Collyer's Mansion Talks Drones, Beard Brushes & Of Course Ditmas Park On Racked NY

Racked NY stopped by Ditmas Park shop Collyer’s Mansion earlier this week to talk to owners Mauri Weakely and Ben Heemskerk about transitioning from apparel to home wares, renovating the space in the store, the origin of the store’s name, and more.

Mauri and Ben (also of The Castello Plan and as-yet-unnamed Italian restaurant in the former Vox Pop space) discuss everything about Collyer’s from the age range of their customers to finding beautiful options at different price points to some practical considerations about the space’s former tenant, and explain to Racked’s Laura Gurfein their attachment to the neighborhood. Mauri says of Ditmas Park:

I considered other neighborhoods for clothing [stores]. But we live in this neighborhood, and Ben owns a wine bar [The Castello Plan], and we’re opening another restaurant. So when you live and work in the neighborhood, you’re really tied into the community.

I’ve lived all over Brooklyn—this is just the latest place that I’ve lived in, and I’ve stayed. It’s a nice reprieve from the city, but you still have the accessibility. Rents here are amazing—you have these big, gorgeous, pre-war apartments and it’s a nice place to live. There’s trees, it’s close to the park, there are these gorgeous Victorian houses, [but] you still have great coffee and good food, which is why you live in a city, too. You don’t feel like you’re sacrificing those New York things…

With Ben adding:

It’s a range of people. Ditmas Park is still a very diverse community, even with as much as it’s changed in the last ten years.

To find out about Mauri and Ben’s transition to selling online as well as from the storefront, the possibility of expansion, and who is and isn’t using their beard brushes, check out the full piece on Racked. Then stop by Collyer’s Mansion, which is located at 368 Stratford Road (between Cortelyou and Dorchester Roads) during their new holiday hours–they’re now open until 8pm seven days a week until Christmas.

Photo via Collyer’s Mansion