Newport Beach-based Bessette offers handpicked goods and personalized embroidery.
By Alicia Venter
A vintage, one-of-a-kind item can bring life into a space or home, but for some, it may take too much time to sift through antique and thrift stores. However, those busy individuals do not have to forgo anything for their home’s decor, thanks to Bessette, a Newport Beach-based, female-founded shop that curates vintage home goods from across the world into collections available for purchase online.
Bessette was founded three years ago by sisters Shannon Barker and Cait Barker alongside Lauren Reveley, their best friend. Though based in an office on Balboa Island, the trio travel across the country on a treasure hunt. It was a passion they held for years, exploring antique stores both nationally — in Cape Cod, Nantucket and the Hamptons — and internationally. However, they began considering it a business opportunity during the Covid-19 pandemic. In September 2022, Bessette was officially founded.
“The three of us all day, if we could, would be vintage shopping, treasure hunting, thrift shopping, vintage shopping,” Reveley said. “Our own homes are filled with vintage. We love DIY projects that have to do with vintage and thrifting. We just love it. We thought, ‘What if we started a vintage company?’”
Bessette launches different curated collections throughout the year, each comprised of different vintage finds, including dishware, small wall art and trinkets that bring personality and life into the home. If they know the history of the item, such as its age or origin, it will include that information in the online listing.
“A lot of our items have a maker’s mark, an artist insignia or a date and a place where it was made,” Reveley said. “A lot of our plates, especially, come from Europe.”
Previous collections include the Americana, revealed around Independence Day, Palm Beach and Farmstand collections. There are over 500 items available on the Bessette website, priced from $10 to nearly $300.
Bessette sells to customers nationwide, and offers local delivery for Laguna Beach, Newport Beach and Dana Point residents.
“Whenever anybody orders from us, whether that be a customer from New York City, a customer from Charleston, or even someone here in Newport Beach, we kind of get a little insight into their personality and their own personal style, which is so fun and what kind of keeps things just so cute and interesting for us,” Reveley said. “It helps us really connect with our customers. We’ve built an incredible community of girls who are super engaged and of course love vintage, but also just love those little personal pieces that really make their house feel like a home.”
Bessette has become a favorite among many trendsetters, like Devin Brugman, co-founder of Monday Swimwear; Kennedy Crichlow and Mary Ralph Bradley, co-founders of Daily Drills; and style icons Katherine Schwarzenegger and Cynthia Rowley. They have all incorporated Bessette’s pieces into their living spaces, the company said.
After launching Bessette as a curated vintage company, the trio decided to expand into custom embroidery. It is a popular service among brides, Reveley said. The turnaround time for custom embroidery is 7 to 14 days.
In September, customers will be able to personalize embroidery with custom house branding, featuring names, phrases or motifs that reflect their home and story. This is a great gift for friends, Reveley said, as a home is often a reflection of one’s self.
“Embroidery has completely taken off,” Reveley said. “Personalized items for homes are a huge one. It’s obviously a great gift, personalized cocktail napkins, dinner napkins for a dinner party with people’s names on it.”
When purchasing vintage items, Bessette warns in a disclaimer, one must keep in mind that they are purchasing “something that is pre-loved,” and that most vintage items show some sign of wear.
“That is also what makes them so unique,” the disclaimer said. “We do our best to photograph and describe the condition of each item as best we can and we only sell items that we would purchase ourselves.”
Furthermore, Bessette recommends that linens purchased from the site are hand washed or cold washed only, and that they are purchased with similar colors. Do not tumble dry or bleach any linens from the site. Dishes purchased from the site should be hand washed for best results, and do not use them in the microwave unless otherwise stated on the dish.
Every order from Bessette is packaged in Newport Beach. It is wrapped in blue gingham ribbon and accompanied by a handwritten note.
Learn more about Bessette at bybessette.com.
