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After years in the Northrup King Building where she designed, crafted, and sold her contemporary jewelry, Larissa Loden is moving into a new storefront location in St. Paul. The former art teacher turned entrepreneur teamed her woman-owned business with another, Studio BV, owned by Betsy Vohs, to bring the brick-and-mortar venture to fruition.
“There’s quite a strong maker culture in the Twin Cities with a big jewelry-design segment,” says Vohs. “Larissa’s quite prolific. Her designs are very contemporary. She has mastered sales and marketing; how to make designing jewelry fun and available at an accessible price. Now, she has decided to separate the making and the retail. Her volume is so big.”
The new store will be in the former and original Izzy’s Ice Cream on Marshall Avenue in St. Paul. “It has a full basement and a crazy conglomerate of spaces,” Vohs says. “It’s great for making and for storage.” Loden even held a pop-up in the space over the holidays “to familiarize people with the location and new product,” Vohs adds.
Because Loden’s jewelry lines are beautiful and fun, and “exude femininity and confidence,” Vohs came up with different style profiles the designer could choose from. They decided on a minimal, white, Scandinavian-style space with a pale pink desert-like color palette. “When you walk in you want to immediately feel that you’re in a store about singular objects, brand, and experience,” says Vohs.
Muralist Ashley Mary will “tattoo the building’s exterior” with an original work. The interior will be “bright white so all of the artistic jewelry pieces are really visible.” Curved display alcoves soften the space. Vohs is designing a staff and café space at the back for private events, and Mary will create another mural in this area. “The idea is to create a feminine oasis in which the jewelry really stands out,” Vohs says.
The project, adds Vohs, is “all about helping Larissa grow into her space and fulfill her long-term vision.”
