If you find yourself in search of retail therapy, there’s a new spot well worth a visit. State & Third opened recently in the Shoppes at Capitol Square (yep, at State and Third streets). Owner Becky Brisker is thrilled to be pursuing her passion downtown.

Brisker has long dreamed of opening her own retail shop. After working in retail design and product development since graduating from college in 2005, she launched her own label, Object Adapte’, in 2009. While continuing to work in retail design, she saw her own business picking up and jumped at the chance to host a pop-up shop at the Shoppes at Capitol Square. The positive response from the pop-up and the changes she saw in the retail design business spurred her to pursue a permanent location and make the leap.

“I have the right space at the right time in the right location,” explained Brisker.

And it’s no accident that the “right location” is right downtown.

“I love being downtown. There is an amazing revival occurring downtown with the development of housing, industry and offices in the area, but there are not yet many retail options. I hope to be the spot where people shop during lunch breaks, the place to buy gifts, and the place for out-of-towners to find the work of talented local and national artists.”

State & Third features an eclectic collection of apparel, jewelry, household items, furniture, accessories and artwork, plus a few fine food options. The pieces are meant to appeal to both men and women and to people of all ages and tastes.

“It’s a shop that offers unique, functional and impeccably made items,” Brisker summarized.

Brisker is approaching the stocking of her shop as a gallery manager curates an art gallery. She sites her mission to support independent artists by bringing their work to a larger audience. Many are local vendors, but others hail from further afoot, though with Ohio roots.

“I have finalized my core vendors and have kept the categories very tight, because I don’t want too much overlap,” Brisker explained. “I plan to run the space more like a gallery and will be adding two to three new vendors each month, hosting an opening for them. This will be a benefit to both my customers and the artists.”

State & Third is open Monday through Friday, 11 a.m. – 6 p.m. and Saturday, 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. Stop by and see what a curated retail experience is like.