Opening Shot is a column that peeks inside new hotels, restaurants, bars, and shops with interiors to drool over.
Marrow Fine Jewelry
Location: Newport Beach, California
Designer: Bells & Whistles
On Offer: To celebrate Marrow Fine Jewelry’s fifth anniversary, founder Jillian Sassone unveils the brand’s second retail space: a radiant boutique on Balboa Peninsula’s bustling Lido Marina Village that proves bricks-and-mortar can still thrive. Feeling more like a five-star hotel lobby than a typical jewelry store, Marrow encourages shoppers to hang around on plush “boyfriend” chairs and selfie in front of segmented, pebble-like wall mirrors. They can browse the brand’s luxe assortment of brilliant heirloom pieces—pearl studs, crescent-inspired pendants, and one-of-a-kind engagement rings among them—that are playfully perched on oscillating backlit stone wall displays by the artist Sasha Seyb.
Standout Features: Despite a compact footprint, local firm Bells + Whistles packed the 750-square-foot storefront with plenty of on-trend personality thanks to Venetian plaster walls, terrazzo floors, and calming hues of pinks, rusts, and creams throughout. A private room, which Sassone coined the “babe cave,” offers more intimate environs for personal consultations amid a riotous backdrop of swirling, clay-toned wallpaper by Drop It Modern. While the entire experience might sound retina-widening, a ceiling fixture masterminded by the lighting designer Ron Neal washes the entire space in a warm illumination that soothes the senses.
