We’ve made it through about 140 of these, one subject at a time. And now I’m happy to introduce the first duo to grace these digital pages: the pair behind lighting brand In Common With and the buzzy new hybrid retail-hospitality space Quarters, Felicia Hung and Nick Ozemba. Hailing respectively from the Bay Area and Westchester, New York, they met at RISD and have been nearly inseparable since. Hung focused on furniture design in school before moving to New York and working for small design studios. Ozemba comes from the world of interiors. “We both knew even in school that eventually we’d do something together,” Ozemba says. “No one really knows what the hell they’re doing when they’re 20 years old, so we took some time to really think about it.”
They started In Common With in 2018 and opened Quarters in Tribeca in 2024. “We make products, not to make products, but for everything that happens around them.” Upon walking in to Quarters, I was genuinely blown away by just how unique and homely the space was. If you aren’t familiar, it’s worth a visit. You’ll impress whoever you bring. Below, Felicia, Nick and I discuss the history of In Common With and the impetus behind starting Quarters; their relationships with clothing, style, and each other; the parallels between personal clothing style and the direction of their businesses, and plenty more.
Fit One
On Nick: Jacket by Bode, shirt by Bottega Veneta, trousers by Marni, and shoes by Eytys. On Felicia: Jacket by Combine de Filles, shirt by Mara Hoffman, trousers by Rachel Comey, and shoes by Dr. Martens.
Could you give me the history of In Common With?
FH: It was frustration with the industry.
NO: Some of the stuff we make is expensive to an everyday person, but within our industry, it’s really well priced for how it’s made. There are a lot of handmade components that we produce with studios of one to 10 people in Brooklyn. We’re trying to build a made-to-order production model that’s well priced and helps artists and still works in project environments.
FH: We also really wanted to have a bit more transparency and collaborative nature with everyone. We made a website that had prices on everything because we’re like, “Why do you have to inquire to get any information about anything?”
NO: It was a differentiator at the time, which is crazy.
What is Quarters? What’s special about the space?
NO: When we first started In Common With, we knew we’d have a showroom, but it never was going to be a gallery. We wanted there to be an element of hospitality and had joked that we’d open a bar someday. And now, here we are. We wanted this to feel more like a residence and show people how to live with the product that we designed. All the lighting in here is products we’ve made. We’re dipping our toes into producing furniture, which is what both of our backgrounds are in. There’s vintage in the space that we’ve restored. There are limited-edition collaborations we’ve been doing with people like Sophie Lou Jacobsen and Jenny Kaplan. It’s not just about the product; it’s about who made it, the details, the things that are happening around it. The bar opened just a few months ago. We’re building the third floor space, which will have a commercial kitchen and a 60-person dining room. One of the things that’s exciting to us about it is that we actually get to engage with these industries that are normally separated—home and fashion. This has allowed us to work with some of those brands and build those relationships, which has been fun. We hope to do more of that.
Fit Two
On Nick: Coat and jacket by Bottega Veneta, shirt by Jil Sander, and trousers and sneakers by Marni. On Felicia: Jumpsuit by Girls of Dust, shirt by Ulla Johnson, and shoes by Eytys.
How did each of you become interested in clothing and style?
NO: I don’t know. I feel like it’s the same reason why we’re fascinated with materials; “Oh, this thing is put together really beautifully. Or the colors of these fabrics, the way that they feel…” We didn’t start buying clothes until after we had this studio because we had no money.
FH: Before I was studying design, my style was not there. But as I was learning about design and art and culture, I think having a different canvas to express more of what I like became more of a thing that I was aware of.
In what ways does your design style and ethos meld with your personal clothing style, if it does at all?
FH: We’re constantly matching our pieces and each other.
NO: I feel like everything that we just wear is in this earthen palette, there are these small elements of color, like there is in the rest of our work. A lot of our things have these very intimate details that sometimes you wouldn’t even notice until you were up close.
Fit Three
On Nick: Coat by Birrot, jacket by Marni, shirt by Bottega Veneta, trousers by Tombogo, and sneakers by Salomon. On Felicia: Jacket by Wetheknot, shirt by Julia Heuer, and trousers by Toogood.
You guys keep beating me to my next questions. Do you see any parallels between your ways of dressing?
NO: We didn’t wear it today, but we both bought the exact same outfit without talking to each other. Then we showed up wearing it and I was like, “Oh, my God.”
Do you guys learn stuff about clothing from each other?
NO: It’s the way that we approach clothing that is similar. It’s complementary, but it’s not the same.
FH: I feel like both of us for clothing aren’t big stylers. We both really like the simplicity of jackets and pants that will go with any of our things because they’re ours and they look good together. I just wear a shirt, pants, a jacket, and I can pick anything from my closet because they all will look good together. I feel like that is the big similarity between the two of us and how we dress. Everything is nice. But it’s not like this outfit has to be this exact outfit.
Fit Four
On Nick: Jacket and trousers by Marni, shirt by Lemaire, and shoes by Maison Margiela. On Felicia: Vintage coat, trousers by Social Call, and shoes by Rachel Comey.
How do you maintain a friendship in the face of running multiple businesses through all of the stresses and challenges I assume come with it?
FH: Wow, getting into deep questions.
NO: It’s changed a lot from when we first knew each other. It’s like a marriage.
FH: He’s my first husband.
NO: When we first started, it was just the two of us for three years. We put everything that we had into it. Felicia moved into my apartment. I had a boyfriend at the time, so we were actually in a throuple, and she was living in our closet.
FH: I had to go through his bedroom to get to the bathroom.
NO: The thing that has worked for us the whole time is that we’re both so dedicated to this that there’s little that can stop it from happening. That’s why our relationship works, because we’re like, “I’m going to push through.”
FH: At the core, our goal is the same and we have trust in each other that we’re both working towards the same goal with the same amount of drive.
NO: Never any doubt.
What’s inspiring each of you at the moment?
NO: Too many things. We’re developing six different collections right now that are launching over many different years.
FH: Pattern right now is a big thing we’re focusing on, which is something we haven’t really played with.
Fit Five
On Nick: Sweatshirt by Bottega Veneta, shirt by Assembly, trousers by Camiel Fortgens, and shoes by Ferragamo. On Felicia: Jacket and trousers by Marni, and shirt by The Frankie Shop.
How so?
FH: A lot of our pieces so far have been very about the material and keeping it to the color of the material and how we can manipulate that. We’re working on a fused glass collection of lighting. With fused glass, you could do a lot in pattern that other materials don’t lend themselves naturally to.It’s been exciting to explore that a little bit more. Putting us out our comfort zone a little bit.
NO: A lot of the things that we looked at were art-based, like Dan Flavin. We have these quilts in the space right now from Gee’s Bend, and have been looking at all of those patterns. It’s coming from so many different places. This collection is cool because the pattern with glass and light varies; when you turn them on and off, they are completely different. I’m very excited about them. They release in the middle of May.
If you had to wear one outfit for the rest of your life, what would it consist of?
NO: God, for the rest of my life. Baggy denim pants, sneakers. I probably would wear a tank top and an overcoat. That’s what I wear all the time. Those poor Marni pants upstairs are like default. I love a uniform, so it’s like I wear the same thing every day.
FH: I’d probably wear a loose T-shirt with a heavy cotton jumpsuit with sneakers, and a thicker jacket.
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