Rachel Boston describes her jewelry as straddling the line between edgy and understated, and her new East London flagship store feels like an extension of that aesthetic, with a level of exclusivity.
Boston is excited to welcome holiday shoppers into the Redchurch Street location—which had been a longtime dream for the jewelry designer. She eyed the street for a storefront opening for about six years, she says, and getting the interior ready took another year.
“Fine jewelry, and pieces like engagement rings and wedding bands in particular, are special purchases. It makes a lot of sense to me that our clients want to be able to see pieces in person, to cement some of the ideas they’ve been thinking about or to be able to compare different styles, before making their decision, and it was important for us to create a comfortable and elegant physical space for our customers to have this in-person experience,” Boston tells JCK via email.
“We’re excited for the extra space we now have available because it will allow us to create a dedicated shop section for more casual browsing, whereas our old showroom was exclusively by appointment,” she says.
Opened this fall, the store has nearly 1,900 square feet spread between a main retail area and a private client meeting room. The retail space showcases the brand’s ready-to-wear engagement rings and fine jewelry in a neutral-colored environment with sleek glass cases, simple cabinet fronts, and natural wood. Boston worked with interior designer Hollie Bowden to create the store’s signature look.
“We wanted the shop section to feel as though you were entering a tiny jeweled box, as it’s a smaller space,” Boston says. “The fact that it’s small but bright allows the jewelry to really stand out.
“I wanted the focus to be on the jewelry. Even though our pieces are striking, they are ultimately small objects by nature, so I didn’t want a huge amount of fussy furniture or bold colors to detract from the experience,” Boston says. “It’s the same guiding principle behind the rest of our brand—our packaging, our branding. We wanted calm, neutral colors so that the jewelry can stand at the forefront.”
The private meeting area is set up for client consultations and is meant to feel homey and intimate, she says. “You have a transition from the beautiful stone floors of the shop to the plush carpet of the showroom, so you feel as though you’re stepping into a home.
“It was important to us that the appointment area should feel like an intimate space. The showroom is where you can take your time and relax, pore over our collections, either on the velvet sofa or at our gorgeous handmade table. This part of our showroom is by appointment only, so there is a sense of exclusivity and of being invited in, to peek behind the hidden door of the shop.”
Boston says she is pleased with the space and expects the store as well as her customer-centric approach will keep clients coming back.
“We are especially attentive to our client’s desires and to the quality and craftsmanship of what we are creating, merging the two to create something that will hopefully be treasured by them for a lifetime,” Boston says.
Top: The new Rachel Boston store in East London features neutral decor in the main shopping space plus an exclusive bespoke meeting area. (Photos courtesy of Rachel Boston)
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