At dinner last night, a plate of strawberries for dessert. Something so small with a flavor so big. These basic words here don’t describe the feeling I had eating these handpicked little fruits that were displayed with care. I’m not going to reach for poetic phrases here, because I’m not trying to convince you anything about this restaurant or sell you on my dessert. These strawberries hit home in a different way.
This is what I mean.
Today I wandered the shops of Milan,I mean the big shops in only that the smaller ones have been slowly (at record pace?) disappearing, and as I opened my email this morning to yet another notice from yet another online store announcing 1,500 new arrivals to sale markdown (and this one coming from a “highly curated site), I have been left unsatiated. I’m in Milan at the moment, but it could have been any large city. The food has nourished the soul, the big stores hardly.
So here, frequently, I am going to share with you our favorite shops. Those that have not been genetically modified. Founded by real people, fueled by love (and sometimes insane compulsion) to do what they do. Since I’m in Europe, I’ll start with three of my favorites. They’ve purposely kept their business small, knowing it’s the only way to maintain richness and a customer service that’s achieved from knowing your customers name (and their dog’s name) rather than just their annual spend.
VIENNA, AUSTRIA: Schneeweiss (visit HERE)
First, so you know, the owner and founder Yasemin has a dog named Bobbie. But I digress. She’s had her business for close to 20 years in the heart of Vienna. We’ve been working with her for nearly as long. And initial focus on Scandinavian brands (very Yasemin) has evolved into a jewel of a shop that’s a must to visit, have a coffee, and meet an individual that’s likely to be present in her store and share your same mindset. Side note here - I hear from hundreds of people a year who reach out to Yasemin to find their Tibi pieces. They tell me she’s on of the most genuine people they’ve ever encountered. I love that. I mean, really, Yasemin has the dancing skills of Elaine Benes (Season 8, Episode 4 Seinfeld), and she’s just not afraid to put it out there. So much respect for this - no fish faces here, just a mom/wife/entrepreneur doing her thing.
MILAN, ITALY: Wok Store (visit HERE)
Ahhh….some of my favorite people in the world here. I remember meeting the founder Federica in Paris. She was accompanied by her store manager and buyer, Prince. Communication was initially rough and Prince gently suggested that if I wanted to really expand throughout Italy, that I should bring in an Italian sales representative. I brought over our sales director Christine Russo - Italian via Brooklyn - so we got on with it, enough for me to explain that the “big expansion” is not in the goals. We only want to work with the best small stores. For us, that is enough. By the end, we all hugged, shared wine, had a big party at their shop last year, and are making plans together for the future. And Prince gets to respond daily to requests from all over Italy letting them know what Tibi pieces he has available for them. And that is very good. They also throw incredibly parties. Damn, I forgot to mention that every item they select is especially curated, you’ll never receive a text for them announcing 1,500 new arrivals on sale. Ok?
ZURICH, SWITZERLAND: Vestibule (visit HERE)
I always joke that if I’m robbed, I pray that I will have loved what the assailant was wearing - I can describe someone’s outfit to a tee, the face and name, not so much. When I first met Laurence Antiglio, the founder and owner of Vestibule in Zurich, she was in head to toe denim. Big denim, slouchy, she exuded comfort. Not because her clothes were big, but because she was in charge of them, the definition of the clothes not wearing her, she was wearing the clothes. This was seared in to my mind long before the name could take hold. With Laurence, you can tell immediately thatshe loves what she does, there are some that just thrive on style and fashion (not always the same). It’s kind of like how you want your doctor to geek out about finding the root cause of a disease, you want the same thing in the individual who’s selecting the items for their speciality store. Because you know then it’s been vetted. With care. With expertise.
Read up on the tiny wild strawberries of Italy. They’re suggested best served with just a sprinkling of sugar. Which, just like the best designs and specialty stores, flourish without all the excess. Just pure and purposely small and most of all, personal.
Enjoy.
I always think about one of the Laura Ingalls books where Mary and Laura delight in receiving oranges for Christmas. In a world where you can have literally anything, and have it delivered- there is no substitute for moments that feel absolutely magical thanks to the simplest thing. Xx
Ah, the strawberries. How lovely and the reason why eating in season vs buying the whole world at from where ever whenever is so special.