Ulla Johnson Wants You To Feel at Home

Ulla Johnson likes to take her time. The designer defies fast fashion with her line of handmade feminine silhouettes, much of it patiently produced in collaboration with international artisans. It comes as no surprise that she was equally fastidious when searching for a brick-and-mortar outpost to host her 17-year-old brand. “I wanted to be intimately connected to the store,” she says. “It was important for us to tell our story in our own context.” After a yearlong hunt, Johnson landed on a treelined part of Bleecker Street in NoHo, a neighborhood the native New Yorker says has more of a “residential vibe” than the “virtual shopping mall” feel other retail-heavy parts of the city possess. Johnson’s store, like the brand, is an extension of herself. “I love interiors and my husband works in contemporary art, so tactile things—furnishings, hard objects, paintings—inform my work so much,” she says. To help outfit the space, the designer turned to a group of female collaborators: Lindsey Adelman designed the lighting, Sarah Ryhanen arranged the florals, and a trio of fine artists plastered the blush-pink walls. “I wish I could’ve found a women’s contracting team,” says Johnson. Together, the details beget the exact restorative ambiance Johnson wished to create: a light, intimate, and serene space. “It just feels nice and it smells good,” she says. “It’s nice to feel good about something.”