Charlie Fox
Home Studios has added a cannabis dispensary to its hospitality-centric portfolio with Charlie Fox, a three-storey shop and purveyor of premium cannabis products in Times Square.
Featuring artisan touchpoints and a fluid program that invites curiosity and allows for education, the space flips the switch on the typical retail experience. For Home Studios founder and creative director Oliver Haslegrave, the project presented an opportunity to create something entirely new yet one embedded in his practice’s seminal design principles of storytelling, craft and context. “We’ve done a lot of bars and restaurants, and with Charlie Fox, a lot of the same dynamics are at play but it’s also very new to us, which is fun,” he says. “There’s something exciting about not having a specific design framework.”
The project encapsulates the studio’s honed, hospitality-forward approach with a series of thoughtfully crafted spaces that place the customer at the centre of the experience. For example, the sales counter doubles as a back bar, offering one- to-one service from ‘budtenders’ in a setting that’s akin to a swanky bar. Sheer curtains enhance the sense of discretion and, upstairs, the lounge area is both an event space and a tranquil hideaway offering personalised service in a more private setting.
Taking cues from the design of old-world apothecaries, Charlie Fox is tactile and enveloping. It’s a strong tie-in given the products on offer here and the brand’s commitment to education and knowledge sharing. “Apothecaries used to be very well detailed and appointed, and you were getting a lot of information there while learning about medicine or supplements, so there tended to be a lot of time and effort put into the design,” says Haslegrave. “That thinking was a big touchstone for us.”
The extensive use of timber is a direct response to this reference; used as wall panelling and for custom joinery throughout, its dark and nutty tones lead the palette. It harks to dimly lit members’ clubs and ritzy hotel lobby bars, as do the antique brass picture lights illuminating framed artworks and vintage lampshades with dangly tassels. This sense of formality is livened up by various contemporary notes, including two Ladies & Gentleman Studio pendants in the entryway, and several upbeat design details including the blush- coloured plaster walls, mirrors with squiggly edges and checkerboard tiles in contrasting rust and white.
It culminates in a space that will immediately strike visitors as special but not intimidating – a rationale that taps into the project’s very ethos: to have fun. The charming name alone suggests this, as does the brand’s logo – a mischievous fox mid-scamper – and Home Studios’ design matches this intent.
Architecture by TPG Architecture. Interior design by Home Studios. Build by Vema Group. Mural by Kimmy Quillin.
