Look out London, the dinosaurs are coming! No, they’re not filming a sequel to Godzilla on the streets of England’s capital – we’re talking about the launch of Dinosaur Designs‘ first store in the city. Hah! Got you going there, I can tell. The Australian jewellery and homewares company, headed by Creative Directors Louise Olsen and Stephen Ormandy, is expanding into Europe after ten roaringly successful years of trading at their New York outpost in Nolita, and is now looking to stamp a sizeable footprint on London’s Soho neighbourhood.
The store is part of the Ham Yard Hotel retail development on the corner of Great Windmill Street, and has been designed by Ian Halliday of Burley Katon Halliday. The DD experience starts right at the door, with a handle of giant gemstones that made me think of Raquel Welch in One Million Years B.C., which is always nice. There’s more of the Dinosaur’s sculptural jewellery inside, as well as a beautifully showcased range of colourful homeware. This is the ninth standalone Dinosaur Designs store, and on this evidence, the firm’s worldwide rampage looks set to continue apace.
