus from the grind of commercial fashion design, Tantuvi founder Arati Rao found herself in her mother country of India, where both her parents were born. There, after a visit to the northern craftsman communities in the country, the inspiration struck for her rug and textile business, one that works directly with seventh-generation master weavers in India on its colorful, heirloom-worthy designs. Launched in 2015, Tantuvi offers intricately patterned weavings that take cues from art, nature, math, and architecture—including multi-hued agate rugs and cubic throws. You can even customize your own rug if you have grand ideas on how to optimize your floor space.
Little King
On the New York town Beacon’s Main Street, a mile-long strip of small businesses, eateries, and makers, there’s a new reason to meander: the charming home decor store on the west end called Little King. Husband and husband team Jeremy King (a pastry chef, formerly of Dover Street Market’s Rose Bakery in LA) and Ken Baldwin—a creative director who has spent nearly two decades in the beauty and fashion industry elevating the branding and design at places like Josie Maran and Gap—set up shop in late 2021. It’s one part market, one part cafe that serves up fresh coffee and pastries while you browse, with visual sustenance coming in the form of a bevy of colorful accessories like Fredericks & Mae cutting boards, littala Aalto vases, and Marimekko towels. Pop-ups from businesses like modern hardware store Yuns will also be coming through periodically, and there’s plenty more to explore online if you can’t make it out to the Hudson Valley.
Hudson Wilder
A visit to an architect’s estate sale in upstate New York inspired sibling duo Conway and Joyce Liao to launch Hudson Wilder, a New York–based homeware brand that emulates the simplicity of a bygone era. The business celebrated its seventh anniversary last December, and has made a name for itself in stylish dining staples like porcelain dinner plates and colorful hand-blown glassware. Beyond charming one-offs from other brands, like Georg Jensen egg cups, a recent Dodomu collection (named after the Ukrainian word for “home” or “homewards”) launched in March will benefit CO-HATY, a humanitarian project with a mission to build homes and furniture for those displaced by the war in Ukraine.
Beverly’s
Fashion stylist Beverly Nguyen based her namesake homeware line around the kitchen she grew up in, resulting in a well-curated assortment of kitchen tools and utensils (think chopsticks and rice strainers), linens made by her parents’ California-based clothing manufacturing company, and premium olive oils. But Beverly has also used her platform to support other small businesses, like the pepper grinders and cast-iron pots that cropped up at her cult-y debut pop-up shop in New York’s Lower East Side (sourced from restaurant supply stores in the nearby Chinatown area). Following celebrated pop-ups at places like Nordstrom and Rockefeller Center, Beverly will come full circle and return to the Lower East Side later this year with the launch of her very first flagship store.
In the Comfort Of
In the Comfort Of is a gold mine of midcentury, post-modern, and space-age furniture and decor located close to the waterfront in Seattle. Launched in early 2019 by Alana Tang—who used to work in fashion retail and quit a rigorous apparel design program to focus on the store—this venture in vintage curation has been an exercise in self-expression. It might help you surface something truly exceptional for that lonely corner of your living room, whether you’re eyeing a wall’s worth of tomato red Camano stacking shelves or a classic Alvar Aalto stool.
Lichen
When Lichen first started first started slinging $3 coffee and vintage furniture in Brooklyn’s East Williamsburg neighborhood, founders Jared Blake and Ed Be were mostly scouting vintage rarities from Craigslist and at auction to resell at their store. The pair have since relocated to a new space in Ridgewood and launched an exceptional range of affordable in-house furniture (from a best-selling Shelfie coffee table to a wavy bamboo room divider that’s easy to clock at Brooklyn house parties). Nowadays, you can also find small accessories from places like Craighill, plus exclusive collabs with the likes of designer Alvaro Ucha Rodriguez and loungewear brand Comme Si.
Gantri
Since founder and CEO Ian Yang launched San Francisco–based brand Gantri in 2017, it’s become a prime destination for design-forward, eco-friendly lighting that looks a hell of a lot more special than any old globe lamp plucked off Craigslist. Each design is dreamed up by an evolving list of independent creators around the world like Ammunition (the studio behind Beats headphones), 3D-printed to keep costs low, and cooked up with plant-based polymers—including innovative lantern lamps, task lights, and modern cantilever-style floor models. One of its buzziest launches was a collaboration with Philly’s Yowie on a groovy lamp that has a flower petal base.
Renew Finds
Tucked away inside a small labyrinth of studios and shops in Brooklyn’s Greenpoint Loft, Renew Finds is a treasure trove of rare vintage furniture and lighting, plus lots and lots of prints (including a portfolio of Joan Miró lithographs). Beyond pre-owned pieces like Ligne Roset Togo sofas and Robert Sonneman lollipop lamps, cofounders and life partners Jessica Li and Leo Cheng have also pulled in a collection of new Gustaf Westman designs to sate your craving for wiggles.
Sabai
Cutting through the noise of all the fast-furniture labels out there, Sabai specializes in making sustainable furniture at not-too-steep prices. Its current lineup includes stylish couches, coffee tables, and ottomans—crafted from recycled and upcycled materials like steel and wood, packaged without plastic, and primed for the long haul thanks to a comprehensive repair and replace program. CEO and cofounder Phantila Phataraprasit and her business partner Caitlin de Lisser-Ellen first met at Columbia University as friends before becoming colleagues. Though the brand has only been in business since 2019, it’s already surpassed a major eco-friendly milestone: It was officially declared a B-corp last May.
Nalata Nalata
Offering up a fine selection of handcrafted cedar goods, cast-iron cookware, and delightful home accessories (like sea urchin pincushions and leather wall organizers), Nalata Nalata—a store and craft gallery that predominantly sells Japanese wares—has been holding court in New York City’s East Village since it first opened its doors in December 2014. Husband and wife team Stevenson Aung and Angélique Chmielewski-Aung curate the home goods and gifts found in store and online, and have even contributed some of their own designs to the mix. Since the very beginning, the shop has also exhibited works from some of the leading artisans and designers in Japan, like a recent blue glassware collection from atelier Factory Zoomer.
Poketo
Stationary fiends will know Los Angeles–based home goods store Poketo for its colorful planners and desk supplies, but there’s a lot more than just paper goods to be had at this quirky decor destination. Founded by husband and wife team Ted Vadakan and Angie Myung back in 2003, the brand’s range has expanded in leaps and bounds from wallets into bags, tees, and kitchen essentials—often collaborating with creators like Ellen van Dusen and Ladies & Gentlemen Studio on its wares. It recently joined businesses like Open Spaces and Onsen among the Pattern Brands family, where it continues to pop out splashy, candy-colored goods for your home.
