Boutique Hotels? No, Hotel Boutiques! | Lobby stores are raising the bar on their merchandise | wsj.com
"We call it 'the invisible store,' " said Luke Ives Pontifell, founder of Thornwillow Press, the bespoke stationer now in bed, figuratively, with the St. Regis Hotel in New York. Mr. Ives Pontifell was referring to the new stand-alone Thornwillow at the St. Regis shop, a wainscotted drawing room showcasing the company's engraved wares and leather-bound books. "There's no cash register, no counter—it's more like being inside someone's home."
