Lady Sings The Bleu

A small crowd of people are milling around the second floor of Tenisha Light-Caba’s brownstone looking for a hidden treasure. A few have even wandered up to the third floor, while a steady stream more walk through the front door.

They are customers, shopping during the grand opening of Brooklyn Bleu, a vintage boutique and showroom, located at the Clinton Hill/Bed-Stuy border.

“In here, you will find treasures-- things from all around the world,” says Light-Caba.

As soon as you walk into Brooklyn Bleu, the first thing you notice is that everything – from the exposed brick, to the tile-framed mirror, to the fishnet wall hanging, to Tenisha herself – is doing its own thing. But her design eye is precise. And so, like puzzle pieces, it all clicks together. The big picture is perfect.

Thelonius Monk is playing.

Upstairs, where she has converted the second floor into the main shopping space, sunlight spills into a showroom of shopping women. Even through their whispers, you can hear their excitement.

Everything is here for the extreme vintage enthusiast: Art deco vanity serving trays, vintage salt-and-pepper shakers, an original photo print of Billie Holiday, a turn-of-the-century brass crumb catcher, jewelry from 30s through the 80s hand-stamped with the names of famous designers (No need to say their names, because you know them well) Ostrich skin cowboy boots, and oh!, a closet full of vintage shirts, skirts, jackets and dresses, including my favorite, a beautiful silk slip from the 50s by Christian Dior (alright, I said it!).

Inspired by her grandmother – a very stylish lady who used to collect hats – and growing up in Berkley, California, just minutes from Telegraph Road, Light-Caba says she’s loved vintage since she can remember, although she’s only been collecting seriously for the last ten years.

“You will find things in here that come from all over the world,” says Light-Caba, who shares buying duties with her twin sister who still lives in California and does most of the globetrotting.

Billie Holiday is playing.

Suddenly, she disappears and then reappears in an entirely new dress, a sky-blue “50s party dress,” she calls it. One of the customers bargained and then bought right off her back the vintage yellow dress she was wearing.

Light-Caba loves vintage, but she's not a hoarder; she has no problem letting go of items.

In fact, in a way, she seems to be a bit of a minimalist. And she doesn’t particularly care for crowds.

She admits that the crowd of customers filling up the showroom and dressing rooms of Brooklyn Bleu is not exactly what Light-Caba envisions for the future of her boutique: Brooklyn Bleu is by appointment only.

“It’s a special space, so I want my customers to feel special,” she says. “It’s funny, one woman was so excited after she came here to shop, she offered to twitter about it for me, and I told her ‘no thanks,’

“I’m not interested in crowds or twitter. I want to give customers one-on-one attention,” she says. She adds that she will even personal shop for her customers and bring certain items she feels will suit them right to their homes.

“There’s a reason I’ve decided to convert my brownstone into a showroom instead of opening a storefront. I don’t mind opening the space up to small groups who want to hold a cocktail party while they shop, or a tea party or a brunch. But I want want people to feel like they're getting personalized attention at Brooklyn Bleu.”

She squeals, as though she suddenly had an epiphany, and then runs over to her window where a container sits filled with small plastic bags. Inside of each bag is brown shredded paper.

“This…” she says excitedly, “is what I found in the basement of our brownstone, when my husband and I first moved in. It’s The New York Press newspaper from 1913! It was crumbling. So we decided to turn it into ‘Time Capsule Confetti.’ It’s selling for only $10 a bag.”

Suddenly, it was clear why she had so many fabulous rare finds: She’s not looking for vintage. No, not at all. Vintage is looking for her.

To make an appointment with Tenisha Light-Caba at Brooklyn Bleu, email her at info@brooklynbleu.com or call her at 310-927-2093.