Horst makes store's dreams come true.

A redesign by Horst Design International has allowed Ms'tique, a fashionable Woodbury LI apparel boutique for women of all ages and sizes, to treat its customers like VIPs.

When Rose Rivera, owner of Ms'tique doubled the size of her shop, she wanted to convey her philosophy of the customer as number one in an inviting upscale boutique with pinache. The shop had to appeal to the sophisticated women who have shopped at Ms'tique since it opened on LI seven years ago, as well as attract new customers.

"Horst Design International, an award winning retail design firm based in Cold Spring Harbor, LI, gave me my dream store, much more than I could have imagined," says Ms. Rivera. Once a modestly designed shop with a blockade of display racks and shelves piled high with designer merchandise has been transformed to simple elegance in an open exciting "wow" environment where the apparel is paramount. Since we opened the new store in September, sales have increased by 20%.

From the storefront to each area of the facility, HDI combines innovative architectural elements and materials in a neutral palette that draw attention to the colorful apparel.

Accenting the facade, dramatic ten foot high visual display boxes lit internally illuminate the mannequins on four sides. Once inside the store, shoppers are enticed to view each designer apparel collection situated in eight distinctive perimeter shops defined with contrasting architectural elements and merchandising systems. The open design scheme allows for a spacious environment and easy visual access to the product.

Sweeping arches span the width of the store and culminate into feature display walls, which are merchandised as individual designer shops. Accenting the feature walls are unique 12' tall floating diamond shaped steel display grids lit through a frosted glass back. Incandescent halogen lighting softens the ambience in this area. Contributing to the upscale displays, HDI integrated functional and aesthetic cherry wood and steel racks and tables.

"Our greatest challenge was to transform a narrow and long (30' wide x 100' deep) space, into a fashionable environment where it is easy to view the merchandise and walk through the store," says Douglas Horst, president HDI. By developing a central aisle of deeply colored stone flooring flanked by 2' bands of Brazilian cherry wood, shoppers are drawn from to the rear of the store.

As the central focal point, a circular customer service desk incorporates the Ms'tique logo emblazoned to the front in brushed stainless steel. Small jewel like shimmering metal beads hang overhead to accent the cash wrap area. The beads break up the curved ceiling for added interest while giving customers a transparent view of the product displays behind them.