Friday, October 31, 2008

Narrative

Walking through my retail store, I want there to be a mood that is reflected in the space, comfort. Usually when you are shopping at a store and you try on something in the dressing room, you have a somewhat uncomfortable feeling when you walk out to see yourself in the three way mirrors, just because there might be people watching you. In this space, I want to design a way for someone to be confident in what they try on and have a way to view themselves in a three way mirror in a semi private space. In this custom jean store I want to use texture on the walls and furniture. Using texture from nature provides a similar concept to the idea of custom jeans. To make this retail store connect to Greensboro and the North Carolina area, there would be texture from nature that would be represented in the space, like wood, rocks, clay from the mountains, etc.Thinking about the layout of the space, there needs to be two display areas, one for the custom jean area displaying the wash of the jean and the fit, and the other display area for the already made jeans. The already made jean display should be closer to the front of the store, so that it attracts customers attention, making it look like an average retail store, but once they are inside they see more than that. The cashier area should be located in the central part of the store near the display areas. There should be a in house tailor area, located in the back of the store near the changing areas. To think about the comfort level at the changing areas, I was thinking that there should be separate changing areas for getting jeans custom and trying on jeans that are already made. The changing areas for the custom jeans should be connected to the tailor area in some way, either by a door or opening, so that when someone tries on the jeans they don’t have to be connected to the outside public. Lighting plays a key idea in this space and if used correctly the lighting can display the jeans to its fullest capabilities. The display window should be one of the most important parts of the space because of the fact that it draws people into the space. Since the front of the store is made up of glass, the display window can take any shape and any scale. For the display window I would probably design something that has to deal with the detail and texture of the jeans that I am selling.
The idea of the store as a whole is a great retail space for Revolution Mills and Greensboro for the simple fact that this retail store sells jeans that are custom fit to the body. I think that this store would bring a lot of business to this area and the design of the store would help display some of the most unique parts of North Carolina.

2 comments:

KMidd said...

I think what you're doing so far is great. I love the idea of using textures and colors from North Carolina. I also like the idea of seperating the custom side from the already made side, but Im not sure how you can do that without seperating them completey. You dont want people to walk in just to buy the already-made jeans. You want people to realize that they can get custom-made jeans, and make them intrigued with the idea. Maybe there's some way to display the tailor area without making it completely open? maybe he/she has a glassfront studio space where she does all the cutting and sewing, so that when a customer walks into the store, they stop and ask "what are they doing?". Just an idea..if I think of something better, ill let you know

Jami Southern said...

I agree with kim about the already made, though I think if the already made have mad hand detail its ok.
I like the idea of privacy but encourage you to consider it more, so the space doesn't end up feeling like you are disconnected.
I like kims idea of an exposed are for making jeans, but leaving the area for measuring more private.
The jeans are a great connection to the Mill. You should check out http://www.cone.com/
I like the idea of all the textures and using textures that are similar to that of jean material is cool.
Good luck over the weekend.