Life & Work with Eleanor Brooks of Leiper’s Fork

Today we’d like to introduce you to Eleanor Brooks

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I have loved vintage and secondhand items since I was a little girl riding my bicycle to neighborhood yard sales on Saturday mornings. I would bring back interesting things not only for myself, but for my younger siblings as well. I guess you could say I have been ‘sourcing’ vintage for most of my life! In 2013 I channeled my retail background and began selling vintage online through Etsy. At first I sold all sorts of home goods and decor but after about a year in, I realized that the pieces I had the hardest time parting with were the items I found for dining and entertaining. I have always loved cooking and hosting gatherings in my home so it actually made sense to curate my shop to the things I was most passionate about. It turned out to be a smart move because when we buy what we truly love that passion and joy exudes from us and draws others in.
My shop was a “side hustle” to my career in apparel retail that relocated us from the suburbs 40 miles outside of NYC to Nashville TN in 2015. In 2018 I left that corporate job to work locally for a small family owned business and in 2023 I was able to make Feast Vintage my full time job.
I live on a small farm about 30 miles south of Nashville in Leiper’s Fork where my husband and I grow a majority of our own food as well as cut flowers. We have sheep, chickens, ducks and 4 dogs a cat and a rabbit. It’s a complete departure from the life we knew on the East Coast and a life I never anticipated having but I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Nothing is ever smooth! Yet as much as I hate struggling, I firmly believe the best things are most often built out of adversity. One of the biggest struggles has been the continuous outgrowing of my work spaces. This business started on my dining room table, moved into a walk in attic (unpleasant in both summer & winter!) and finally got a stockroom and studio space here on our farm. Now, 8 years later, I find myself needing more space both to house inventory and work efficiently. I’m hoping to convert our barn into workspace for the shop as well as gathering space for hosting all sorts of gatherings in the future.
Another struggle was in perfecting packaging. When your business is based online and almost every single thing you sell is fragile the packaging is everything. Especially since most of the things I sell are also one of a kind and cannot be replaced if they are damaged. There is nothing worse than a customer being excited for their purchase only to have it arrive broken. So much is out of my hands once I turn it over to the shipping carrier so I have really had to figure out how to ensure from my end things arrive intact. Issues are thankfully now few and far between!

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I am known for Bringing Vintage to the Table. I specialize in selling vintage and antique dinnerware, glassware and serve ware on my website feastvintage.com. I am so proud of this little brand I have built! My passion is for showing others how they can use vintage and antique pieces in their modern day living. Using vintage items is not just a sustainable way of living and kinder to our planet, but it also creates an eclectic and cozy vibe that people are drawn to. Nothing sets a table (or home) apart like the incorporation of vintage and antique items. Any style icon would agree. These pieces have stories to tell and in turn, become a part of our stories when we use them on our tables and in our homes.
I am most proud of how I use visual imagery to tell the stories of the items I sell. Feast Vintage is not just another vintage shop chock full of ‘listings’. Feast Vintage is a lifestyle offering inspiration and an invitation to bring these pieces into your home and create some magic of your own.

If we knew you growing up, how would we have described you?
Growing up I always longed for the past. A voracious reader, I was constantly at the library taking out books and tearing through them at lightning speed. My love for reading turned into a passion for creative writing both which have never gone away. I was mesmerized by the ‘old ways’ of living and often wished I had lived in the 1800’s thanks to Little House on the Prairie. Probably no surprise that I eventually came to own a farm!
In high school I used to make most of my own clothes and had grand plans to head to NYC after graduation and major in fashion design at FIT. A trip to Europe the summer I graduated changed my mind about going right back into school and I decided to work full time and travel overseas as often as I could.
I have always been extroverted and found making conversation with anyone is easy. As I have gotten older I think I am more of a blend of both extrovert and introvert ~ I find myself more often desiring solitude and quiet.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.feastvintage.com
• Instagram: @feastvintage
• Facebook: Feast Vintage
• Youtube: @feastvintage