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Bethany Long
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Bethany Long
Brittney Forrister, a vintage lover, treasure hunter, and highly respected design enthusiast, is also owner and the creative brain behind The Lot Showroom and Shop, a boutique textile firm representing brands from all over the world.
“I felt like Nashville was the right market for a textile company. I saw where it was growing—and going— and recognized that it just didn’t have the kind of shop I was looking for,” she says. “Designers had to go to Atlanta, New York, or Los Angeles to source for their projects. When it comes to fabric, they just didn’t have a resource here on the ground, and so that’s what got me started.”
As sales reps who showcase and sell beautiful artist-made fabrics from around the world, The Lot’s team works exclusively to-the-trade with interior designers in the Southeast. And for the design-minded Forrister, that means bringing only the best to the Music City market.
“We’ve been really fortunate that many of our sources have found us, but the important thing for me when choosing textiles is that they have a story,” she says. “We represent a line called Geary, which is based out of Osland, Norway. The entire line was developed around these folk and Scandinavian tapestries that were in the artist’s grandmother’s cabin. She thought they were beautiful, so she used those patterns to create a stunning textile line. It’s not just a wonderful story, but her Irish linen is printed in the oldest mill in Ireland. It all feels really special.”
When May Hosiery Mills Co-Op approached Forrister about opening The Lot Shop, an open-to-the-public retail space, she saw an opportunity to combine her love for vintage and art with textiles and design.
“Because we have these relationships in the design world, it was an easy extension for us to open a home shop as well. We took some textiles that we just usually sell to interior designers and put them into ready-made products. So instead of cut yardage, customers can have the fabrics in their own home in the form of pillows, lampshades, and upholstered pieces,” says Forrister, who is equally proud of the shop’s vintage décor. “I have always been a treasure hunter. It’s my business, and it’s my hobby.”
That hobby helped Forrister design a space she herself would love to shop. “I really wanted to create something that didn’t feel like just a vintage shop. It has all the vintage items in it, but feels like you’re walking into a storefront that is really curated. When I mulled that over, that’s when The Lot Shop took form,” she says. “We have textiles plus all of these beautiful vintage things, but they are designed and edited so that it doesn’t feel like you have to just shuffle through.”
And while Forrister’s own experience served as inspiration for the business, she loves to see how customers react to the space and how each visitor connects with her vision.
“The Lot Showroom and Shop offers something for everyone and that’s really important to me,” she says. “I’m proud of the fact that people walk in and say that it’s a place that they feel comfortable and cozy. It just feels like one big hug.” (518 Houston St., thelotshowroom.com)