Store Design: Returning to Roots

Remember when The Gap used to be cool?

Yeah, me neither. I'm pretty sure I wasn't even alive then.

While it's always been a mainstay for affordable basics in decent materials and seasonally appropriate, colors, lately the lack luster "all-american" brand has done nothing for itself except for continuing to disappoint it's shareholders. It went from being a pioneer of specialty retail, to the example of "how-to-ruin-your-brand-without-really-trying."

Enter The Official Manufacturing Company.

True masters of identity and design, the OMFG Co. did the unimaginable and through partnering with The Gap on the store design for the Glendale, CA location, has made The Gap (at least in one location) fresh and exciting again.

The inspiration seems to follow the origins of the brand. The design highlights the foundations in which the company was founded, but also recognizes where it is today.

The minimal displays make the clothing feel special, not mass produced and available in every suburb in America. The clean and minimal clothing displays are reminiscent of A.P.C., but with clothes for the "every-man." 

Add in the punchy record sleeve covers, and the racks of conventional basics now convey a sort of rock and roll attitude that adds just that extra bit of cool.

The outfitting  and displays convey a true lifestyle. It is very accessible, yet inspiring, which appeals to the customer, which remains the same. None of the outfits are over styled, and the combined display of laid out clothing, cubbies, and hanging rails keep the shopping experience fresh.

The core of the project is highlighted in the photo above. With the new design, the clothing takes on a new higher appeal, which might be intimidating, but The Gap, still loves it's customer.

In saying "So Glad You're Here," it's as though they're really saying, "You're the best, and this is for you."

What do you think? Did they capture the spirit of The Gap? Do you think the new design alienates their core customer?

All images can be found here.

And the Pencil Ran Away With Batman

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Didn't catch the Halloween Spirit this year.

Never really do.

Next year though, I'll take inspiration from this. Maybe it'll help me find my own Batman.

p.s. Sophie Blackall may have the cutest blog on all the interwebs.

Sunday Morning Pages

Some things are better said in handwriting.

Waking up on the weekend. Reading for two hours with no consequence.
Finally got around to that High School classic, seemingly required for everyone but me.
Beautiful portrait, nostalgic, melancholic, and faded in all the best ways.

Music for October

Sometimes the songs you loved in September, just don't quite cut it in October.
With true fall arriving, everything seems to slow down.
Saturday nights are filled with tea and movies, Sunday mornings with oatmeal and drawing.
It's not sad. It sounds melancholy, but it's just different. Calm and cool.

Music for the weather.



Create a playlist at MixPod.com

Scraps of Paper

Tickets, Advertisements, Photographs.
Ephemeral, but treasured. Old and New.
A combination to create both decor and inspiration.
These scraps tell more about me than I can explain. Each holds its own significance, even when it's not particularly significant.
I don't think I'll ever stop collaging over walls.
From Old to New, one for each home. Constantly evolving.

Midnight Amphibians

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Magical Frogs.

Kind of a strange thing to be thinking about at 2am on a rainy Wednesday night.
AM-Phib-IaNs.

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 Summer is clearly over, but if I was a butterfly I could fly south for the winter and never see the snow.

A Tree Grows, A Book Ends

Part of me loves the feeling of finishing a book. Often it feels like an accomplishment. It can be exciting, especially when you think of picking out a new book. But sometimes, it can be a bit sad.

Not all endings are happy.

I just finished reading A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith.This book landed somewhere in the middle. I've had this book for ages. For as long as I can remember my mom was telling me to read it. I can even hear her say, "Oh, that's a great book, you'll love it." My mom knows me better than anyone else, but I think it's safe to say that when it comes to books, she doesn't have a clue.

I didn't hate this book, but it's not a favorite of mine, it didn't change my life, the story wasn't outstanding. Overall, it's not a book I'd recommend, but I didn't hate it. Imagine, I just spent two weeks reading 500 pages of someone else's thoughts and my opinion of it is "indifferent."

If you haven't read this book before, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn was written through the eyes of a young girl growing up in Brooklyn in the early 20th century. The protagonist, Francie, comments on her family and the society around her while sharing her aspirations to be a writer. Francie is the rare artist that is able to find beauty in truth and in the constant ugliness that surrounds her. Though I didn't care much for the story (I can't be bothered much with naturalism), it is only fair to acknowledge the quality of language Smith uses in telling this tale. On almost every page there is at least one quote that when extracted holds a bit of concise wisdom.

Image Source

One thing I did take away from the book though was the idea of neighborhood. Having grown up in the suburbs of Chicago, I don't really feel the connection to a "neighborhood," like many people who grow  up in the city. This book truly romanticized Brooklyn. She grew up so poor that she had to collect metal scraps to trade for pennies, and she speaks frankly of being hungry, yet, there is a sense of nostalgia and gratitude for her home in the great neighborhood she loves almost as much as her family itself. To me the concept is so foreign, it's as if the novel takes place on the other side of the world rather than a short bus trip away.

Of course a hundred years ago, isn't exactly next door.