A good fit
Offering a highly personalised service in the most intimate of settings, The Fitting Room’s second location was created with femininity and comfort in mind.
Catering to a niche market in Christchurch, The Fitting Room offers bras in fuller cup sizes (C-K), alongside breast prosthesis and post-mastectomy bras, and swimwear in all sizes.
When Deborah Lewthwaite set her sights on a second location for her Fendalton store, she had a clear idea of what she wanted. However, bringing such a vision to fruition can be a challenge to manage on your own.
After her laboured efforts to find just the right wallpaper to match some fabric, it wasn’t long before Deborah realised that calling in the expertise of the professionals would save her considerable time and energy.
‘Because of the intimate nature of the specialised service we provide, it was vital that the space was designed in a way that welcomed customers into the store to browse, but also included a private zone toward the rear of the store where fittings could take place.’
Seeking an interior fit-out that complemented their product range was important, and Deborah was keen to retain the feminine touch created in their original store, with more of a contemporary feel in the Colombo Street location.
A departure from the regular residential projects they are known for, Victoria Gibbons and Gabrielle Herrick, from architectural and interior design consultancy company, Halliburton Gibbons, say they loved the store’s concept of ‘women helping women to create a better shape and to grow in confidence.
‘It was a fun project to work on and we’re thrilled to have created a beautiful space that’s a pleasure to be in – for the staff and their customers’, Gabrielle continues.
With a view to ‘keeping it fresh, fun and feminine’, while retaining a similar feel to the original store, a palette of hot pink, cream and fawn, with a touch of gold, was used. The stunning geometric pattern of the wallpaper in the fitting area achieves the more contemporary style that Deborah envisaged for the new store.
While Deborah and her shop manager, Clemency, liaised with Gabrielle and Victoria on the spatial design details, colours and finishing touches, Deborah’s husband project-managed the construction of the shop fittings. The simple raw plywood joinery was made locally. To bring out the natural beauty of the timber, increase durability and give a luxurious smooth surface on all display units, a spray finish was expertly applied by Finishing Solutions using a clear polyurethane.
In order to complement the fitting room curtains, Finishing Solutions gave the antique-style chairs a distressed look.
‘Extremely pleased with the result’, Deborah says the new store helps customers feel at ease and makes the experience fun.
0800 GR8 FIT | thefittingroom.co.nz
021 981 973 | halliburtongibbons.co.nz
03 338 8809 | finishingsolutions.co.nz
