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When you think creatively, you can get a lot of bang for your buck.
That’s exactly what we did at Soleil, the place to go for luxury sunglasses in St. Louis. After finding a prime spot in Plaza Frontenac right next to the movie theatre, Erker’s hired us to design and build their newest store. The Erker family is eyeglass royalty in St. Louis — they’ve been selling the city’s finest eyewear for over 130 years, and they even custom-made Charles Lindbergh’s goggles for his transatlantic trip.
We worked within a modest budget, and it was particularly modest for Frontenac where even small, non-anchor store build-outs can run upwards of a million dollars. SPACEconstructors chief Matt Lung took the space from design to doors-open in a short seven weeks. By working closely with the client, we got a feel for their vision of the new store’s aesthetic and where the budget should be spent. We kept costs down by salvaging the existing floor and some of the lighting. We saved time and money on the wall and floor cases by partnering with a cabinet company to fabricate the pieces together: they made the laminate tops, we built the bases and assembled the complete units. The resulting store has a contemporary and bright feel, perfect for selling St. Louis’ sharpest shades:
- Wall of custom-fabricated display cases.
- BEFORE: View of the old space — formerly a specialty olive oil store — from the entrance.
- BEFORE: Condition of the walls when we first had access to the space.
- View from the entrance.
- View of the vendor cases.
- The welcoming and open front entrance.
- Feature wall with arrangement of circles and squares across the wall.
- View from the cash wrap.
- One of the custom display cases we fabricated. Our cabinet vendor made the red laminate, and we assembled it with the steel base we made.
Soleil is located in Plaza Frontenac at 1701 South Lindbergh #232, St. Louis, MO 63131
(On the second floor on the Saks Fifth Avenue end, next to the movie theatre.) 314.692.9877
http://www.erkers.com/#!soleil/cjkk
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