Page 9 - THE MAGAZINE

Kuhl-Linscomb

If you have walked through any Kuhl-Linscomb door, you know
very well the dazzling array of merchandise that will greet you
once inside. The design and lifestyle store has been compared to
a Texas version of an exotic Arabian bazaar. Designer Jonathan
Adler even called it a “spiritual experience”. If you’ve been to
Kuhl-Linscomb, you’ll find it hard to disagree. It is the ultimate
one-stop shop for everything you never knew you wanted.

But with all that merchandise, how does one manage to edge
toward fascinating and not chaotic? Owner Pam Kuhl-Linscomb
and the team of creative minds behind this amazing shopping
destination share with John A. Daugherty, Jr. some wisdom
about the everyday challenges of merchandising “outside the
box” and how vignettes become a powerful motif for the Kuhl-
Linscomb brand and all that it carries.

JD: Is the word vignette something that is always on your mind
when merchandising throughout the store?

KL: To some extent, yes. It’s interesting, the modern mind
probably thinks of a vignette as something visual, a grouping
of items and objects, artfully arranged. Historically though, the Pam and Dan Linscomb, owners of Kuhl-Linscomb
word vignette was more commonly used to refer to a small piece
of writing, a short story, evocative but brief. Not that we spend top of an antique velvet mat. It’s always about the mix and the
a lot of time on historical semantics at Kuhl-Linscomb, but we do juxtaposition of things that make a visual experience into more
approach all our display work, our “vignettes,” as a storytelling of a narrative. Your home can tell a story of its own, too. So, a
opportunity. In that way, for us, it’s more than creating visual major piece of advice would be to start exploring, find your taste
appeal; you’re inviting someone to experience more closely, to and what draws you. Collect pieces you love, and start layering
learn about a product, a brand or a lifestyle. How you arrange them together. Start small and don’t discount the spaces where
everything really facilitates that narrative, and, we’d like to you’ll spend the most time. Even your bathroom countertop
think, it is what makes shopping at Kuhl-Linscomb so unique. can become a beautiful vignette, with the right mix of beautiful

JD: Are there any rules or guidelines that you follow when packaging, thoughtful organization and a little fearless whimsy.
creating your vignettes and displays around the store?

KL: The “rules” here are more like guiding instincts. We’ll start
work on an area and pause to judge how it’s coming together.
We leverage our broad mix of brands for shoppable appeal and
rely on our unique antique fixtures to add dimension. We ask
questions: Is it balanced? Does this product array make sense
together? What’s the mood we are creating? Also, we often have
to revisit, because as soon as we are happy with a new vignette,
key pieces will sell out and we have to start again. Merchandising
is a perpetual process. It keeps all of us engaged though, and
contributes to what we know our customers love about the
store: it’s never static.

JD: Do you have any advice on how someone could integrate
your whimsical approach to merchandising into their home
décor?

KL: You know, a key facet of Kuhl-Linscomb is the layered, visual
experience. We don’t use standard retail fixturing. That table
setting you love is laid out on top of an antique buffet, and
perched next to it is a cast concrete poodle painted blue. You’re
looking at a pair of sunglasses, but it’s inside a vintage vitrine, on

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