Making Pippin Toy Co. Part Three: Giving a Store Personality
I like to give my stores a personality. Each one is distinct. When we tell people that we own all three they usually see the resemblance, but for the most part, we’ve done a good job of imbuing them with their own unique personality. Honestly, figuring out who they will be is most of the fun. What do they look like? Smell like? Even sound like? Who shops here? What will they find? What do we want to project to the world? Mostly what feeling do people get when they walk through the door?
Red Barn Mercantile is decidedly American. She is red, white, and blue – almost literally. She is cozy and welcoming. An old farmhouse of sorts where you can relax and just be. She is unpretentious, but she loves beautiful things. Linen, leather, old wide plank floors, and the smell of pine and embers. I’ve always said she is a jeans and t-shirt kind of a store. The jeans are premium denim and the t-shirt is organic cotton.
Penny Post is more sophisticated. When I was working with the graphic designers and Lindsay Boudreaux of Shotgun Double, we kept coming back to the UK. I mean Penny Post is a postal system used in Great Britain in the 17th century after all. Penny Post is cerebral, a little pretentious, proper, timely with her thank you notes, and very stylish. She is a vintage green Range Rover, clean lines, and brass accents. Basically, she is Emma Watson with a pixie haircut in a tuxedo at an awards show. Or Cate Blanchett. Pick your favorite tuxedo wearer.
For Pippin Toy Co. I didn’t want to create your average toy store. Anyone can give you that. Pippin is an amalgamation of the two other stores. She is the perfect combination of mid-century modern meets storybook tales. To get there we looked to France for the design. They effortlessly combine eras into something magical. Pippin is a chic French mom with a messy bun who lets her kids run barefoot, always has healthy snacks, fosters imagination, and makes sure to prioritize her needs, too.
To accomplish this design, we looked to Lori Anderson Wier and her right-hand woman Amanda Hauge to bring our vision to life. I fell in love with Lori’s work as soon as I saw it. She’s from California so she has that effortless chic-ness I was looking for. Her designs are warm and inviting and her color palette is well beyond average. That was what I wanted. Beyond average. I knew she would give me that and I was right.
From the very beginning she got it. I gave her my inspiration board and she ran with it. I think the only things we cut from the original plan were a sink in the main space and the life-size, life-like tree that was to surround the concrete support column. The tree would have been amazing with our giant ceilings, and it would have cut the noise in our cavernous space, but the budget didn’t allow it. Instead, she dreamed up the pattern and wool felt tiles that surround the column. In the end, I think it was a better and more creative choice. It is the perfect juxtaposition between the sweet, scalloped shelves and it feels very French.
The house in the middle of the space was genius. It allows for a great flow, draws your eyes in from the street, offers wall space for product, and inspires creativity from our little customers. It was inspired by the Ghost Frames in St. Mary’s City, MD. I love that she got from there to here with something so otherworldly. Just brilliant.
And, she spared no detail. From the cabinet knobs to pattern placement and bathroom trash cans to pendant lights, she suffered over everything. And it shows.
It’s been almost a year now, but I wanted to thank Lori and the rest of the team that helped bring Pippin Toy Co. to life. This was the most expensive build out I’ve ever done, but it was the easiest. Nathan Supinski of Full Circle Property Solutions was a dream to work with. He was always upbeat, always prepared, and always professional. Gustavo Dieckmann and Chris Cowie were frank and honest about all the architectural needs. They really guided us through the permit process and gave us creative solutions. And, finally Cory Frank from Design Foundry provided the whimsy to this job. His team created a magic world of color, houses, and tiny doors for kiddos to enjoy. This team worked seamlessly together and made our toy store dreams come true. I would work with each of them again and hope to one day soon. We are forever grateful!
