One Kings Lane was never on a quiet little street, even when it was an on-line shop.  It did however sprung up quietly, at least at first.  I remember using OKL eight years ago when I was working on my Charlestown property.  Having purchased the property in March of 2008 – OKL was co-founded by Ali Pincus and Susan Feldman, though I don’t think it went live until early 2009 – a particularly bad time for most folks, these two savvy business women made a go of it.  Seeing an opportunity to grab end of life inventory and present it in “flash sales”  (buy now or forever hold your peace) they launched the brand.

Soho at the corner of Spring and Wooster

While I am a tactile person, the reality that you could get hundreds of brands, previously only sold to the trade, was more than enticing –  I bought my first items that very first year.  I love too that you can like or love as the case may be, your favorites and they get stored and saved so that you can revisit them later.  i don’t know what year OKL abandoned the flash sales or why – perhaps their success gained them cred in the marketplace and they outgrew their need to offer excess inventory, skyrocketing to the just released stratosphere.  I liked the excitement of the sales, but am happy to take a little extra time to formulate my plan, compare and contrast my finding, before I make my final decision.

Some incredibly good stylers work at OKL!

A few years ago I wrote about their new design service.  You could visit their showroom in NYC or CT, see many of their product offerings and get FREE design help.  Send a photo of your space, the pieces you are in need of, and in advance of your visit they will flag items for you to consider.  Fun and helpful, and with hundreds of brands represented, there is plenty to select from – you need not feel as if your space will look like it was delivered straight out of the Restoration Hardware catalog.

It just so happened that the day I visited the Soho shop for my design appointment they were preparing to move, and guess what – they were selling everything in the store to avoid having to pay to move it.  As a display only gallery, this was not normally allowed, and I went a little wild with the excitement of getting to see, touch, an examine massing and scale before I hit send.  I still have those things I bought that day.

Pick your micro-vertical and go wild!

I wonder if this little economization resulted in the opening of their bricks and mortar store.  I can’t be the only one that loves to touch, see, and test the quality of items before buying.  Now you can.  Visit:

143 Spring Street (at Wooster)  Soho . NYC  – www.onekingslane.com

or 11 Jobs Lane . Southhampton . NY