MODERNIZING THE BEER STORE IN OTTAWA

Being from Montreal(Quebec) where you can buy alcohol pretty much anywhere (the SAQ, the supermarkets, the corner stores, the gas stations, etc.) the Beer Store is a bizarre and foreign concept to me. And the ones where you can't even get the beer yourself are even weirder. But ever since I first went to a Beer Store in Ottawa, I always thought it would be neat to revisit its concept, modernize its design and turn it into a boutique store specializing in various types of beers from all over the world.  

On a recent trip to the Distillery District in Toronto, I discovered that my vision already exists! There's actually a Beer Boutique and it looks amazing. 

The design is a mix of rustic and modern style with brick walls and old wooden shelves. Everything is displayed neatly and you can pick up your own beer. It's also very clean and doesn't smell!  Check out the light under the shelves reflecting on the floor. 

How awesome is the design of the cash area? It's simple but effective. Notice the industrial looking light fixture above the main display table. It goes very well with the style of the area which is a refurbished /moderrnized industrial victorian style.


It's not a huge store, but they managed to add really neat displays in various parts of the store.



I would love to redesign a Beer Store in Ottawa. I already thought of the color scheme that I think would suit the Westboro area very well (shown below). I'm thinking a new location on Richmond Rd, west of Churchills would be great. The American Apparel Store, located on the corner of Roosevelt, is closing, perhaps it's a great opportunity!


Photos : MoOt | Contemporist | Freddy in Space | Think Good | 

BANK STREET NEEDS A LŌCALE STORE

Last year, Blockbuster Video closed all its stores in Ottawa, leaving a lot empty retails spaces up for grabs. A couple weeks ago, Open File asked "What should replace Ottawa's Old Blockbusters?". If it was up to me,  I would arrange to bring in the LŌCALE store in the retail space located on Bank St. near Somerset. Not only would the store flourish in this location, but it would be a major contributor to massively improve the area. 

What is LŌCALE?

Lōcale is a footwear & accessories boutique-style concept store that celebrates art, fashion & community. This relatively new concept if the brain-child of Aldo Group, an internationally successful Canadian company that has been in business since 1972. They now own over 1160 stores all over the world. 

Why a shoe store?

We need one. There are no trendy shoe stores in this area of the city, despite the increasing number of potential clients in the area (i.e. office workers, condo and home owners and as well as renters). Think about the additional number of people that are now living in the area because of newly-built and soon-to-be-built condo buildings such as Mondrian, Hudson Park I & II, Central I, II & III, Gotham, etc. That's a lot of people!

Second, a shoe store is ideal because it suits the building and its location. It's very difficult and inconvenient to find parking in this area of town, so the majority of the customers would be pedestrians and people using public transportation. Consequently, a smart business move would be to sell something that can easily be carried by hand. Selling big items like mattresses for example, would be asking for trouble. Most likely, it wouldn't as profitable or viable because it's too much trouble for the customer. If you want to sell, you have to make it easy and enjoyable for clients to buy. That's why  shoes are ideal. It's easy and fun to stop by and shop for shoes during a lunch break or even before taking the bus back home outside the city. Who doesn't like a little shopping therapy from time to time?

Lastly, I would recommend a shoe store because everybody needs and wears shoes. So it wouldn't be hard sell, especially for women. And I can tell you, as a woman living in Ottawa, there is definitely a need for a stylish shoe store in this area. In other words, this could be the opportunity of a lifetime.

That being said, to be successful in this business, you need to know how to do it and you need to know what you're doing, which brings us the reason why I think Lōcale is the perfect match.

Why LŌCALE? 
Lōcale is exactly what Centertown / Bank Street needs : A large brand with staying power that has style, a great variety of stylish products and the capability to involves the community. The concept of the store is to create an engaging cultural shopping experience by curating some great art from local artists. The image below of on of their Montreal locations is a perfect example of community involvement. In this case, local artists collaborated in creating a design for the store chalk board display.

The intention is that the new Lōcale stores are places that will inspire visitors to come and see what is happening, based on the activity, the creativity, and the multidimensional context of the experience within. The design statement says that brand collateral has been produced through partnerships with artists and galleries, allowing synergies between the art world and the brand. These partnerships allow Lōcale to leverage creativity in unique ways, and create cyclical messages that are fresh and introduce elements of contemporary art culture. How awesome is that?



Also, this would be a great way to jump start the beautification of Bank St and serve as a benchmark to many others stores in the area. Let's face it, most of the stores are not up to par when it comes to fashion ( a notable exception is Stroked Ego). The look of the store is a concept by Pompei A. D. who took care of all aspects of the Lōcale brand including the name, logo, brand aesthetic, packaging, website, signage and store design. They did an excellent job.

 

There's a lot of ugly, barely hanging in there shops in that area. What's needed I think is a good anchor shop that is ideal for foot traffic and make this a more inviting place for people. Bank Street could be to  Ottawa what Ste-Catherine Street is to Montreal : a lively, fun and inspiring shopping street.

Source : Retail Design Blog | Pompei A. D. | Momunit | 

CeraGres is finally in Ottawa

One of the suppliers I was sad "leaving" as a designer when I moved to Ottawa was CeraGres. I worked with them while in Montreal and was really happy with their products, services, and especially with the way they organize their store. Every time I went there, I was inspired (which is a good thing for designers). Imagine my delight when I learned that they opened two new locations in Ottawa and Toronto.



