Today we’d like to introduce you to Dinna Eckstein.
Hi Dinna, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I worked for several years in retail management for 2 big furniture retail chains, Bombay Furniture Co and Storehouse. I left the industry for a few years, then started selling at barn sales once a month. I remember getting the happy high feeling I would get from helping find pieces for clients and showing how pieces can be versatile. Seeing the result and the aha moments in customers faces made me feel great. I became an accredited stager to get my foot in the door for interior design (2013) and began Audrey Kate Design and Staging. We moved out of Virginia and I continued my interior design business virtually. In 2020 when the pandemic hit, my business became very busy. Everyone was now working and staying at home 24-7 and they were staring all the things wrong in their home they avoided by being at work and school. We moved to Milton Georgia in April of 2020, and when my husband retired from Exxon mobil in January of 2021, he agreed to invest in my business. I knew from the start where I wanted Dinna Eckstein Designs the STORE to be, and have been open since November 15, 2021.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
the STORE was the second retail shop opened on Heritage Walk, and the restaurants and brewery weren’t open either. No one knew we were here and it made for slow business. But as the other shops opened, and the Nest and Six Bridges opened, it really opened a lot of new traffic. We are still needing more people outside of the local community to discover us.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
Dinna Eckstein Designs the STORE (the STORE) is an upscale-casual furniture showroom and design boutique.
Our mission statement:
We are dedicated to providing our clients with thoughtfully chosen and innovative home furnishings and accessories of the highest quality. Built on a culture of joy, warmth, creativity and authentic relationships, curated from the best in the industry, our team will blend your life with a beautiful upscale casual style, helping to create your best lifestyle.
the STORE is a furniture showroom and interior design boutique. We carry customizable high-quality furniture and now are carrying our own brand. We are happy to source from our many vendors if our client needs a piece that is not shown on our floor.the STORE also carries quartz, flooring, tiles, cabinets with our own exclusive colors, THE MODERN EARTH PALETTE COLLECTION. I also offer interior design planning, renderings, installations, basically anything that applies to houses and home we can do.
Project managing of any of the projects so the clients are comfortable with the whole process, being there for the whole ride and being a liaison between the client and contractors are part of our services.
I offer designs that are wholeheartedly created around the family lifestyle. The demographic I work with is usually busy families, and the showroom is filled with pieces that are beautiful but definitely can be used in real life. In fact, I encourage buyers to sit the way the way they do at home, to live in the sofa for a while in the STORE. Workshops are offered at the STORE, as well as coffee and snacks. Customers have mentioned that I am brave to allow people to have snacks and beverages at the STORE, and one of my philosophies is “IF THEY CAN’T DO NORMAL LIFE HERE AND I CAN’T CLEAN IT UP IF AN ACCIDENT OCCURS, WHY WOULD I TELL YOU IT’S RIGHT FOR YOUR BUSY FAMILY LIFESTYLE?”
One thing that definitely sets us apart from other showrooms is that we don’t have any collections. I have pieces that is totally curated and blended with other pieces to create a certain style aesthetic. I blend styles because most people aren’t going to start all over. They usually have pieces that they inherited or want to keep that need to be implemented with the new look. I never hi-jack a design, I listen to the client and strive to give them what they ask for and guide them to result they are longing for. Second, we sell planters with plants and terrariums, living walls and preserved moss walls.
I believe the best part of the STORE is our welcoming hospitality. We are authentically ourselves and provide information not a sales tactic. We love children and dogs in our showroom. They are often the biggest part of the family, so why shouldn’t they be included in shopping for the home?
What’s next?
Well after we are well established here, maybe 3 years or so, I’d like to open a kid’s furniture store and a full-on hardware store, but geared towards people who aren’t knowledgable in tools.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.theSTORE.design
- Instagram: thestore.design
- Facebook: thestore.design
- Twitter: designjunkee
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAOwWCZpAkD9vJ0uohMnT4w
- Other: https://sites.libsyn.com/434070
