ONE-OFF: INDEPENDENT RETAIL DESIGN

By: Clare Dowdy

The urge to create an individualized shopping experience is a major trend around the world. A new generation of independent shops has grown up. These are mostly small, and are setting up against the odds, so that they have to make an effort with their exteriors, interiors and branding to lure in customers.

Some such shops are a triumph of ingenuity on a low budget, while other one-off outlets are as glamorous as their big-name counterparts. Some interiors and graphics are created by professional designers, others by the owners themselves. In fact, this trend is now so widespread that the corporate retailers who sparked the reaction in the first place are getting in on the act, commissioning one-off outlets and short-term guerrilla stores to appeal to a more savvy, funky young clientele.

"One-Off" is the first book to address this important retail trend. It covers food, home and lifestyle, fashion and accessories, random gems and pretenders and guerrilla stores.