(Here comes another very long post! Sorry! This time it's the fault of two people: Madrid in Love , for making me such a beautiful shop, and from Jimena Roquero Photography , for taking some gorgeous photos of me!
Does some Months later, against all "financial" business logic ("Salitre is not the time!", my saint told me), I took the plunge and decided to renovate the store.
When a business is born unexpectedly, grows as best it can, and miraculously consolidates, there comes a point when you have to stop and think things through. When that moment arrived for me, there were three things that didn't quite fit with the product we were creating and selling quite successfully: our online presence (our website), our corporate image, and the image of our physical store. Today I'm going to focus on the latter.
I'm incredibly lucky because the shop we've been in for the last 10 years is small, but spacious, open-plan, and with very little wasted space. It has large windows, double-height ceilings, and overlooks a square full of trees and friendly people. And we're happy here. We have plenty of light, but no direct sun (important for the flowers), and we're comfortable. Or at least we thought so! However, the growth we've experienced these past few years hasn't left us time to analyze whether it could be improved or not. It was never the right moment. We couldn't stop. But, at the beginning of the year, I put my foot down.
Photo by Jimena Roquero Photography
As many of you know, last year we participated in the Christmas pop-up shop organized every year by the interior design studio Madrid in Love (Stay tuned because there will be surprises this year too!). We were together all of December. Thirty-one days straight, 10 hours a day, side by side. And I discovered a fabulous team. Professional, driven, generous, honest, but at the same time realistic. Excellent business acumen and very open to adapting to any of their clients' needs. And creatively, in my opinion, extraordinary. Plus, they're the kind of people you'd want to have dinner with at least once a week! (And I don't say that about everyone!) because they're so engaging and fun.
Photo by Jimena Roquero Photography
Juan Luis and Naroa are a professional couple who are a pleasure to work with. They are an interior design studio that adapts to any project and, above all, listens to its clients. They are the creators of such appealing projects as restaurants. Maricastaña and Dry Martina or the flagship store of Victorio & Lucchino Man in Madrid.
My request was very clear: "I can't afford it, but I want to do it. I have to spend as little as possible while getting the maximum return." And that's what they did.
Photo by Jimena Roquero Photography
We hardly buy anything new. With all the pop-up shops and events we've done in recent years, we have a warehouse full of things that could have been used to redecorate the store. Like these vintage fruit crates, for example.
We got rid of some furniture. Other pieces were "customized," others were completely dismantled and transformed into something else. The color and lighting were changed, a jute curtain and reed blinds were added, the checkout and work areas were rearranged, and a reclaimed wood workbench was made for us—it's the jewel of our shop. And voilà!
We never dreamed it could turn out so beautiful. And what's more, the whole team has gained in comfort and quality of work life, and so have our clients. We're thrilled! I think the result is even noticeable in our work! Our flowers are turning out so much prettier!
Photo by Jimena Roquero Photography
Madrid in Love : Thank you from the bottom of my heart. Because, even though you told me when I presented the project that I should go to Lourdes to find miracles ;-), you've done it! Congratulations!
I am totally in love with my shop. I hope you like it too!
Thank you for reading
XXX,
S.