Shinola to Open Second NY Store in Brooklyn

The brand’s 18th store across the country opens Friday in the borough’s DUMBO neighborhood.

Brecken Branstrator brecken.branstrator@nationaljeweler.com

Detroit--Shinola is getting a new store in New York City, and this time it’s heading to Brooklyn.

The store is opening Friday in the Empire Stores complex located in the borough’s DUMBO neighborhood. (DUMBO stands for Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass.)

The brand designed the 2,651-square-foot store in collaboration with New York-based Gachot Studios.

According to Shinola, it is one of the brand’s most unique stores yet, offering the full lineup of modern goods and customizable watch bar The Willard Program. The space also will house the fifth location of the New York eatery Smile To Go, which also is making its Brooklyn debut.

To celebrate the grand opening of the store and the release of the limited-edition Jackie Robinson watch to its Great Americans series, Shinola is hosting a block party at the Brooklyn location with music by special guest DJ Questlove, “ballpark eats” and activities.

Twenty percent of the day’s sales will benefit Answer the Call, an organization that supports the families of fallen service men and women of the New York Police Department and New York Fire Department.

The Brooklyn store marks Shinola’s 18th across the country, sixth on the East Coast and second in New York.

The brand will also be opening locations in Manhattan’s SoHo neighborhood, Denver, Dallas and Troy, Michigan this spring.

Shinola’s new women’s watch, The Gail (retail prices, left to right: $650, $900, $800)
In other company news, Shinola also recently launched a new women’s timepiece, The Gail, inspired by Emily Gail, the founder of 1970s movement “Say Nice Things About Detroit.”

The Detroit businesswoman was on a trip to Florida when she and her then-partner Herb Squires kept running into people from Michigan who questioned why they would ever go back to the Motor City.

They spent the rest of their trip hiring a plane to fly a banner that read, “Hi, Detroiters. Enjoy Florida. Say Nice Things About Detroit. Emily.” This earned both her and her motto a lot of media attention and led to the slogan’s surge in popularity.

The feedback also led her to launch a number of runs in Detroit to get people into the city. After two decades of rallying to get people into the streets, the movement caught the eye of the popular Ironman event.

Her slogan still can be found on bumper stickers and T-shirts, encouraging love for the city.

The Gail is meant to

Banner will be right here …

honor strong women and reflect the “timelessness and innate beauty of Detroit,” the brand said.

It is powered by the Argonite 715 quartz movement and features a guilloché texture dial, coin edge bezel and a mother-of pearl-cabochon set in the crown.

The Gail watches are priced from $650 to $900 retail.

Brecken Branstratoris the senior editor, gemstones at National Jeweler, covering sourcing, pricing and other developments in the colored stone sector.