I still wanted to give a proper reaction to Walter van Beirendonck who took the effort to comment real seriously to this post about his shop. I had a few busy days after coming back from my holiday so it took a while... but here we go!

First of all I was positively surprised to read your comment, Walter. I guess we bloggers often assume that we're just talking into some sort of vacuum, and it's pretty cool to actually be able to interact with the designer you're writing about like this. The fact that you take the time to read, consider and discuss the opinions expressed here makes it clear that you're probably not the kind of designer sitting in his ivory tower looking down on the ordinary shopping people... ;) Which is a nice thing I think.

It's well possible that I've generalized a bit too quickly and have set your shop as an example for a type of shop that it doesn't fully represent. I wanted to address a certain phenomenon and I hope I made it clear that both seller and customer play their part in it. I think psychology and prejudice play a role on both sides. Like you and some other people have commented, some of us may feel uncomfortable or unwelcome easier than others. The feeling of being ‘too much’ in an expensive, spacious shop while being watched by –more or less friendly- shop people may be a personal issue that some suffer from more than others. One can say: that’s just their problem, so don’t visit! But on the other hand I think prejudice also plays it’s part on the side of the shop keeper/assistants. I do feel that they often judge people based on the presumption ‘is this someone who will buy a lot or not?’. I’ve too often seen the attitude of the shop assistants change dramatically when they learnt that I was actually going to buy expensive things: from complete ignoring or snappish ‘be careful with that dress’ and ‘make sure not to drop things on the ground’, they quickly turned to ‘do you want coffee?’, super-friendly behaviour and ‘do you want to become part of our special clients record?’

This is not what happened in your shop Walter, so maybe it’s a bit unfair to relate those experiences to the way I experienced your shop. And in fact I would be happy if you prove me wrong. Cause beauty, creativity and visual inspiration are wonderful things, and it bothers me when I feel they’re only reserved for this little wealthy elite that locks other people –who may sometimes have a more genuine interest in art & creativity- out. So maybe my real issue is that in fact I’m a bit of a communist… ;)

I agree with you that there may be a tension between the way you like to display items –like in large, empty spaces- and the more welcoming/cozy/feel-at-home element. I fully agree that a shop like yours shouldn’t look like a packed grocery store. Some items need more room to breathe than others. But in the end I think it’s more the attitude/atmosphere in a shop that makes people feel welcome than the space. For example I never feel unwelcome in musea that often also consist of large, white-walled empty spaces with only a few pieces of art displayed, probably because I know that my interest in the displayed art is legitimation enough to be welcome. I feel that in a museum it’s about genuine interest in the displayed art, not about belonging to the right subculture or having the money. Maybe that’s a naive view, cause I know that a shop is about making profit and therefore not the same thing as a museum, but it’s what I hope beautiful shops are also about: being welcoming for people with a genuine interest in beauty.