Issue link: http://papercitymagazine.uberflip.com/i/1180206
W hen a petite space near Royal Blue Grocery in Highland Park Village became vacant this summer, the rumor mill went wild — as is typical when a piece of tony real estate opens up in the Village. Few guessed that it was Brian Bolke who was quietly at work in the space, getting ready to open his second location for The Conservatory — the new retail concept he debuted in New York's Hudson Yards barely six months earlier. The Conservatory is a rather novel concept in the ever-changing realm of retail. The store combines a strong edit of elevated, purposeful fashion and beauty essentials with special objects and product for life and home — all with the look, feel, and experience of a sleek showroom. The store serves as a window into the brand's digital fl agship, theconservatorynyc.com. Consider it e-commerce come to life: While most of the stock can be purchased on the spot and taken home, other items (particularly in the fashion realm) can be ordered in store (they have one sample of each size to try on) and shipped directly to you, in one day. Bolke is, of course, the retail mastermind behind Forty Five Ten, having opened the genre-exploding retail store in 2000 with HARDLY CONSERVATIVE BY CHRISTINA GEYER. PORTRAIT TONY SOLIS. FOLLOWING THE CONSERVATORY'S HEADLINE-MAKING OPENING IN NEW YORK'S HUDSON YARDS, PROPRIETOR BRIAN BOLKE POPS UP A SECOND CONSERVATORY IN HIGHLAND PARK VILLAGE. the late Shelly M u s s e l m a n and retailer Bill Mackin. I n 2 0 1 4 , Headington C o m p a n i e s acquired Forty F i v e Te n , subsequently moving the store from its original ivy-covered McKinney Avenue location and into spacious new digs downtown, across from The Joule hotel, another Headington property. In the years that followed, Headington rapidly expanded the Forty Five Ten footprint, with stores opening in Napa Valley, Aspen, and, most recently, New York, in Hudson Yards, in the same shopping mecca as The Conservatory. When Bolke parted ways with Headington Companies in August 2017, the dawning of his new retail venture was major news, both locally and nationally. The New York City opening-night fête drew designers Derek Lam and Narciso Rodriguez, as well as a fl ock of Dallas fans. The Dallas opening was handled quite differently. Instead, everyone who knew about the store's imminent debut was sworn to secrecy until the day it opened in late September. Call it the best-kept fashion secret our city has ever seen. Here, the store is much smaller than the sprawling New York fl agship, but it packs the same design punch. Droese Raney Architecture worked wonders on the petite space, which has the rarifi ed air of casual elegance that has long been synonymous with Bolke. In store, look for wardrobe staples for men and women by Misha Nonoo, White + Warren, Tamara Mellon, Todd Snyder, CDLP, Jil Sander, and Want Les Essentiels; jewelry by Eva Fehren, Franc isca Botelho, Jennifer Fisher, Paige Novick, and Shihara; wellness essentials from Salt & Stone, Vapour Beauty, Bastide, Aerin, Dr. Loretta, Acqua di Stresa; and books and objects from Rizzoli, P h a i d o n , L a l i q u e , Peacock Alley, L'Objet, Georg Jensen, and more. The Conservatory, 4 Highland Park Village. Brian Bolke Menswear at The Conservatory The Conservatory in Highland Park Village 34