It's Pride Month and we're celebrating by featuring some of the members of the Queer Community in Kingston.

Ashley Molesso (she/her) and Chess Needham (he/him) are co-owners of Everywhere Shop, a Queer and Trans owned gift + stationery store in Uptown Kingston by stationery brand, Ash + Chess. 

Read the full interview below...

Tell us about yourself, Everywhere Shop, and how it came to be..

Ever since we created The Queer Tarot: An Inclusive Deck & Guidebook and other publications we've always dreamed of opening a storefront including our artwork alongside other inspirational artists and makers in the community. We wanted to create a space for queer and trans people living in or passing through the Catskills/Hudson Valley area who just wanna buy cute gay things. 

Everywhere Shop carries bright and colorful gift items, trinkets, accessories, stationery, greeting cards and more, featuring products from LGBTQIA+, BIPOC, AAPI, Latinx and local artists and makers. 

On the sidewalk outside of our store, we have repurposed an old newspaper box to hold free art and posters for people to take. We’ve called it the Free Art Box, filling it weekly with in-house printed risographed posters, illustrations and graphics for anyone passing by to hang in their window, hold up at a rally, give to a friend, even frame on their wall.

We named our store Everywhere Shop because Queer and Trans people are everywhere.

How is Everywhere Shop involved in the Kingston queer community?

When we decided to finally open a brick and mortar store, a decision we spent six years deciding over, my partner Chess and I agreed that whatever the store was going to end up being, it needed to be a store that we wished we had growing up. Queer spaces are few and far between, and were even less so thirty years ago. Commerce has always had a strong influence on what is normal and acceptable in everyday life, but not often can you go into a store and see LGBTQ+ affirming messaging. Kingston, New York, as well as the Hudson Valley and Catskills, have had pockets of LGBTQ+ folks for decades.

In 2026, the area we call home is prouder than ever and we are so honored to be able to be a part of that, and to be part of the community here. In working behind the counter every day, we meet parents of LGBTQ+ children, we meet tourists from all around who have either stumbled upon the bright and colorful shop or even had found us online before and planned a trip around it, we meet people who have grown up in Kingston and people who have transplanted themselves here from elsewhere, we meet all types of people who maybe haven’t even interacted with a queer person before. To create a space where people can see themselves reflected in the art and products we stock feels so important when mom and pop shops and small businesses are going up against big box stores and online shopping. 

On the sidewalk outside of our store, we have repurposed an old newspaper box to hold free art and posters for people to take. We’ve called it the Free Art Box, filling it weekly with in-house printed risographed posters, illustrations and graphics for anyone passing by to hang in their window, hold up at a rally, give to a friend, even frame on their wall. Driving through Kingston, I will often see our free art hanging in other small businesses' windows as well as house and apartment windows. While we must sell things to keep our store and business afloat and to be able to support ourselves, we still believe in art being accessible, even if it means we are giving our work away for free. It’s truly the least we can do after being held by so many caring customers who believe in our art and have supported us over the years!

In the past, we have also used the space to host events open to the public, including book launches of queer authors, curated readings, and collage and art nights. Everywhere Shop often sponsors local performers and sports groups for shows and fundraiser events.

Can you tell us about how you evolved your personal style in order to feel more like yourself?

Chess: Growing up, I felt really comfortable in my personal style up until a certain point when people, mostly adults, began to criticize me for shopping in the boys section and “looking like a boy”. As I reached puberty and my body began to change, I felt forced into wearing girls’ clothes just to stop the constant comments about my gender. I definitely felt uncomfortable, but it was a question of what was easier - having to defend myself to strangers, or just become what people expected of me. I dressed more masculine than other girls, for sure, but I did just enough to avoid the comments. After coming out as trans at 31, I finally felt like I could be myself in every way, including personal style.

Ash: I’ve always been a weird fashion kind of person. I’ve always mixed colors and patterns that clash, I was constantly sewing and altering my clothes on my mom’s sewing machine as a kid, I was always was either wearing an article of clothing or had an accessory that elicited comments like “what are even you wearing” -my best friend growing up (in a lovingly way) or “please change, you’re embarrassing me” -my ex-step mom. The way my personal style shifts throughout a month, a season, a day, or even an hour-long crisis of figuring out what to wear is so fluid and I always end up finding that as long as I have at least a pop of color and probably an accessory most people would describe as “quirky”, I can feel comfortable in my style.

What is your go-to item of clothing and why?

Chess: Any cropped t-shirt always makes me feel good. My current favorite is a black single stitch that has a beautiful Tower Bridge graphic on it. It’s soft and fits me perfectly.

Ash: About half of the days I wake up, I feel like I don’t want my body to be perceived by anyone, making my go-to most comfy clothing oversized t-shirts. The kind that swallow me whole. I have a really cozy vintage nascar t-shirt that I found at a vintage pop up in LA a few summers ago. It’s a heather grey single stitch. The illustration on it is amazing. It’s designed in mainly primary colors, which I am actually not a fan of, but there’s just something so special about this shirt. I find myself wearing it at least once a week and I’m ALWAYS packing it on trips.

What’s a piece of advice you wish your younger queer self listened to / could hear right now?

Chess: Trust yourself in knowing what is right for you, even if you can’t explain it to anyone else. You know yourself best. 

Ash: COME OUT SOONER LOL.