T Suggests: Moroccan Rugs, Jewelry Inspired by Jaipur and More

A New (Age) Shrine to Wellness

The founders of the Well — a design-conscious new health club that will open this September off Union Square in New York — are devotees of science, but they also buried crystals in the foundation of the building’s soundproof meditation room. “We are type-A New Yorkers,” says Kane Sarhan of himself and his partners Rebecca Parekh and Sarrah Hallock. “We like facts, data and results — that’s why the Well was built as a science-backed ecosystem for wellness. But we also believe in the ‘woo woo’ and encourage the exploration of approaches to healing and wellness that are more spiritually based.” Accordingly, the space, an 18,000-square-foot shrine to holistic well-being, will offer a reflexology lounge and a meditation studio but also a full-service spa and private training gym for its members. It will also include an organic cafe from the team behind the health-conscious West Village restaurant Cafe Clover that will be open to the public. “We think somewhere in the middle is where the magic happens,” says Sarhan.

The first step for each member is a meeting with a health coach to discuss everything from diet and exercise to sleep patterns. From there, members receive a tailored plan designed to improve overall wellness, and continue to meet with their coach once a month to monitor progress. A team of practitioners led by Dr. Frank Lipman, an expert in integrative medicine, will also be available for consultations and treatment (some for an additional charge), with specialties ranging from Chinese medicine and ayurveda to sports medicine and vibrational energy healing. The space was decorated in a modern palette of light neutrals to be “an oasis of positivity and comfort,” according to the designer Liubasha Rose, who also created the serene eco-friendly interiors of the 1 Hotel in South Beach, Miami. “It was very important for us to create a space that buzzed with positive energy. At the core, we wanted everyone walking through to feel good.” 2 East 15th Street, New York, the-well.com — CAITIE KELLY

Rugs Woven With Centuries of Tradition

The souks of Marrakesh proved more inspiring to Mallory Solomon than she had expected. In 2018, while working as an advertising executive in New York and feeling somewhat unfulfilled, she booked a holiday to Morocco for two weeks of much-needed sun and relaxation. Her imagination went into overdrive; among the vibrancy of the spice stalls and food carts of the medina, Solomon found her calling. “I did what any tourist does and went textile shopping,” says Solomon. She instantly fell in love with the colorful handcrafted rugs made by women of the Berber tribe, whose historic weaving tradition dates back to 600 B.C. “They spend months or even years making these pieces. They are invaluable works of art,” Solomon says. Her interiors brand Salam Hello — which sources color-saturated, one-of-a-kind rugs, blankets and pillows direct from female weavers in villages across Morocco — debuts this week, with the aim to imbue homes around the world with the spirit of Marrakesh. “There is a mystical quality that Moroccan goods embody,” she says of the artistic textiles, each of which is designed and made from start to finish by a single artisan using a wooden loom. Crafted using wool from live sheep — which Solomon says makes the wool stronger — the natural fibers are dyed by hand using various spices: reds and pinks derive from pomegranate, while green comes from mint and orange from saffron. Too often, says Solomon, weavers are “at the mercy of a middleman scheme” in which brokers visit villages to barter for cut-price discounts on wares. Salam Hello does things differently: “We pay the women a fair wage,” Solomon says, “and never go below an artisan’s first asking price.”— GRACE COOK

In Los Angeles, a Beloved Brand’s First Store

Over the past decade, Shaina Mote’s career has come full circle. Back in 2010, the fashion designer would work tireless nights crafting her eponymous collection of seasonless basics on the floor of her studio apartment in Highland Park, Los Angeles. Now, nearly 10 years later, Mote has returned to the historic neighborhood to open her first stand-alone store not far from her former home. “The mission of the space is rooted in connection,” says Mote, who prides herself on building a rotation of timeless, deceptively simple garments with classic silhouettes and off-kilter detailing, such as an overlapping silk organza top with cloudlike sleeves and a color-blocked crepe dress in tonal whites.

Like Mote’s clothing — which combines the ease and craftsmanship of Eastern design with Western ideas of wearability — the store contains subtle cultural juxtapositions. The building, a former 1930s-era Chevy car showroom that still has its original terrazzo flooring and floor-to-ceiling marquee windows, serves as the backdrop to Mote’s mix of ’70s Italian and Asian design influences. Inside, a floating travertine table inspired by the stone step at the entrance to Japanese ryokans runs perpendicular to brass clothing rails, while drapes cut from beige Italian velvet hang outside the dressing area. Arranged throughout the space are antiques from Mote’s personal collection, such as porcelain Chinese planters and an Iroko wood stool sourced from the Ivory Coast. “The store needed something raw just to feel more human,” explains Mote of her choice in furnishings. “I didn’t want it to look sterilized, so we had to bring it back down to earth again.” 5003 N. Figueroa Street, Los Angeles — ALICIA BRUNKER

Jewelry Inspired by the Colors of Jaipur

At first glance, Monica Vinader’s new jewelry collection, which launched this week at Nordstrom, brings to mind sweet and jagged rock candy. Created in collaboration with Caroline Issa, the chief executive and fashion director of London’s Tank Magazine, the 16-piece line of bracelets, earrings and necklaces celebrates the beauty of precious gemstones in their raw form, as well as the vibrant colors of Jaipur, India, where each stone was hand-cut and then handcrafted into a one-of-a-kind statement piece. “When the stones are raw, you don’t know what you’ve got until you cut into them. 

 

Then you discover their personalities,” says Issa, who is known as a colorful dresser — indeed, it’s easy to imagine her wearing a rainbow of pieces from this collection all at once. Surely her taste inspired Vinader, who more often deals in clean-cut monochrome pieces, but here used orange carnelian, lemon quartz, jagged aquamarine, yellow citrine and deep-blue Kyanite for a single yellow-gold charm bracelet, and green amethyst, aquamarine, translucent purple ametrine, and pink and rose quartz in a set of chandelier earrings. The brilliant hues mirror those that the women found at Jaipur’s daily flower market — where marigolds, daisies and garlands are wrapped in patterned silky textiles — on a joint trip this past spring. After they’d finished designing the pieces, each one underwent a 12-week trial. After passing that test, they’re likely to be around for much, much longer. The goal, says Vinader, is for the jewelry to spark joy in the woman who buys it — and in the one she passes it down to.

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