Velvet Ears Tailor Shop

Design a storefront--and supporting deliverables-- based off a singular word. The challenge is to connect your chosen word to a service that can be converted into a store.

This semester long project started with choosing a piece of paper out of a box. This paper contained a word that would determine the premise of our storefront. After choosing the word “taxidermy” (meaning to sew and stuff dead animals), we were off to a great start.

Connection

The practice of taxidermy includes the dismantling and re-sewing of animals to make other creations, something directly associated with the practice of tailoring. Using this connection,
we decided upon a tailoring shop as the service that our store would provide.

Demographic

Once we decided upon a tailor shop as our service, the question of demographics came into play. After conducting research on the origin of tailor shops, as well as creating a competitor analysis, we realized the main problem: most tailor shops cater to only men. We decided in order to diversify ourselves we would create a tailor shop that caters to women, providing a luxury and social experience.

Competitor Analysis

Joseph

Joseph is a tailor shop located in the heart of London
that solely caters to men. Spanning two floors, this luxury shop provides fitting rooms and merchandise. Although it encompasses the high end atmosphere that we tend to achieve, Joseph does include any aspects of a social environment and has a sterile design quality.

Concept Statement

To create a tailor shop for women that is inspired by the diversity and vibrancy of the jungle.

Ideation

When ideating what the name of the tailor shop should be, we thought about names that reflected back to our origin word and what relationship it could have with the final product. Of course taxidermy mostly has a negative--sometimes creepy--connotation, but we went in a direction that focused on the stuffed animal quality of taxidermy.

Brand Guidelines

Color Scheme

Typography

The typeface for the logo is to be use only with the logo. The tracking used
is 110 points and the stroke is 0.25 pt added to its weight. This gives the logo space as well as elegance. Two serifs are added to both the second “V” and “A” in Velvet Ears to be cohesive with the logo mark.

The floors throughout the shop will be hardwood with a large tile inlay on the main floor and complimentary tile inlay runners on the atrium floor. The railing lining the atrium and stairs will be custom. The rail will be trimmed in black iron and have a custom iron design inlaid to the glass, as a reference to the logo. Each fitting room will be equipped with full length mirror and a pedestal for
the costumer to stand on. With the fitting rooms placed up in an atrium, some structural support will be necessary. This can happen via steal beams, columns, etc, all varying in price.

At the back of the shop will be a grand staircase leading up to the fitting rooms. The back wall itself will be an accent wall featuring a deep magenta wallpaper, with gold details. The stairs will fan out as they descend to the main floor. The custom glass and iron railing will carry through the stairs and atrium.

Right Wall

Robes

The right side of the atrium will mirror the left side as far as fitting rooms. All of the doors and hardware will be identical. Rather than an elevator, the right side will have a Moroccan inspired arch that leads into a holding room. Employees will be able to stock said holding room with the day’s appointments garment. There will also be a place to collect robes to be laundered after use. Downstairs will be the store’s restroom, as well as a complimentary bar. Along with the rest of the shop, the restroom will be luxe, allowing customers to have a moment to themselves. At the bar, costumers may enjoy, coffee, tea, water, wine, or champagne. Behind the bar a small kitchenette will be accessible to the employees and bartenders to utilize.

Deliverables

Most of the experimentation done with the logo was done during the phase of determining the name of the tailor shop. We wanted to create a mark that delivered
the elegance and strength that our demographic held. In saying this, the mark had to
be strong but simple, and most importantly, able to stand on it’s own.

Costumers entering Velvet Ears Tailor shop, will walk into a regal, jungle, inspired oasis. The front desk will sit in front of a free standing, garden wall and the rest of the store will be visible to either side of it. While the exterior slightly masks the eclectic interior, the front desk will be the first dose of the posh atmosphere. The garden wall will have a variety of textures and larger leaved plants to emanate the jungle feel. The desk itself will be sleek and can hold up
to three registers.

Upstairs, the left side of the atrium will have access to half of the fitting rooms available in the shop. The doors will hav a custom molding pattern that compliments Velvet Ear’s logo. The hardware, (knobs, locks, hinges), will be gold. The upper elevator doors will be located by the staircase, making the left side fitting rooms more accessible to those in need. The left side of the downstair will be built in, open shelving to display merchandise and house robes each costumer receives while during their appointment. The upper most shelves may hold decor such as frames, vases, and or other trinkets to compliment the space. A casual sitting area may be placed to the left of the shelving for customers to enjoy while they wait. The main level access to the elevator will be in the back left corner and to keep with the aesthetic the doors will be gold.

Sarah Martin. Taylor Mazzarella, Eileen Yu