Yankee Candle

Yankee Candle's new flagship in Williamsburg, Va., takes shoppers back in time by re-creating an old-fashioned town in 42,000 square feet. At the center is the town square, complete with trees, cobblestone streets and a painted blue sky overhead, while a variety of shops, including Mike's Garage (for the men), General Store and year-round Yankee Holiday Park, are housed along the perimeter.

The stars of this experiential shopping show, however, are the Home Store, where shoppers can find Yankee-inspired home furnishings, and the Candle Emporium, for all sizes and scents of Yankee candles.

Since each shop has its own personality, designers enlisted various types of fixturing systems that were appropriate to each setting. For instance, in the General Store, items are displayed in rough-hewn crates and barrels, while fruit candles in the Market area are housed in baskets.

“We had a lot of fun deciding how to display the candles,” says Scott Jeffrey, Design Forum's senior vp, design and planning.

Votives take the spotlight in the Emporium, displayed on five 25-foot curving fixtures and arranged according to scent. (There are 150 different scents available.) In the Home Store, white cabinets and bookshelves create a traditional and contemporary feel, while allowing flexibility for seasonal changes.

“We wanted to create an experiential space that also led you from one space to the next,” says Jeffrey.

Client: Yankee Candle, South Deefield, Mass.

Design: Design Forum, Dayton, Ohio
Scott Jeffrey, senior vp, design and planning
Donald Rethman, senior vp, architecture, Design Forum Architects

Outside Design Consultants: Henderson Engineers, Lenexa, Kan. (mechanical, electrical and plumbing engineers)
Lockwood Jones and Beals, Dayton, Ohio (structural engineers)

General Contractor: VCC, Atlanta

Animatronics: Advanced Animation Inc., Stockbridge, Vt.

Awnings: Sunbrella, Glen Raven, N.C.

Ceilings: Armstrong World Industries Inc., Lancaster, Pa.

Exterior Brick: Triangle Brick, Durham, N.C.

Faux Trees & Sky: The Holbek Group, Orange, Mass.

Flooring: Carlisle Wide Plank Floors, Stoddard, N.H.
Armstrong World Industries, Lancaster, Pa.
Marmoleum, a division of Forbo, Hazleton, Pa.
Scofield, Los Angeles
Crossville Ceramics, Crossville, Tenn.
Dal-Tile, Dallas

Interior Brick Facades: Dryvit, West Warwick, R.I.
Interior Thinset Stone

Lighting: Capitol Lighting, Hartford, Conn.
Theatrix, Belchertown, Mass.
Starfield Designs LLC, Houston

Millwork: Leggett & Platt Store Fixtures Group, Carthage, Mo.

Paint: Sherwin Williams, Cleveland, Ohio
Benjamin Moore, Montvale, N.J.

Reproduction Furniture: Outdoor Designs, Waterbury, Conn.
Coronado Stone Products, Fontana, Calif.

Siding: Hardi Plank, Mission Viejo, Calif.

Signage/Graphics: Wood and Signs, Dorset, Vt.

Photographer: Alain Jaramillo, Stevenson, Md.