In my early teens, I still remember the excitement of walking down Magazine Street with my friends. We had just become independent enough to roam on our own, and the street felt like a passageway into young adulthood. Back then, nearly every store was independently owned, so whenever you stepped inside, you knew exactly what and who you were dealing with. We had our favorites, mostly the shops that carried miniskirts and didn’t mind our constant giggling, but there were also the aspirational stores: the ones that made us imagine ourselves as real grown-ups, spending entire afternoons browsing their shelves with an unlimited budget.
Now, we get to be those women! Sort of. We grew up and realized, unbound shopping was probably a bad idea and also that retail in general is different. The landscape of Magazine Street evolved into a bigger, tourist heavy shopping destination. Unlike before, we no longer know the owner of every store. National brands flank mom and pop shops and the colloquial charm is harder to find. But not to worry, many boutiques are determined to carry the spirit of the past into the future. One such new, locally-owned shop is Marquet, the brainchild of native New Orleanian, Jenny Vorhoff. The shop soft-opened earlier this month and is slated for a full opening in September.
When I asked Vorhoff how she would describe her new shop, she pointed first to its tagline: “A Destination in Discovery.” “That really says it best,” she explained. “I want it to be filled with things to discover, whether you’re just visiting New Orleans and want to see how locals adorn their homes, or you’re a local searching for something new and special or familiar just reimagined in a fresh way. It should all feel like a little vacation for the senses.”
In more practical terms, Marquet functions almost like a miniature department store (it even has its own small parking lot). The inventory spans from gardening tools, paper goods, and table linens to gifts, furniture, and lighting. A well curated mix of goods, often as useful as it is luxurious. Case in point, on a recent visit, I left with a light fixture mentally tagged for my upcoming home renovation and a beautiful stainless steel tea strainer as a birthday gift for a friend. Not at all related but both beautiful and now checked off my to do list.
There’s plenty more to discover in the shop. Working for herself as an interior designer for well over a decade, Vorhoff has seen beautiful homes all over the world. Lucky for us, she travels so frequently both professionally and personally that there is always time to source new, interesting products. She adds, “Aside from our American made products, we also carry hand blown glasses from France, Egyptian ceramics, Indian textiles and even gardening tools from Japan.” Come fall though, she will be keeping it local and relishing her time in full shopgirl mode. She adds, “I love the permission this shop gives me to get away from my computer. When a customer comes in, I get to stop what I am doing and be completely present.”
As for the next few months, the shop is open by appointment only. So follow @MarquetShoppe for fall opening dates. To book an appointment at the shop 3458 Magazine St., call 504-355-0175.
