Issue link: http://papercitymagazine.uberflip.com/i/1546313
T he Kno, the chic and smart American- made women's fashion brand, opens its first permanent flagship store this month on Westheimer in the River Oaks area. Founder Francine Ballard, PaperCity style editor at large, had an awakening of sorts. "It's not minimalism; it's called essentialism, and I'm going deep on it," she says. The Kno aims "to help women make fewer decisions, eliminate unnecessary friction, and create more space for the things that matter," she says. Her successful seasonal brick-and- mortar store in Highland Village Shopping Center left her seeking to do more for her clientele — the overbooked, overqualified, and underestimated modern woman. Designed in collaboration with designer and interiors stylist Walker Wright, the boutique is a warm residential environment designed with natural materials and a seating area front and center. While serving as a flagship retail store for the brand, the space will also offer programming that spans wellness, beauty, travel, and intentional living, as well as conservations led by trusted experts and longtime collaborators. Also on offer are complimentary espresso and wellness shots, red light therapy, personal concierge services from Lauren Gray, and conversations with experts to help you cross items off your to-do list. For the uninitiated, The Kno is not a seasonal trend-motivated line, but rather a permanent system of interchangeable essentials that effortlessly transition between work, travel, and leisure. "We're interested in helping people edit their lives, not add to the noise," Ballard says. Classics include the Jet Set collection, featuring the bestselling Weightless Trench, and the Buttonless Buttondown, which is engineered with hidden sleeve snaps and comes with complimentary monogramming. $95 – $450, at The Kno, 3641 Westheimer Road, thekno.co. Anne Lee Phillips its collections of E u r o p e a n a n d A m e r i c a n t a p s , porcelain bath and kitchen furnishings p l u s f i t t i n g s , h a r d w a r e , a n d accessories. There's significantly more gallery space for S h e r l e Wa g n e r (an exclusive in Houston), Samuel H e a t h , T H G , Rocky Mountain H a r d w a r e , a n d Frank Allart, along with one of the only operational display shower and integrated steam systems in Houston, allowing clients to experience fixtures exactly as they are intended before specifying for a project. Located in Spring Branch along the path of one of Houston's thriving design corridors and surrounded by tools of the trade — stone yards, tile showrooms, and slab suppliers — the new space is flooded with natural light, equal parts gallery and design studio, designed by Marion Evans, with architecture by Gary R. Chandler. For the designers, architects, and builders who have partnered with Laine and his team for the past 17 years in its previous location, the move is much more than a new address. Fixtures & Fittings, 7611 Kempwood Dr., fixturesfittings.com. Sophia Porter B eloved by the design trade, decorative plumbing and architectural hardware showroom Fixtures & Fittings has unveiled the showroom that founder Aaron Laine has always envisioned. The company's first standalone location marks a significant milestone, creating a destination that elevates In the Kno A New Home for Fixtures & Fittings The new Kno in River Oaks Sherle Wagner Molecule collection exclusively in Houston through Fixtures & Fittings Walker Wright, Francine Ballard JACK THOMPSON 28