Alyce Tran, owner of monogrammed leather goods brand The Daily Edited (TDE), wanted their first standalone store to look and feel more like a living room. And the end result is a stylish affair.
“I wanted to create a relaxed space for our customers to interact with our brand and product,” she explains of the store in Melbourne’s Chadstone, where you have things monogrammed on the spot. “I really wanted to do something different to other more traditional retailers, to hopefully give our customers a more unique experience and therefore a reason to get offline and into store.”
She worked with interior design firm Just Add Cream and builder Skye Whitmore from Red Exhibitions, on a very tight schedule. “Natalie Longheon (from Just Add Cream) and I have a great working relationship and we are definitely on the same page so worked together very collaboratively on the project. We only had a week to fit out the store as I really wanted to open prior to Christmas. The whole process required the three of us to work together to get the job done. But three women, together, can do anything!”
Alyce’s favourite part is the study nook: “I keep buying accessories to add into the area. I need to stop!” Her tips for keeping your desk or home office space looking stylish include keeping things neat in trays and binders. “I’m also all about colour-coded notebooks for different work streams, especially if they’re monogrammed with your initials!”
She admits her own home is just like TDE. “When I have guests over they often say ‘this is like TDE!’ My response is ‘well I am TDE!’ Everything we have in TDE is definitely to my general aesthetic so yes, my house is full or marble, brass, pale pink and grey!”
Having eaten my fair share of Nectar and Stone‘s chocolates I can attest they’re amazing in both taste and aesthetic. However I’m not the only one who thinks so, with their online shop often selling out in the early hours of the morning! So what’s a chocoholic to do? Well if they live in Melbourne they should head down to Williams-Sonoma in Chadstone this Saturday for Nectar and Stone’s first ever pop up!
Alongside their signature cookie-filled chocolate pyramids and other sweet treats, Nectar and Stone will be offering a limited edition bespoke creation using Williams-Sonoma’s Original Peppermint Bark. The pop up will begin at 10am, until sold out. So be quick!
With Nectar and Stone having amassed an enormous cult following on Instagram, founder Caroline Khoo has found success in styling and photographing her handmade desserts. With a global reach and features on the Martha Stewart and Apartment Therapy websites, Nectar and Stone has an audience exceeding 280k on social media! And with Williams-Sonoma being a true household name, it seems like a match made in desert heaven!
“With Christmas on its way and working alongside Williams-Sonoma (a brand I have adored for so long) it seems like the perfect match for Nectar and Stone,” explains Caroline. “I am so excited to be able to meet fans, customers and the community that support Nectar and Stone. They are the bones of the brand and we are so privileged and fortunate to be part of something that is so special.”
This time next week, US retailer Williams-Sonoma Inc will open four stores in Chadstone Shopping Centre for iconic kitchen and home furnishings brands Williams-Sonoma, Pottery Barn, Pottery Barn Kids and West Elm. Just in time for Christmas, and we all know nobody makes as big of a deal of the holiday season as the Americans!
They’ll be the first Melbourne-based stores for Williams-Sonoma, Pottery Barn and Pottery Barn Kids, and the second for West Elm. The stores will sit side-by-side on the lower level in the west mall. In a global first, they will be interconnected, allowing shoppers to move easily between stores and shop across all four brands. An interiors addict’s dream!
Occupying a total of 2,505 square metres of retail space, this will be the company’s biggest retail footprint in Australia. The four stores will employ 140 full-time and part-time staff.
“Melbourne’s vibrant culinary and design culture is globally recognised and we are excited to continue our global expansion by opening four stores in this thriving city in time for the Christmas season,” said Ron Young, senior vice president of Global, Williams-Sonoma, Inc. “We look forward to sharing our exceptional home furnishings, unique in-store experiences and outstanding customer service with local shoppers.”
Williams-Sonoma, Inc. operates all four brands at Bondi Junction and Chatswood Chase in Sydney and Chadstone Shopping Centre, a standalone West Elm store on Chapel Street, Melbourne, and a multi-brand store in Canberra Outlet Centre. All four brands ship across Australia via eCommerce sites: williams-sonoma.com.au, potterybarn.com.au, potterybarnkids.com.au and westelm.com.au.
A variety of events will take place from 10am on opening day (18 November) with appearances by The Block’s Michael and Carlene, Chyka Keebaugh from Real Housewives of Melbourne and Sally Obermeder from The Daily Edition. From 6 to 10pm, all shoppers are invited to an opening day Christmas party with fare from the Williams-Sonoma kitchen including mulled wine and peppermint bark candy. Shoppers will receive an exclusive discount card for Christmas shopping valid between November 22 and December 31, 2014.
The following weekend, the stores are teaming up with Gelato Messina to create a limited-edition gelato collection. The Home-Sweet-Home Signature Series features four bespoke creations designed to match the individual personalities of each iconic brand and celebrate the Christmas season. The individually handcrafted gelato will be offered between 12pm and 3pm on Saturday 22 November and Sunday 23 November to shoppers who sign up to receive special offers and information about new arrivals from the brands via email. The gelato will be distributed from the Williams-Sonoma Christmas Gelato Garden outside David Jones on the lower level while stocks last.
