Monday, June 15, 2009

Chic Discovery - Adrien Linford


While we were darting in and out of shops along Madison Avenue one Friday morning, we came across Adrien Linford, a home accessories store which was teeming with shoppers. The reason, we were told, was that the store was closing its business and everything was on sale. Inside we found very nice table top accessories such as clear oil lamps — which we found out are the store's signature — plate chargers, silver napkin rings, shagreen boxes and coral accessories made of resin. We ended up buying a silver salt and pepper shaker set that looked like bamboo for less than $30 and  a coral accessory mounted on a Lucite platform (less than $120.) The latter was the last piece in the store and we clutched it close to us as other shoppers were eyeing. Thankfully it made its way back home to us intact and without any damage. It now sits proudly on top of coffee table books in our home(see photo above.) 
It's such a shame that businesses like Adrien Linford and Mrs John L Strong which sell the most beautiful things are forced to close because of the economy.
 

1 comment:

  1. As a former retailer in NYC, I too closed right befor AL. I can attest that it's not the economy that caused their stores closure. Starting in 2002, consumers in mass stopped supporting brick & mortar stores in favor of e-commerce. Our overhead costs like rent spiraled out of control and our customers dropped us in mass in favor for online discounts & free shipping. I know because many of my best customers that lived right across the street from the store stopped coming in as they preferred shopping online. I too prefer shopping online, I'm not ignorant enough to expect the stores to stick around when I'm not frequenting them. What do you think? That everybody but you shops in the store?? When I closed, everyone in the neighborhood was so shocked, yet I hadn't seen half of them in over 6 months. Prior to the internet, we saw the same customer 2-3 times a week.
    The reality is that the economony just accelerated the inevitable. In a a year or so, the retail landscape will be so sterile and only the big box stores, banks and starbucks will line the streets. The consumers will then stand there scratching their heads, wonering what happened... meanwhile- their lack of loyalty brough on the collapse. There was a time when we would sell a family from generation to generation.

    And yes- Adrien Linford was a very special place. Noone will ever be able to re-create what the 2 partners had done over the years. As noone will ever be able to re-create what I had either. And this is the beginning. Get ready for the end...

    Have fun in Walmart and Target!

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