August2015 issue, INSTORE Jewelry Magazine [instoremag.com]
Crocker’s Fine Jewelry
2ND PLACE BIG COOL DIVISION
Shane Woodruff wanted to create something that Texarkana had never seen before.
Shane Woodruff, like many jewelers building big freestanding stores, was faced with the challenge of creating a grand, one-of-a-kind retail space while also making it inviting.
“I knew I wanted this store to stand out. I wanted a grand presence while keeping it welcoming,” Woodruff says.
Although Woodruff spent several years dreaming up and sketching the initial plan himself, he gives interior designer Leslie McGwire credit for achieving that balance in both the exterior and interior design of the 8,000-square-foot Crocker’s Fine Jewelry store he opened last year.
“We wanted to mix it up a little, mood-wise,” says McGwire, who softened the impact of the dramatic, elegant space with silk draperies, distressed flooring, chocolate brown cases and a fireplace lounge area, where shoppers can kick back, put their feet up and watch TV.
As for the drama, the entryway is accented with two 3-foot-tall gas lanterns scaling the sides of large custom built wrought-iron doors, which feature the Crocker’s logo in the center. The wrought iron details are carried throughout the store in chandeliers and sconces.
Drawing on her experience as a spa designer, McGwire brought in touches of glamour, designing 15-foot-tall glass mosaics for each side of the entryway, using colors that established the palette for the entire store. Gold in the chandeliers and subtle specks of diamonds in wall coverings add to the luxurious effect. The two-tiered, two-tone ceilings mirror the shape of the case layout and provide the perfect height for lighting the cases below.
“Everything in the store has a specific purpose and flows wonderfully,” says Woodruff, who initially worried that the height of the ceiling would make lighting the space attractively impossible. “I lost sleep over it,” he says, but it turned out beautifully.
