In late 2024, Anderson Porter, one of our architecture partners, brought us a project in New York's West Village: a warm, luxe, modern dispensary in one of the city's most historic neighborhoods. The licensee wanted something high-end, though he didn't yet know what it should look like, and the working name, West Village Wellness, felt flat for what would be the neighborhood's first licensed dispensary. Working side by side with the architects, we set out to build the brand and the interior together.

While designing, we dug into the history of the building itself. In the city archives, we found a vintage photograph by Jessie Tarbox Beals, the first published female photojournalist in the U.S., showing the inside of an antique shop. Handwritten across it: "The Treasure Box, 171 West 4th Street, Greenwich Village." It was the client's exact address. We pitched the name alongside our designs, and he adopted it right away.

With a name tied to the building's past, we explored two directions, one rooted in Art Deco geometry and one in the warm, mid-century style of the neighborhood's music history. The client chose Art Deco. Inspired by the wrought iron railings and fire escapes on his own building, the identity pairs clean geometric linework with rich textures and luxurious materials, plus photography that mixes black-and-white New York scenes with warm, artsy lifestyle shots. Those small, often-overlooked details are the city's everyday treasures, and The Treasure Box brings them inside, creating a space that feels like home to locals and a find for visitors.