Issue link: http://papercitymagazine.uberflip.com/i/372562
BY REBECCA SHERMAN PHOTOGRAPHY MINDY BYRD. PRODUCED BY MICHELLE AVIÑA. PRODUCTION ASSISTANT TIM HEADINGTON. GROOMING, HAIR AND MAKEUP CARMEN WILLIAMSON. MOST RADICAL RETAIL MOVE A O n a winter afternoon earlier this year, architect David Droese received an excited phone call from Brian Bolke, owner of the luxury emporium Forty Five Ten, saying he had something to show him. Could they meet downtown? "He's usually pretty optimistic about new things he's working on, but this time he was more enthusiastic than usual," says Droese, a partner with Droese Raney Architecture and the 14-year-old store's go-to designer for cosmetic tweaks and a glamorous 2005 and 2011 makeover. Bolke — who prefers a casual but chic uniform of Common Projects sneakers and Viktor & Rolf T-shirts and jeans — valeted his gray metallic Jaguar S-Type convertible with 45TEN plates at The Joule hotel, then crossed Main Street to meet Droese at an empty three-story building. The two rode the elevator up, and on the way, Bolke divulged the early details of a future, multilevel Forty Five Ten store, located on that very spot. As Bolke quickly sketched out the plans and the architect's involvement, Droese realized that an opportunity to do a store devoted entirely to a single independent retailer didn't come around very often. "I was like, 'Heck yeah, I'm in.'" As Bolke explained it, Forty Five Ten would not only be bigger and better, but it would create a whole new experience for luxury shopping never before experienced in Dallas — maybe even the world. The two got off at the roof, and on this sunny and crisp January day, a dazzling 180-degree view of the cityscape beckoned. "We have to do something up here," Bolke enthused. "You just don't feel like you're in Dallas at all." The urban landscape that enveloped them felt more like Chicago, New York or San Francisco, Droese remembers. It was the same sort of sentiment that people often have of Forty Five Ten: that the current Knox- Henderson area store — with its edgy, European fashion FORTY FIVE TEN'S PERCIPIENT STYLE-SAVANT OWNER BRIAN BOLKE STUNS THE RETAIL WORLD WITH HIS MOVE DOWNTOWN AND THE ANNOUNCEMENT OF HIS NEW MONEY-MAN PARTNER, MR. DOWNTOWN HIMSELF, TIM HEADINGTON. BUT THE SECRET WEAPON? RETAIL SHAMAN SHELLE SILLS. HERE'S HOW IT'S GOING DOWN. Brian Bolke and Shelle Sills