September 25, 2013

We Built This City: Shinola Shop by Rockwell Group

Dedication to U.S. manufacturing is implicit at Shinola, which makes bikes and watches in Detroit. But how could the brand communicate this commitment through a store, without hauling out the Stars and Stripes? The Rockwell Group filled the 2,400-square-foot TriBeCa space with materials that reference our country’s manufacturing heritage, from brick walls to poured-concrete flooring. In the coffee bar at the entry, found tools and pendant fixtures salvaged from naval vessels mingle with an antique pastry case. A spiral staircase ascends to the brass-and-steel catwalk leading to offices and a showroom populated by vintage chairs from Detroit’s police department. The most conspicuous gesture: an oversize bronze world map from the 1930’s. It once hung in the Rockefeller Center lobby of an oil company—the kind that still makes Motor City run.

Recent Projects