About May Globus
Vancouver City Editor May Globus is obsessed with the sartorial and all that surrounds it: art, design, culture, music and film. Oh, and she really likes writing about it, too. A left coast girl at heart, her Sweetspot finds just might show why the westside really is the best side.
Candy Land
the view from vancity Vancouver
(Mar.24.10)
If you ask me about the great loves in my life, four things will never change: my family, my friends, my MacBook and my sweets (I've never met something sugar-related I didn't like).
The latter is also a huge deal to Dylan Lauren, founder of luxury candy brand Dylan's Candy Bar and daughter of Ralph, the emperor of American fashion.
Lauren -- who flew east to meet and greet with west coast fans -- is tiny in person (you marvel at how it is that she's in the candy business) and bright (just like her brand packaging) and, yes, she talks with a slight "Noo Yawk" accent (though warm and friendly!).
And with this being SweetLife, it only seemed apropos to chat (again) with this very sweet lady.
Me: I know you watched Charlie and the Chocolate Factory as a kid and were fascinated by Willy Wonka, but was it particularly about the movie that got to you?
Dylan: I loved the set design. I thought the oversize lollipops and candy canes and gummy bears in that wild, fantastical environment were really cool, and I wanted to live in that environment. So when I was creating Dylan's Candy Bar, that's what came to mind. I needed a store that wasn't just candy bins on shelves, but was more theatrical.
Me: It's like a fantasy, having all this around me!
Dylan: Yeah, it's fun and [the store designers] did a good job. We don't have the candy elements [here in Vancouver] like we do in New York, which are oversized [displays] that you're shopping in between. In New York, there are three levels and you have candy in the staircase, too.
Me: So if I walked into Dylan's Candy Bar in New York, what would my experience be like?
Dylan: The average person will spend about 45 minutes in Dylan's Candy Bar. There are five stores now -- the flagship is in New York and is the largest one. There's also Houston, Orlando, Garden City and East Hampton and hopefully one day Vancouver and Los Angeles. The goal of the store is to make people smile and feel like a kid again, so when you walk in, you feel happy. We've had people come in from the hospital or when they're on a break. Or people have even come in when they're depressed. The mix of people is interesting, from tourists to fashion [folk], and there's always something for everyone. As you're shopping around, you'll see a giant lollipop tree or a giant chocolate easter bunny -- everything's oversized! The stairwell has real candy in it, too. Every aspect of the store is high in the fashion and decoration [sense], and it's very pop art, with bright colours.
Me: You said everything is oversized. Is that so adults can go into the store and actually -- physically-speaking -- feel like a kid again?
Read Dylan's answer (and the rest of the interview) in part two of this post!