Flagship Store of Solange Azagury-Partridge – London
Azagury-Partridge, a completely self-taught Jeweler who launched her own jewellery line in the 90s, has recently opened a London flagship store.
She is known for her creative and innovative jewelery designs, having been quoted as saying:
“The advantages of being self-taught are that I have no preconceptions or received opinions about the rules of jewellery. Being an outsider is my raison d’être.”
The new London flagship matches her creative sentiments, and is located in the suitably exclusive Bond Street area of central London. Fantastic features include a 600,000 Swarovski crystal adorned ceiling and plush red velvet. The whole store also has a “private members” feel, including areas with discreet enclaves and hidden doors. The store is clearly eccentric and exuberant, oozing that “rock-star” quality for which the label is known!
[Picture via The Cool Hunter]
Longchamp – New York City
Creating an undulating landscape seen through a large glazed core cut on the building’s facade, Heatherwick beckons customers from street level up a waterfall of rubber and steel ribbons. The gorgeous incline up to Longchamp’s Soho Flagship Store is a striking work of art, and marks a radical departure from the brand’s traditional image, and has solidified itself as a landmark in creative design solutions.
[Via Hongkiat]
Puma City
The Puma City project was undertaken by LOT-EK architects, which are based in New York City. They were tasked with creating something that not only looked great and was easily transportable, but that also housed a retail store, a lounge, an event space and office space. It is thus clear that this was no average design project, requiring especially creative thinking. Shipping containers were choosen as the base material for the project, a clever idea which allowed Puma to make use of the already extensive shipping network in place all over the world. 24 containers were thus fitted out, and due to the amount of countries in which they would be set up, the whole project had to adhere to international building codes.
Puma City was built in order to travel in unison from port to port with the 70ft Puma sailing boat il Mostro which was competing in the 2008 Volvo Ocean Race.
Woolworth’s Heir Opens Eco General Store
Priscilla Woolworth, fourth generation heir of famed Woolworth’s stores, has opened her own eco-store, now available on the web. While the items aren’t anything extraordinary (in fact, you can even buy Bon Ami on the site), she does promise to try everything out before putting it up for sale and some of the categories are pretty convenient.
The sections are not really any different than what you might find at any other eco-store, though there are a few helpful things. Her Office and School section offers items for both students and adults, most of which are made from recycled materials and several even support environmental causes with their purchase. The gifts section offers many fair-trade items from Africa, including the very cute Rwandan Baskets filled with Himalayan bath salts. Not all of the items are really eco-friendly, such as the weird head scratcher for sale that you typically see in independent stands in the middle of urban malls. Also, other items you can purchase at a store just down the street from you, such as Bon Ami, and may not be worth the postage. But on the whole, the items do have a earthy, country feel and many are eco-friendly.
Priscilla Woolworth is a fourth generation relative to the founders of Woolworths and spent most of her childhood between France and Maine, spending a lot of time outdoors. This has influenced her interest in a personal green, healthy lifestyle as well as the creation of an online store selling recycled, organic, biodegradable, and healthy products.
You can find Priscilla Woolworth.com online.