Side Order: If I Had A Store

I don’t, but here’s what would be in it

Every once in a while I find myself daydreaming about opening a little shop. The specifics of the shop change depending on the day; sometimes it’s a bookstore, other times it’s full of antiques, and every once in a while it becomes something ultra-niche. (A shop, for instance, that only sells crisp white pajamas.) Today, it’s a shop for people who like to spend most of their time at home.

I think I can thank You’ve Got Mail for how much I romanticize this scenario. In reality I’m too risk-adverse to go into retail, but I do love the idea of an ever-evolving creative project that involves curation, branding, design, photography, events, partnerships, and everything else that goes into it all. I’m so thankful for those special little shops that offer a place to discover new things and to interact with a human being in the process, and I feel for those who haven’t been able to survive all the hurdles the economy has thrown at them over the last few years. (Did you see that Sharktooth in Brooklyn is closing? I just wrote about them! A devastating loss.)

La Casita del Segoviano in Segovia, Spain via @the_shopkeepers, which I found out about through tiny shop expert Victoria.

I just love a well-curated, one-of-a-kind shopping experience. I stopped into Nickey Kehoe the other day and ended up leaving with a doorstop and a French dishwashing brush. A week later my mom and I went to Olive Ateliers to look at planters for my patio and instead found an antique Turkish basket I couldn’t leave behind. We then popped into Bucatini (yes, again) and I picked up two sets of block printed napkins from a brand I hadn’t heard of. The internet is a wonderful place for discovery but there’s simply nothing like perusing in-person.

Scarlet & Violet in London, also via @the_shopkeepers.

This month’s Side Order consists of 36 items that, if I were to open my own store today, would be the beginnings of my inventory. I imagine this comfort-shop being laid out sort of like an apartment; soft, easy clothes hang in a closet, pantry items are lined up on kitchen shelves, and art books are stacked on every available surface. We host Campari spritz nights and pasta dinners after-hours. The landlord is wonderful and never raises the rent. Actually, no—I own the building, and the rest of the tenants are my friends. We’re all successful and happy and no one is stressed. The dream!!!

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