After closing in Cold Spring, couple reopens store in Beacon

They’re back — and so are the uplifting slogans.

Actually, David Kimelman and Kevin Burke, the couple behind Burkelman, never left. They live in Philipstown. But they closed their Cold Spring and New York City stores during the pandemic.

Now, they’re shop owners again, after opening a new location in Beacon next to the Howland Cultural Center in the space formerly occupied by the Fridman Gallery.

David Kimelman and Kevin Burke in their Beacon store Photos provided
David Kimelman and Kevin Burke in their Beacon store (Photos provided)

“We missed the interaction with people and a place to showcase, so here we are,” says Kimelman. The Cold Spring location was open from 2015 to early 2020.

His husband and business partner, Burke, is a veteran of staging, styling and customer interaction in retail’s major leagues, including Tommy Hilfiger and Bergdorf Goodman.

Burke designed the interior but also handles the back end, such as sourcing and sorting out snafus. Kimelman, a former photographer, focuses on marketing, schmoozing and helping behind the scenes.

Burkelman sells pillows and rugs as well as parfum-infused soy wax candles.
Burkelman sells pillows and rugs as well as parfum-infused soy wax candles.

Among the items on the shelves are sleeveless linen dresses cut short in front and long in the back, like a tuxedo tail. “We call it ‘flounceware,’ ” says Kimelman. They sell well by mail order to California addresses. “To us, the Hudson Valley is New York City’s California,” he says.

The store is a work in progress, Kimelman says, with rolling racks and other methods of showcasing “new things with a new look.”

Beyond painting the floor and all the walls white so that the colorful merch pops better, they constructed a black, pitched roof changing station on the sales floor that looks like a tool shed and feels like a meditation hut.

Burke says many visitors want to hang out inside, even if they’re not trying anything on. The exterior does double duty: It provides display walls for about two dozen Tracey Tanner leather purses and photos of their entire line of 40-plus pillows (many of which sit in racks nearby).

A selection of clothing available at Burkelman
A selection of clothing available at Burkelman

Folks familiar with the former store at 101 Main St. in Cold Spring will be surprised, says Kimelman. It had darker hues and offered tableware, home goods, furniture and art. (After being renovated by Burke, that space is now occupied by Reservoir.)

At the Beacon spot, clothing selections that reflect the couple’s quirky taste are “just an eyedropper” of what’s to come, Kimelman says. “Nothing here is typical; there’s always a twist.”

Returning customers will remember the rugs, pillows and fragrances. At the moment, a sampling station for their eau de parfum, accessed by lifting an overturned glass that covers a pellet-sized black furniture pad, looks like an upscale hashish bar.

It’s a clever way to avoid spraying people’s wrists, and they keep a small bowl of coffee beans on hand to cleanse the nostrils between each snort.

Burkelman opened this month at 475 Main St. in Beacon.
Burkelman opened this month at 475 Main St. in Beacon.

A club-size disco ball — the store mascot, says Kimelman — hangs in one of the picture windows and represents the couple’s less-hinged past.

“We’re dads now,” says Burke, referring to their 10-year-old twins. Yet he revives the old days by mixing what one assistant, Eve Perez, calls a “house club party vibe” music stream that delivers a distinct disco drive. They plan to host soirees every month or two.

The couple enjoys spouting upbeat maxims. During one July weekend, a sidewalk sign read “Feel Your Fantasy.” “You know, smell it, live it, wear it,” says Kimelman. Inside, a modest temporary display of his photos reflects the concept “shine bright.”

But the overarching philosophy is “Get Your Life” — physically and metaphorically. The couple designed bags featuring the trademarked saying in large letters. “It’s a call to action, combining casualness with inspirational play,” says Kimelman. “We want to empower people’s self-expression.”

When a customer stopped outside the store to vogue, showing off her top and necklace, she shimmied, pointed at the door and kept on trucking.

“That’s what it’s about,” says Kimelman, waving through the glass. “She’s living and getting her best life.”

Burkelman, at 475 Main St. in Beacon, is open in the afternoon on weekdays and from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. See burkelman.com or instagram.com/burkelman or call 845-747-3465. 

Behind The Story

Type: News

News: Based on facts, either observed and verified directly by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.

Marc Ferris is a freelance journalist based in Cortlandt. He is the author of Star-Spangled Banner: The Unlikely Story of America's National Anthem and performs Star-Spangled Mystery, a one-person musical history tour.