The holiday season is in full swing, with so many people I know already busy buying gifts for their families, friends and clients.

With everyone focused on supporting local and shopping small this year, [ including me ], I thought I’d take the time to bring your attention to 7 brick and mortar retail shops that are owned by interior designers I know in real life, several of whom are also members of my private Facebook community for interior designers, Design Wealth.

The opening image is the storefront of Fairhope, AL based interior designer, Suzie Fagan Winston, who has been a long time member of Design Wealth. Isn’t it charming?

Window display is such an art unto itself, but it’s the beautiful planter boxes, the door and window decorations and the nutcrackers welcoming in her shoppers that really caught my attention.

As you can see, it’s called Towne and Beech, and you can order from Suzie’s shop online here. I fell in love with these beautiful intaglio soaps she has available, as shown off by one of her employees in this adorable reel:

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DC2dnFFywtZ/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

Next is the shop of my local League City, TX friend, interior decorator Barbie Clariday, the owner of Oohs and Aahs, which is an oasis of spectacular beauty and quality located in a shopping plaza off of 1-45 near Harbor Freight [ if you know the area ].

League City is about 30 minutes SE of Houston and about 30 minutes north of Galveston and it’s the city I live in.

Barbie was a client of mine a few years back and she is famous for her Christmas open house. People come from all over Houston and the surrounding cities to this open house each year, just to see the decorations and, of course, to buy.

I’ve already been in twice to buy for my Mom and myself, and I’m sure I will be back again before the season is over. She doesn’t sell online, but if you live in Houston and you think Kuhl Linscomb is the be all and end all, [and I admit I do love that shop, too ] you haven’t been immersed in the best when it comes to Christmas decorations in a small, boutique shop.

Seeing and shopping at Oohs and Aahs is worth the drive. Follow Oohs and Aahs on IG here.

While we’re in Houston, interior designer Paloma Contreras’ lovely shop carries one of my favorite lines of stationery, Inslee. If you know me, you know I LOVE stationery + dabble in watercolor, and I plan to visit Paloma’s charming shop next week.

Paloma does sell online and you can buy from her shop, here.

[ A fun side note: I first met Paloma right as she was starting her design career. Watching her career blossom has been such a joy. I don’t know if you know or not, but she started her career because she started getting inquiries from potential clients who loved the aesthetic point of view she was expressing on her blog and on her Instagram feed. The rest is history.

Paloma, if you see this, Happy Holidays! It’s so wonderful to witness your success after all of these years and also how your daughter is growing up surrounded by such love and beauty.

Now, I’m moving up the East Coast all the way to Yarmouth Maine, where Vanessa Helmick, owner of Fiore Home, has a boutique shop. Vanessa has been a long time member of the Design Wealth community and she has exquisite taste.

The picture below is one I captured from a reel she posted on her IG feed, so it’s not as clear as it could be, but Vanessa sells wonderful jewelry online and she ships it for free. See an example below.

These gold hoops? LOVE. Sadly, I need earrings that dangle, in order for them to look right on me, but I would love to see them on one of you reading this.

You can buy them, here.

If you know Vanessa, you know she’s a single Mom and has a special needs daughter that she’s madly in love with and also that she’s a very saavy businesswoman with a sharp and witty tongue.

This candle, burning in her shop before she moved locations, and posted on her Google My Business page, perfectly captures her essence.

Now, down the East Coast to Asheboro, NC, where interior designer Nicole Culler and her oldest daughter have just opened a boutique store called Pretty In Culler. They are selling a limited number of items online, here.

Nicole is also in my Facebook community. She and I first met during an event held at the Bienenstock Furniture Library.

I love Nicole’s kind, supportive nature and her incredible fashion sense, which was in full flower when she came to see the unveiling of my AILA sink for Thompson at KBIS this year. See the stunning dress she wore, here.

Below is Nicole, in casual mode, with her daughter.

This sparkly gold dress with its big black satin bow on the backside is perfect for holiday parties and is only $78.00.

You can find it here on https://www.prettyinculler.com .

Isn’t it wonderful when mothers support their daughters in living their dreams?

Now, I’m jumping out to the West Coast, to Coronado, CA near San Diego, and a store bursting with holiday goodness owned by Alyce Lopez. Alyce’s store, The True House, suffered a devastating flood 10 days after she opened a year ago.

Alyce, helped by her employees, family and her many fans and friends, [ with a financial assist from generous brand donors arranged by Veronika Miller, owner of the influencer network, Design Hounds ] was able to rebuild and restock and here’s one of her Christmas displays today.

You can order holiday gifts from Alyce’s store, here: https://thetruehouseshoppe.com/

As you can see in the display above, Alyce carries some wonderful items from Pappy & Co, who collaborated with my favorite family, the Thompson family, [ @thompsontraders ] on a barware collection last year. That collection was shown at Bergdorf Goodman earlier this year - a wonderful moment for the Thompson and Pappy families.

I bought the Katie Van Sipping Spoons [sold as a set of 4 and made of solid copper ] from the Everyday Heirloom collection last year. If you love them as much as I do, and you know someone who would love them, too, buy them here.

However, it’s these matte black accessories that Thompson created for their Bergdorf collaboration with The Kaleidoscope Project that totally blew me away this year.

They are not for the faint of pocketbook, but if you have someone on your list who loves black copper and you want to buy them the finest, check them out, here, on Thompson’s site.

PS: Even though these buckets are shown as barware, they can also be planters. Can’t you just imagine a chartreuse green fern in them?

And, although you probably don’t have buying a new sink on your holiday shopping list, you can buy my AILA sink for Thompson, here, just in case you do!!

I can’t wait to see the first one installed late in January, in a powder bath being designed by my friend, interior designer Robin Baron, for one of her clients who lives on the Upper East Side of Manhattan.

Stay tuned for that as it will be the first install of the world’s first AI designed kitchen and bath product - a history making moment.

And lastly, I encourage you to shop the fabulous brick and mortar boutique emporium of my long time friend, interior designer Jeanne Chung in Pasadena, CA, who is a Thompson dealer and who also carries a wide, wide assortment of holiday gifts.

Her shop, Cozy Stylish Chic, is the epitome of what can be done by one couple with a vision. Jeanne just finished holding her holiday party there, and this is just one example of what you can purchase from her.

I’ve never seen such beautiful spoons, forks and knives, have you?

Jeanne offers [ as do almost all of the brick and mortar retailers shown in this post ] a trade program for interior designers so make sure and ask about that if you’re an interior designer reading this post.

Although Jeanne doesn’t have an online shop, you can see more of what she carries in the housewares section of her store, here, and you can order anything from her by calling.

More of what Jeanne sells at Cozy Stylish Chic.

I know that all of you have your own favorite boutique brick and mortar retailers in your own towns. If they’re owned by an interior designer, I’d love for you to leave me a comment with their shop name and their URL.

I hope this holiday season we will all work together to support those who have invested in their communities with a brick and mortar presence, and in the inventory which supports our manufacturers.

Happy Holiday Shopping!

With Appreciation and Gratitude,

Leslie

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That would be a nice holiday gift for me.