Cat’s out of the Bag
For months now, people have been politely trying to figure out why I’ve been a little quieter…a little harder to pin down…and consistently hiding behind a laptop, a stack of sketches, and whichever caffeinated beverage was closest. I’ve been giving vague answers like “just working on something exciting” while silently hoping no one pressed too hard.
So yes, the cat is officially out of the bag!
The York & Co. has been working closely with the Kansas City Art Institute on a major new project, and it has stretched every creative muscle in the best way possible.
What I love most about this moment is how full-circle it feels. Before The York & Co. ever existed, I spent years in retail opening, relocating, and closing more than 50 stores for brands like Banana Republic, GAP, Anthropologie, Burberry, and Kohl’s. Store openings, concept development, visuals, fixtures, floor plans, customer experience, staffing… I lived in that world long enough to know exactly how a space should feel before anyone even walks through the door.
Later came interior design. Real estate. Branding. Décor. All of it was building toward something I didn’t even know I was heading for. An invisible string, if you will!
So when KCAI started imagining a store to support their alumni, a space that wasn’t a typical campus shop, wasn’t a gallery, and definitely wasn’t a college logo dump. They were looking for someone who could see the bigger picture. They wanted a place that felt like an experience, not a transaction…something alive, something that didn’t behave like a store at all.
The early conversations were quiet ones. We walked the halls of the Vanderslice Mansion, letting the weight and history of the building speak first. We asked questions. We listened more than we talked. We imagined what it could feel like for people to walk into a space that surprises them without trying too hard.
And then the work began.
Months of sketches, refinements, palettes, ideas taped to walls, notes scribbled on the backs of receipts, and just the right amount of creative chaos. We’ve been designing, collaborating, and shaping something that feels unlike anything we’ve done before. A blend of all the corners of my career into one project that somehow feels meant for us.
We’re not ready to give everything away yet. In fact, the mystery is half the fun. However, I can say that we’re building something that honors artists, celebrates their work, and reimagines what a retail space can be on a campus like KCAI.
If you want to follow along as everything unfolds, you can follow @marbleandcanvas on Instagram. We’ll share pieces of the journey as we’re able. Enough to keep you guessing.
Stay tuned. Over the coming weeks, we’ll start sharing some of the inspiration behind the store, the story of how the name came to be, the aesthetic direction, and the little sparks that have shaped this project from the very beginning.
More soon.
Promise.
