In Dupont, Local Architect Gives Online Brand a Real Life Space

Jenni Bick isn't exactly a D.C. local name. Still, the journal brand, which until now sold exclusively on their online store, chose Dupont as the location for its first brick-and-mortar store opening later this month.

The Jenni Bick brand was founded by Bick in 1990, and sells specialty leather bound notebooks through its online site. Bick and her husband, Robby, who used to live in D.C., are based out of a home that looks like a barn in Martha's Vineyard, but they'll soon be adding an additional space in the DMV area. So it made sense to set up their first retail shop in the District.

But it's no easy feat trying to mold an in-person experience from a solely online brand. Jenni Bick worked with Bethesda-based GTM Architects on the construction of the upcoming space. GTM has built several private residences around the DMV, office spaces such as PACT in downtown D.C., and was tasked with renovating Union Station in 2009. Some of their current projects include the Sequoia Restaurant renovation in Georgetown and several locations of the Sugar Factory Restaurant.

"Amazon taking their online purchase into a grocery store is a totally different venture than taking a store that does notebooks and journals," said Clare Marino, who was the architect for the Jenni Bick storefront. "You want to take away from that the things that make that product appealing and apply it to an urban setting. We're not going to recreate a barn."

Marino met with the Jenni Bick company in the fall and was hired around the same time. The lease for the space was signed a few months later, with construction starting in late October. Construction completed at the end of December, and now the Jenni Bick team has been working to stock and stage the storefront.

Marino said the interior attempts to emulate the current vibe the feel of Jenni Bick's online brand—which is created in a New England home in Martha's Vineyard. The notebooks are colorful, and the space is designed to have a series of white shelves with wood countertops interspersed throughout the store.

"It's a real challenge as a designer," Marino said. "They already have a brand so we wanted to make sure that we maintained the integrity of the look and feel that they already established."

To get a feel of how the store operates, Marino bought a few items from the Jenni Bick website and chatted online with one of their sales team members to get a feeling of how the employees will interact with consumers, one-on-one.

In general, Marino said projects like these go a lot smoother when a client knows exactly what their brand is about. "It helps if your client is good at articulating their brand. Some people come in and they have a clear sort of mission statement, and sometimes people really don't know," she said. "Jenni Bick happens to have done a very good job with its website, which is great, because a lot of clients might not have the language put together or have a comprehensive idea of identity yet."

Jenni Bick has a team of 14 people who help complete orders, which range from a simple notebook to a tailor-made keepsake book to photo albums. Items are catered around the notebook lover only, whether they be a writer or a list-lover. The new shop is located at 1300 Connecticut Ave.

Since Marino is only involved with the building, and not so much the set up, of the shop, she's most excited to get a sneak peek at it once its stocked and ready.

"It's not like going into a Barnes and Noble where you have so many options," Marino said. "It's kind of like a boutique store, which you don't see a whole lot of especially in the Dupont neighborhood."

Images courtesy of Jenni Bick and GTM Architects