Ashley Molesso and Chess Needham, the queer and trans couple behind online stationery brand Ash + Chess, are embarking on a new venture—the opening of their very first brick-and-mortar retail store. Opening on November 11 at 44 North Front Street in Uptown Kingston, the duo’s upcoming Everywhere Shop will offer a range of bright and colorful products, including from their own stationery to gift items, home decor, and greeting cards.
Molesso, originally from Arkansas, studied textile design at the Fashion Institute of Technology and convinced Needham to join her to create the stationery business. “I met Chess on a dating app,” says Molesso. “Eventually, I took him to a trade show for a wallpaper company that I used to work at, and at the same time, there was a stationery show going on. So we watched that together, and I kind of convinced him to start a business with me.”
Molesso’s background in textile design, along with experience in the home goods industry, played a pivotal role in the brand’s creation. Needham, on the other hand, was a stationery newcomer. “I don’t really have the art background that Ash has,” says Needham. “I was a special ed teacher in the city for seven years, until Ash + Chess really picked up and we realized it was something that we could put all of our effort into. I ended up quitting my job, and Ash taught me pretty much everything about art and design.”
As the couple transitioned into the world of stationery, they set out to create a brand that represented and supported the queer community. “We first started off our brand six years ago by saying that we were a queer-owned brand,” says Needham. “A lot of people were like, ‘Don't do that. You’re going to lose customers. You just make cards, why does that part matter?’ We’ve been trying to hold true to the fact that it does matter and that representation is important.” In their ongoing endeavor to produce art and products that represent the queer community, Ash + Chess has collaborated with major names such as Target and Skittles. Now, over 700 retailers throughout the United States, Canada, Europe, and Asia sell their art and stationery.
The business started out based in Richmond, Virginia, but the couple decided to move to the Hudson Valley after three years. “I grew up going to the Adirondacks every summer,” says Needham. “We would drive through the area and see how beautiful it was. Richmond just didn’t feel like home, so when we came back to New York, we decided to come up to Kingston, and it felt very right for us.”
In Kingston, they initially rented out space in an office building, until Molesso discovered the building previously occupied by Artie’s Bar & Grill during a walk last November. After they toured the space this February, the couple realized it was exactly what they wanted. “It was actually two spaces next to each other, connected in the middle, which is something that we were looking for specifically,” says Molesso. “So one storefront part is now our office side where we run the Ash + Chess wholesale, and the other side is going to be the Everywhere Shop.”
Ash + Chess’s ethos of inclusivity extends to the Everywhere Shop, including its name. “‘Everywhere’ came from the sentiment that queer and trans people are everywhere and that they’ve always been everywhere,” says Molesso. Needham adds, “For me as a trans person, I just feel safe when I go into a store where I see myself represented—and not in a way that’s an afterthought. So we have a lot of products and signage that indicate to people that they’re seen here, that they’re welcome in the shop, and that it’s for them.”
The ADA accessible space will offer small gift items, including cards, pens, notepads, notebooks, puzzles, candles, and of course, stationery. Many of the showcased products will come from LGBTQIA+, BIPOC, AAPI, Latinx, and local makers, including Chunks, Goddex, Loam, Palate Polish, The Wednesday Co., Not Picasso, and Barry Lee. The duo are also hoping to continue adding products from additional businesses and are open for product submissions. On top of products, the shop’s displays are all hand-built, and a free art box outside the store is stocked with gifts for passersby to take home and enjoy.
On Friday, November 10, from 6-9 PM, the Everywhere Shop will host an opening party, complete with snacks and beverages provided by local queer chefs Julia Turshen and Emmet Moeller from Common Table. Molesso and Needham describe it as an opportunity to mix, mingle, and shop, and will be giving away goodie bags to celebrate the occasion.
As the Everywhere Shop gears up for its launch, the duo hope that it can be a hub for the community. “We want to be able to help other people, other businesses, other organizers, and other queer people in need of a place to meet, host a workshop, or gather,” says Needham. “It might be our project, but it’s more than that, and it wouldn’t exist without the people who are out here.”
