How do you best optimize a retail environment when a product is no bigger than a coin? That’s a question the team at NYC-based studio Huxhux Design had to consider as the interior lead for Manhattan ear-piercing shop Studs. To organically draw attention to Studs’ miniscule wares, Huxhux Design devised a white-box environment brought to life by light, colour and geometric forms.
Emulating the starkness of traditional art galleries, the designers rendered Studs’ floors, ceiling, curved counter and most of its walls in white. Vibrant hues were then introduced, a means to highlight select areas of the space: a yellow statement wall, for example, is reflected by the mirrored gallery display, drawing attention to bejewelled goods positioned in two focal vitrines. The first is a lobe-shaped display case for fashion earrings, while the other is a clean, linear fixture for piercing studs. Huxhux designed bespoke visual merchandising tools, including ear forms made of black foam, neon acrylic and mirrored surfacing.
Once desired accessories are selected, customers are led through an arched purple hallway that marks the transition of the retail space into clinic. Before retreating into the piercing rooms, customers can relax in a lounge or take selfies in a mirrored ‘S’-emblazoned vanity wall – an opportunity to ‘capture the moment of their impending transformation,’ says a Huxhux Design spokesperson.
Like the retail floor, the piercing rooms are all-white spaces dotted with pops of colour, but they’re devoid of the light play that characterizes other areas. Curved mirrors add to the ‘cool transitional space,’ creating the atmosphere for a ‘processional moment in the piercing process.’