We asked our globetrotting Shops stylemakers to share some travel-enlightened insight about how we can improve our own backyard. We posed to them one tasteful, open-ended question: What do you think the Twin Cities is missing?
Shops 2008
By Megan Wiley
and Katherine Ehlen
Christina Nguyen, Design Collective
“A really wonderful dessert bar, like Chikalicious in NYC—but maybe it’s a good thing we don’t have one, because I would be there way too much. And a Le Sportsac boutique.”
Jay Alexander, Pumpz & Co.
“Right now, the biggest thing in my life is my dog, Cydney Katrina Alexander. We are missing dog-friendly coffee shops. There also is a lack of great men’s shoes.”
Ini Iyamba, Ivy
“I think the Twin Cities is missing [a shopping and dining neighborhood] similar to Wicker Park in Chicago or the Meat Packing District in New York. Uptown is supposed to be that, but with greedy landlords charging ridiculous rent, businesses open and then shut down six months later. This is why I’m working very hard with Harrison Neighborhood Association to make sure Glenwood doesn’t suffer the same fate.”
Roxy Freese, Bibelot
“I have always said the Twin Cities is the perfect place to live. No matter what a person’s interest, there is something here to meet and challenge it!”
Chris Plantan, russell+hazel
“We need more boutiques! And we need to support them. We have a wonderful cultural climate, restaurants for all tastes, boutique hotels cropping up, and now we need the retail experiences.”
Michael Druskin, Len Druskin
“I spend a lot of time in other cities and return each time thankful for all that we have here—great people, culture, and landscape. We have so many great things in this city that sometimes we forget to take advantage of them all.”
Kevin Quinn, StyledLife
“The Twin Cities is missing the confidence to ‘own’ the immense taste in town.”
Stephanie Morrissey, Stephanie’s
“Quiet lounge bars where I can just relax comfortably and talk with my girlfriends or husband.”
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