As online shopping has expanded, a new breed of retailer has appeared. They can be based anywhere – whether in the middle of Brooklyn or a remote spot in Sweden – and they function primarily as an online concern. Their owners use their own homes as virtual showrooms, marketing themselves through stylish snaps posted on Instagram which gain them thousands of followers – and customers. A new book by Ellie Tennant, Chic Boutiquers at Home, documents some of the most stylish of these digital shopfronts.
Mini Moderns is a perfect example. Founded by Keith Stephenson and Mark Hampshire in 2006, the interiors brand has gained the design-world kudos that many bigger brands would kill for. Their first collection was snapped up by Heal’s – always quick to spot a must-have. Since then they have collaborated with the Courtauld Gallery, the Southbank Centre and the London Transport Museum. Despite Mini Moderns’ involvement with this roster of London institutions, the duo spend much of their time in Dungeness, Kent, where they own a converted railway carriage on the windswept coast.
“We like to use our beach house as a showcase for our products,” says Hampshire. “We always say, if we can’t live with our designs, we shouldn’t produce them. Our benchmark is always: would we have this in our own home?” On their Instagram feed you can see their wallpapers, fabrics and other objects in domestic settings, as well as the occasional snap of the Dungeness coastline.
Personal investment and a strong sense of identity are what characterise this new category of online retailer. “They don’t attempt to compete with bigger brands, who can buy in bulk, but instead do their own thing and create inspiring online ‘destinations’ with loyal communities of customers,” says Ellie Tennant. “By sharing photos of their products in their homes on Instagram and Twitter, they offer their customers much more than a bigger high-street brand ever can. Part of their strength is that they are genuine – living, creative lifestyles.”
From a coastal Welsh cottage, Sian Tucker runs Fforest General Stores with her partner James Lynch. The online boutique is only part of their enterprise. The couple also run a craft-based camp for holidaymakers, as well as a café and a “pizza tipi”. But their retail arm allows them to connect with a much wider audience. With a colourful selection of Welsh blankets and an array of wooden-handled tools, their stock reflects Fforest’s practical, rural aesthetic.
“It was inspiring to see how some of the ‘boutiquers’ had forged the perfect balance of life and work, despite their far-flung locations,” says Tennant. “Online selling allows you flexibility and freedom. Sian runs her shop between walks on the beach with her dog. Another seller, Ylva Skarp, lives in a converted schoolhouse on the edge of a lake in Sweden.”
Over in Hastings, East Sussex, Dean and Jeska Hearne manage the Future Kept, a virtual shop packed with handmade wooden spoons, British lambswool blankets and natural beauty products. Their home is a perfect showpiece for their eco-friendly, chic items. As with Fforest General Stores and Mini Moderns, their decision to operate from an online premises means that they have an enviable lifestyle. Scrolling through images of cosy sitting rooms, home-cooked feasts and spectacular seascapes invokes an irresistible urge to buy into their world.
Chic Boutiquers at Home by Ellie Tennant is published by Ryland Peters & Small, at £19.99. Photography by James Gardiner. To buy a copy for £15.99, visit bookshop.theguardian.com