I went to visit the new Ottawa store last week (they opened approximately a month ago), and I'm happy to say that they did not disappoint. The store is brightly light, clean and well organized. You can easily browse through all their inventory without too much effort, there's a lot to choose from and work with, you don't have to constantly ask for the price of a tiles as they are clearly labelled, and there are a lot of unique and original products that you can't find elsewhere.



They're not short on samples either. Check out these walls of backsplash tiles, each perfectly place on a little white cardboard and clearly labelled in the back. Notice also the slots underneath the counters where larger tiles are placed. There are also benches to make it more comfortable for clients, and even padding to put the tiles on so the surface of the counters don't get scratched. It seems like they thought of everything and that's the way I prefer shopping for tiles.



All in all, the new Ottawa location is just as inspiring and easy to browse through. So if you're into modern design and you're looking for something different, this is the place to be. On my recent visit, I was able to spot a couple nice tiles for the project I'm currently working on. I'll definitely be back.

Photos : CeraGres | MOOT

CAN OTTAWA HANDLE AN H&M?

On my last trip to Las Vegas, while visiting some of the huge shopping centers on the strip I discovered the H&M at the Forum Shops (shown above). My first thought was : "WOW". The design and decor of the space was spectacular!


Look at the size of the shoppers at the bottom compared to the height of the ceiling. This place is probably 40 ft high. This looks like it was designed to inspire and entertain shoppers and make shopping fun. A lot of care and attention was put into creating an exciting experience with music, colorful LED lights, suspended mannequins and shiny balls. I bet the people who designed the store had a lot of fun in creating this display. But these photos don't do it justice. Luckily I found a video on YouTube to paint a better picture :



Seeing and experiencing this store made me think of Ottawa. More specifically, the fact that many people here would love to have an H&M in Ottawa.  If you Google it you'll find many people talking about it as shown here, here, and here. There's even a Facebook group called Bring H&M to Ottawa. Still despite the fact that there are currently 56 H&Ms in Canada, including 9 in the Montreal region, there are none in Ottawa. Why is that? Could it be that Ottawa is just not ready for an H&M? 

I often hear people going on shopping trips to Toronto, Montreal and even New York to find stylish items. I do it too. The last time I went on a shopping spree was on my last trip to Montreal earlier this summer. I think the problem is the "best" Ottawa has to offer in terms of trendy shopping downtown is probably the Rideau Centre. And compared to a lot of fashion forward cities, it's not impressive nor inspiring. And the bridge it such an eyesore.


I wrote a post last year about how Sparks street could use a little help becoming more fashionable. A commenter said, maybe if H&M would come first, it would help revive the area. But this made me think, maybe one of the reasons why they are not in Ottawa is because it's unappealing in the first place.  Ideally if they came to Ottawa it should be downtown, but where? And who or what would be around them? If Sparks street was better maintained, it could be a great place to shop. But this street is far from looking like a high fashion district. Most of the occupants offer nothing for passerbys to look at. Window shopping is non existent. It's kind of depressing if you ask me. Instead of waiting for H&M to become the anchor, perhaps Ottawa needs a makeover to become more visually appealing. We are talking about fashion here. It has to look good! 

Here's a collection of photos of some H&M stores around the world. Where would a building of the same caliber fit in Ottawa? 

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 Photos : 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 

From tacky to classy

I was walking along Cooper street yesterday and noticed this beautiful modern little store (Pat Flesher) that really stood out. Of course I had to take a picture to share with you.


The design is very understated but very effective, the signage is simple and to the point and the lighting emphasizes the beautiful texture of the stone wall veneer. Very classy!

Check out the "before" photo of the store from Google StreeView. It really needed a makeover. What an improvement! It's such a simple makeover but what a difference it makes.

Miele official launch in Ottawa

Miele recently opened a new showroom on Bank street and had an official grand opening event this week. I got a chance to go and check out their sleek modern German appliances and try some of the excellent food prepared for the occasion. Love it!



Called Miele Gallery on Bank, it is "the first free-standing, independently owned appliance store in Ottawa that exclusively sells Miele appliances". I'm pretty sure it will make a lot of designers, decorators and design savvy people very happy. Even the inside of the fridges were staged!




I'm always happy to see places like these open in the city. I think and hope it is the first of many hip businesses to set root in this area of the city. Add to that several new modern condos being built in the same area, it is bound to become one of the hippest places in Ottawa. I sure hope so. In the mean time if you're in the area, you might want to go check it out on Saturday as there should be more cooking demonstrations sometime between 9:30 am and 5:00 pm.

Photos : MOOT

EQ3+ is in town

Last week EQ3 and Azure magazine launched a new partnership between EQ3 and designer brands such as Herman Miller, Alessi, Stelton, Vitra, Pablo and Design House Stockholm. I had a chance to check it out during the launch party at EQ3 Byward, there were some neat items on display including iconic pieces and great gift ideas as you can see in the photos below.








It will be interesting to see what can be purchased through EQ3+. Vitra, for example, has a lot of neat items including cute mini Panton chairs for kids. This is great news for Ottawa's design community and the design savvy since iconic items will now be more accessible in Ottawa