I am so, so excited! Not only are West Elm, Pottery Barn, Pottery Barn Kids and Williams Sonoma opening their second Sydney stores (on “my” side of the bridge!) in just over a week, but I’ll also be there helping stylist Mr Jason Grant celebrate the launch of his second book, Holiday at Home. We’d love you to come and join us for a book signing and I’ll be doing a Q&A with Jason too. Did I mention there’ll be ice cream? More on that later…
Stylist and author Jason Grant
As part of its global expansion, America’s Williams-Sonoma Inc is opening stores for all four brands in Chatswood Chase on Thursday 28 August. Williams-Sonoma and Pottery Barn will be located on level one of the shopping centre, with Pottery Barn Kids and West Elm located on level two. The four stores will occupy a combined retail space of 1,716 square metres and employ more than 100 full-time, part-time and casual staff.
“We are excited to continue our global expansion in Australia at Chatswood Chase Shopping Centre,” said Laura Alber, President and Chief Executive Officer. “We look forward to sharing our exceptional home furnishings along with unique in-store experiences and outstanding customer service with customers on Sydney’s North Shore who want to decorate, entertain and live well.”
I can’t believe it’s been more than a year since Williams-Sonoma, Inc. opened its first Australian stores in Bondi Junction in May 2013. A Melbourne West Elm store followed in Chapel Street, South Yarra in September 2013. A further four stores for Williams-Sonoma, Pottery Barn, Pottery Barn Kids and West Elm will open in Chadstone Shopping Centre, Melbourne later this year. Watch this space for more details on that opening!
While the Chatswood Chase stores open a week tomorrow on Thursday 28 August, there’ll be plenty of special events taking part over the first weekend of trading, Saturday 30 and Sunday 31 August:
Mr Jason Grant book signing and interview
Holiday at Home, out in September, published by Hardie Grant
Come and meet well-known stylist and blogger Mr Jason Grant when he unveils his second coffee table book Holiday at Home. I will be interviewing him about the book and would love to see you there! There’ll also be a chance to buy the book and get it signed by Jason. All are welcome to this free event.
When: 12pm to 2pm on Saturday 30 August.
Where: West Elm store on level two, Chatswood Chase.
Gelato Messina collaboration
In celebration of the Chatswood Chase store openings, Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has collaborated with Gelato Messina to create a limited edition gelato collection. The ‘Welcome Home’ collection features four bespoke creations designed to match the individual personalities of each iconic brand:
Williams-Sonoma Choc-Chuck Cone Reminiscent of Williams-Sonoma founder Chuck-Williams’ favourite flavour, this handmade waffle cone is filled with creamy Madagascan vanilla gelato then dipped in berry callebaut and 70% cacao chocolate.
West Elm NY Ice Cream Sandwich Brooklyn-inspired Fair Trade espresso coffee gelato sandwiched between chewy white chocolate and macadamia cookies
Pottery Barn Welcome Home Gelato Warming and comforting, this lightly spiced apple gelato is fused with an almond crunch and butterscotch swirl
Pottery Barn Kids Fairy Bread Popsicles Velvety bread and butter gelato is coated in white chocolate ganache then dipped in hundreds and thousands
The individually handcrafted gelatos will be offered to customers as a gift with purchase (while stocks last) on Saturday 30 August, distributed from the Williams-Sonoma Gelato Cart outside the Williams-Sonoma store on level one.
Golden ticket giveaway
A Golden Ticket will be hidden in a shopping bag at each of the new Chatswood Chase stores. Simply be one of the first 200 people to make a purchase in any store for your chance to find one. Golden Ticket winners will receive a $100 gift voucher to spend at Pottery Barn, Pottery Barn Kids, West Elm or Williams-Sonoma. One of these Golden Tickets will also grant access to a cooking class for two at the Williams-Sonoma Sydney Cooking School in Bondi Junction.
Room makeover competition
To celebrate the opening of the new stores in Chatswood Chase, one lucky shopper will win $2,000 to spend at Pottery Barn, Pottery Barn Kids, West Elm and Williams-Sonoma. For your chance to win, head online. Competition ends on 30 September 2014.
Here at Interiors Addict we LOVE West Elm and Etsy, so we are pretty darn excited about them joining forces later this month! Get your diaries out now!
In an Australian first, West Elm will have their Sydney and Melbourne stores transformed into Etsy pop-up shops, giving customers the chance to track down and purchase unique and one of a kind pieces from local artisans. On Saturday 21 June from 1-to-6pm, a huge variety of products will be on offer from repurposed timber homewares, to skincare and paper goods.
One of the Etsy sellers: House of OriginOne of the Etsy sellers: Plant Skincare
West Elm and Etsy have been collaborating with one another in the US since 2010, a venture that was pioneered by West Elm president Jim Brett. Identifying the demand for less mass-market products, he had a vision to inject authenticity and integrity into the West Elm product offering.
For Jim and the West Elm team, expanding the partnership to Australia was the obvious next step: “There’s this incredible crafts movement happening,” he says. “It’s the symbolisation of wanting to get back to a simpler time when you knew your shopkeeper and knew how and where your goods were made.”
The pop-up shops will be held at both West Elm Sydney: 472 Oxford St, Bondi Junction and West Elm Melbourne: 464 Chapel Street, South Yarra.
