The Scoop on Local Stores and Showrooms

1 / A New Light

After a two-and-a-half-year search and an eight-month renovation, the long-awaited Arteriors showroom is now open in the Design District. The 5,000-square-foot space, once home to John Gregory Studios, was given a complete overhaul. The Arteriors team added a rooftop deck and raised the ceilings to 13 feet to properly display their collection of chandeliers and pendants. In addition to hanging fixtures, the store is packed with the contemporary floor lamps, table lamps, and wall sconces the Dallas-based company is known for. A dedicated shade section (and on-hand shading expert) allows customers to upgrade existing lamps with toppers in a variety of sizes, shapes, and materials. 

But while lighting is Arteriors’ bread and butter, the new store, which is open to the public, also features loads of furniture and accessories. “Arteriors is from the floor up and the ceiling down,” says founder Mark Moussa. The showroom boasts more than 1,100 products in all, which represents more than 90 percent of their inventory—something no other Arteriors showroom can claim. Look for new products and partner lines, including the Twig collection, a collaboration with Dallas artist George Sellers inspired by faux-bois benches Moussa purchased in Paris.

2 / All the Right Moves

After four years in its original location, lifestyle favorite BelAir has relocated to new digs on West Lovers Lane, just a few doors down from its former space. The converted stone house features an open floor plan, sleek finish-out, and double the square-footage of the previous spot. That means owner Shannon VanBeber is better able to accommodate her busy full-service design studio as well as stock more vintage treasures, stunning case goods, locally crafted art and accessories, and breezy designer tops, dresses, denim, and shoes. “I like the way this store feels,” she says, “and I feel like our customers are really responding to it.”

 

3 / Mama Mia

Moms will want to check out Madre, the 1,250-square-foot children’s design and clothing store, located among the trendy cottages-turned-boutiques on West Lovers Lane. Co-owners Mia Brous, Kerri Goldfarb, and Louise Marsh transformed the space (formerly BelAir) into a bright, vibrant, kid-friendly shop complete with toys and outdoor playhouses to keep little shoppers occupied. The three owners—who have eight kids between them—all share backgrounds in design and a focus on children’s rooms. 

In addition to furniture items like custom headboards, benches, nightstands, and tables, shoppers will find baby bedding by Sweet William, Lands Downunder throws, Mint’s collection of bags and lunch boxes, Coleen & Company lighting, and Madeleine Weinrib rugs. Designer children’s clothing and organic nap mats from Bianca Colgin Watson’s Little Bean shop are available as well. The owners are also working with New York-based art consultant Kate Bellin Contemporary to offer works appropriate for wee ones’ walls by Caitlin McGauley, Gray Malin, and Kate Schelter. And for moms who need a little more help putting it all together, Madre also boasts design services, charging either a room rate for comprehensive design or an hourly fee to help with individual aspects like bedding or wallpaper.

4 / Fine Lines

Former advertising exec Melinda Jones started Read Between The Lines, a foil-stamped paper line with playful phrases such as “Mom, You’re the Bomb” and “I Love You and Cake” in 2013. Today, the popular cards and prints are carried in more than 280 retailers—including Crate & Barrel’s Land of Nod children’s catalog—and now you can find them at RBTL’s new flagship store in Victory Park. Jones called on Swoon, the Studio to create a warm, inviting, and eclectic space. “I wanted people to walk in and be happy,” she says. 

Not only does Jones stock the store with RBTL cards, prints, and wine and spirits bags, she also showcases special makers she has discovered along the way. Lines include jeweler Julie Cohn’s bronze and silver pieces, Power and Light Press’ letterpress map prints, hand-made animal dolls from Finkelsteins, Izola candles and coasters, and heartfelt and fun cards for every occasion. “These are makers I love,” Jones says. “I believe in what they are doing and I am honored to be carrying them.”

5 / Second Time Around

Last fall, John Robert Clark Antiques opened its doors in the Design District. But the shop’s eponymous owner is no stranger to the industry or to Dallas—he previously owned a store in Uptown in the early ’00s. Clark has always had a passion for antiques, and he’s played various roles in the business for two decades, at one point working as a private broker for high-end clients. In the current phase, his focus is on French Empire and Neoclassical pieces, many of which he gets from his network of dealers and sales around the world. 

Of course, part of what makes these pieces so alluring is their historical significance, and educating customers is of the utmost importance to Clark. He happily enlightens visitors to the store about the origins of each piece and plans to feature educational lectures on the shop’s website. Clark also expects to introduce more modern pieces to the in-store selection as well as candles and jewelry, but antiques will remain its core offering in part because of the excitement they provide Clark. 

“People ask me, ‘What’d you do today, J.C.?’” he says. “I say, ‘Let’s see now… I think I’ve been around the world once, twice, maybe three times.’”