Fort Worth native Christina Phillips opened vintage home décor and furniture shop Park & Eighth in December. Located at the intersection of Park Place and Eighth avenues, across the street from Esperanza's, the 1930s historic building is stocked with high-end vintage pieces and antiques as well as a limited selection of art and accessories.
Certain aspects of the store, including a showroom vibe, lacquered furniture and mid-century pieces, will remind those familiar with the Dallas Design District of spots like Scout Design Studio and Again & Again. Think Ming chairs, Lucite tables, velvet slipper chairs and lacquered case goods.
Phillips mixes in true antiques with her vintage finds, resulting in an eclectic but polished mix that is somehow equal parts timeless and trendy. She opened the store after observing a void in the market over her last 25 years as an interior designer – a take-it-off-the-floor source where furniture pieces are ready to go.
"As a designer, I tired of ordering everything and waiting for weeks and weeks," Phillips says. "I love instant gratification."
Customers can walk through seven expertly curated vignettes as they shop Park & Eighth, with the option to purchase one piece or the whole "room," knowing that everything was hand-selected and placed by a licensed and certified interior designer.
While Philips has always felt the pull to open her own space, the time finally arrived on a serendipitous September day when she drove by the recently vacated space on the way to one of her many storage units packed with vintage finds. Philips first noticed the storefront six years prior, but Cowtown Marathon beat her to the lease. This time she scooped up the lease on the 6,200-square-foot space in the same day. Phillips uses about half of the square footage for the store and the other half for storage and business needs.
Every single piece of furniture on the store floor is vintage - pieces that Philips sources from all over – from estate sales and auctions. She even has boots on the ground in other states sending her finds regularly. The space is accented by work from local artists, including Scott Kerr and Betsy Edwards.
Phillips is already pleased with the customer turnout. She's sold various pieces to both designers and homeowners via solely word of mouth. Open Wednesday through Saturday, Phillips uses the other days of the week to meet with clients. "You can buy something here and know you're not going to findit in your neighbor's house," she says.
"I don't do cookie cutter."
1612 Park Place Ave.
instagram.com/parkandeighth