Thank you Financial Times for highlighting our store in your article "Just Don't Call It A Shop: The Future of Luxury Retail"

by Aimee Farrell

Read the entire article here. 

TIINA the STORE

Location is key for the new breed of luxury retailer. Every year the sleepy seaside enclave of Amagansett, Long Island, transforms into a low-key summer hide-out for everyone from Paul McCartney to Hillary Clinton. Inside a former merchants’ building dating from the 1800s, Tiina Laakkonen and her husband offer an exquisite edit of handmade fashion and homewares, including bespoke cashmere by Los Angeles-based The Elder Statesman, Pippa Small jewellery and Bergfabel tailoring from South Tyrol.

Tiina the Store has been an Amagansett fixture since 2012. But this summer the space is undergoing a massive overhaul. “It’s Tiina the Store 2.0,” says the former stylist for British Vogue, who is using the process as an opportunity to rethink their retail offering. “I want people to feel that they’re entering an environment that’s cosy and welcoming and visually stimulating. We’re just here to tell the stories of all the special things we have.”

Working with the British interior designer Faye Toogood, Laakkonen has focused on creating a comforting space — complete with Toogood’s Roly Poly chairs and palatial fitting rooms — that compels customers to linger. She is just as happy for visitors to sit and read as shop. Perhaps it comes with the territory. “I wouldn’t want a store anywhere else,” Laakkonen says of the joy of operating outside the Manhattan retail bubble. “Here I get to kick back, drink tea and hang out with my cats.”