Strolling along the brick sidewalk of historic Leesburg, Annie and I savored the charming town during a recent shopping excursion. A mix of classical revival, Greek revival, and Georgian architecture, the town dates to 1757.
Shopping on King Street, a shop window featured a hanging dried floral installation and caught my eye. It lured us in for some interesting shopping. This inviting space is called wldwst. Once inside, you’ll leave your worries behind as you breathe the luxurious and fragrant candles and fall in love with adorable, stuffed crocheted animals. There are perfect-for-gifting mini cookbooks and blueberry-lavender simple syrup by Crescent Simples. Peak-brand collapsible popcorn poppers are nifty to have since they require little space for storage. Purchase houseplants in ceramic pots, stamped leather keychains, or hand-made felted yard ornaments, among countless other unique items.
The shop caters to clients who appreciate good design, craftsmanship, attention to detail, and an experiential environment. If you’re looking for unique goods, this store’s contents will appeal to you.
Founders
Wldwst is co-owned by two ultra-creative women, Lori Tran and Colleen West. The “wld” half of wldwst is Lori. The founder of a boutique floral studio, Wild Green Yonder, Lori has created custom floral arrangements, installations, and botanical designs for hundreds of wedding clients, magazines, online publications, and organizations. She has collaborated with several national brands including Madewell, Everlane, The National Cherry Blossom Festival, and Ritz Carlton Hotels. Her company was voted “Best Wedding Vendor” by Washingtonian Weddings Magazine in 2020 and 2019.
If it’s in the shop, customers know that Lori and Colleen are vouching for it.
Colleen West, the “wst” half of wldwst, is an established commercial interior designer with local small business clients including restaurants, breweries, running shoe stores, yarn shops, clothing boutiques, and independent booksellers. She has designed and constructed countless store window displays, permanent and seasonal art installations, retail fixtures, furniture, and interiors. Her work has been featured in print publications including Home & Design Magazine and Washingtonian Weddings.
Successfully collaborating on a seemingly endless variety of projects, the two women established their beloved series of in-studio pop-up shops that evolved into their wldwst store — an eclectic collection of intriguing goods.
What’s in store
The products in the store are items that both Lori and Colleen personally use themselves or would gift to others. Nothing gets a spot in the shop unless these ladies love it! The focus is on small and independent brands although some bigger brands are included in their product selections. They also do a lot of vintage sourcing using the same ethos – they must love it. wldwst customers and clients appreciate the well-edited collection of goods. They know if it’s in the shop Colleen and Lori vouch for it.
‘Holiday Haus’ pop-up
For the 2021 holiday season, the women are turning their design studio (two blocks from the store) into a limited-time holiday concept shop. This year’s concept is Holiday Haus which will appeal to entertainers. The shop will be decked out with everything you need for holiday hosting. You’ll find an extensive collection of barware including locally crafted cocktail syrups and bitters. The foundations of the season’s entertaining will be plentiful: table linens, candlesticks, and serve ware. Of course, it wouldn’t be the winter holidays without fresh evergreen wreaths and assorted greenery accents. This magical pop-up shop is expected to open on Small Business Saturday, November 27.
If you’re shopping in Leesburg, stop in and see what’s in store—at both wldwst and their holiday concept shop! Find out more about the shop here.
Heading to Leesburg and wondering what to see and do? Check out our overview of Historic Leesburg.
By Pam Owens
