Today marks one week since we opened our new Obscura Shop here in St. Augustine. While there's a lot of crossover between what we do at YIELD and what goes into running a retail store, there's plenty that's new for us. Rachel and I have spent some time in the shop this week and we've enjoyed getting out of the office and meeting more people face-to face.

The Build Out:
We got the space the beginning of the year and spent a few months building it out (with some travel + tradeshow interruptions). We had to get pretty deep to make it something we could work with. The shop had been vacated and gutted after damage from Hurricane Matthew and we gutted it further. We pulled out a drop ceiling, moved a wall 6 feet back, drywalled, painted, installed lighting, poured floors...

We did all of the remodel work ourselves except for the flooring. After a contractor fell through, Rachel and I also ended up building the fixtures over the last few weeks.

I've included a few "before" photos down below to share where we started with this space.

The Products:
Obscura is about experiencing everyday objects in a new way. We stock the shelves with a condensed assortment of many of the best things we’d want in our own home and as part of our lives: from kitchen basics like tea towels and containers, to playful toys, candles, bags, and jewelry. It’s an eclectic assortment of functional, but distinctive items.

We have many YIELD products in the shop, but we also carry local designers and many of our favorite designers from around the U.S. and abroad. 

The Programming:
In addition to our product offerings, we have space in the store dedicated to a featured artist on rotation. The first artist is our friend Marleigh Culver, a multi-talented artist and designer at Need Supply in Richmond. Marleigh's prints and custom blankets are on view through May 1st.