As you know, I find the vast majority of...everything ...in the New York Times to be senseless drivel most of the time. An exception of course is Winkreative founder Tyler Brûlé's column in the magazine, about lifestyle issues of topical contemporary interest. His latest dispatch is a musing on his tendency to fall in love with destinations and cultures to the point of near obsession. One way to solve the economic cost of such head-over-heels proclamations, as well as become the ultimate trendsetter, is to start a local shop catering to the beloved market at hand:
I'm not quite ready to abandon the tools of my current trade, but there's a certain attraction to establishing a series of bases and running a local business to pay for my homes. In each instance, the residence would be the sideshow to the thriving little business I would build from identifying a gap in the market and then filling it with an architecturally sympathetic, perfectly appointed bar, cafe, shop or service concept. The following are a few of the establishments I wouldn't mind launching in some of my favorite destinations.I would like to open a small shop in Antwerp, designed by Poponcini & Lootens, to sell bubblegum and shoelaces, and perhaps a few desk items from Muji. And of course, fresh flowers. How about you?
1. An international newsstand in Avalon, a Sydney suburb, where I'd sell foreign papers two days late, the best fanzines from the Netherlands and great coffee for surfers heading out for an early-morning paddle.; 2. A men's store in Palma de Majorca, Spain, where I'd happily live above a shop selling good swimwear, elegant knits and perfectly cut dress shirts.; 3. A Korean bath in Miami, which, like those in Seoul, Tokyo and Sydney, scrub you till you scream and leave you daydreaming of your next visit. Having been disappointed by Miami's prissy spa offerings, I think there's room to do it the Korean way.; 4. A multilingual sports store in St. Moritz that would be a retail mecca for sporting goods and apparel -- bicycles, ski pants, thermal undies -- for which customers from around the world would jet in. (This might be cheating slightly, since I already reside in St. Moritz for part of the year, but this doesn't cancel out the need to fill a glaring gap in the market.); 5. A hotel in Helsinki, where there is definitely room for an upmarket, 70-room lodge for business travelers and tourists who want something that feels modern, Finnish and fresh rather than rooms that could just as easily fill a building in Dallas. I couldn't commit to Helsinki year-round, but if the numbers worked out for my hotel venture, I could be persuaded.
oh my-- I would love to shop at your shop-- what would you call it?
Posted by: Elizabeth | October 04, 2005 at 02:20 PM
Good question! I having a "love" New York kind of a day, so perhaps I would be a little nostalgic, and decorate the place with blow-ups of those marvelous Avedon portraits of Andy and his Factory proteges. Maybe I'd name it after a Warhol Star who doesn't exist - sexy sounding like Candy Darling or Brigid Berlin, but made-up... Magda Mermaid! or I could just copy my favorite local bumper sticker: "My Other Car is a Boat." XX, LC
Posted by: Editor | October 04, 2005 at 02:49 PM