Follow the Yellow Brick Road to Eye-Popping Store Design

Atlanta interior designer Victor Moldovan revealed in yesterday´s Retail Strategies that he set out to create a sense of discovery when he designed the Scarlet Tassel gift and home accents shop in Sandy Springs, Ga. Having shopped at the Scarlet Tassel, I can attest that Moldovan succeeded.

Everywhere I turned or everywhere my eyes settled in the Scarlet Tassel, I exclaimed to myself about this or that merchandise. I felt as if I needed everything in the store.

One fun aspect of the Scarlet Tassel is the pathway that runs through the store. Moldovan called it "that serpentine kind of aisle system." It feels a little bit like what I imagine Dorothy´s yellow brick road might have felt like. I didn´t skip, but, hmmm, maybe I wanted to.

The design of the Scarlet Tassel, already fascinating, became even more interesting when Moldovan told me that the space was just a big rectangle when he started the project. "It was basically a Blockbuster Video store."

So, what was his vision?

"There are so many cottage-y-looking stores, with bead board all over the place," he said. "We wanted something that was hip and modern. One of the main attractions of the store is that circular sales desk in the middle that´s also used for display. It´s kind of like a landmark in the midst of everything. That´s pivotal. The whole store opens up in that area, and it´s a real impulse area where there are items like jewelry and small items for sale."

Before Moldovan began — performing a full demolition followed by a full new build out — he met with the owners, of course. They were, he said, "very well-rehearsed. They had entire storyboards of exactly the product areas they wanted to focus on and what they wanted their store to be to the consumer. So, I had to take from those storyboards and create an environment that bolstered their story."

Well, he did it. Enough so that the store won an award for Design Excellence from the American Society of Interior Designers.

Next in Retail Strategies, Victor Moldovan talks about common mistakes in retail design.