>
The idea for Life Bath & Body came about in late 2003 when I was in
between jobs as Editor-In-Chief of Remix magazine and Editor of
Future Music US. I wanted to open a store that was like the boutiques
I encountered when I traveled to England and France, carrying the
products that I loved but that were hard to find over here. More
specifically, the store is inspired by the shops lining Jermyn Street
in London’s St. James district (Floris, the numerous gentlemens’
stores specializing in badger brushes and safety razors) and soap
stores in the tiny villages all over Provence.
When I first envisioned the store, I was living in Los Angeles. Soon
afterwards I helped launch the US-edition of Future Music magazine,
which eventually led to me moving back East in February 2006 to work
in the company’s New York office. In January 2007 Future Music ceased
publication and I was moved to an editorial position for Guitar One
magazine. Then in April 2007 that title closed along with several
other publications and I was laid off. Looking back at the last 20
years, I realized I had six jobs that each required me to relocate
between LA, San Francisco and New York (basically I’ve been a
magazine editor for publications like Guitar Player and Guitar World,
and I’ve also done artist relations for Digidesign, the developer of
Pro Tools recording software).
Of course, I fell in love with North Jersey and I was determined to
settle down my roots here once and for all. My only viable course of
action was to open my own store, and I knew that Ridgewood would be
the best place to do it. My wife checked the real estate listings and
found a location on North Broad Street that was perfect for opening
the store that we envisioned.
The idea behind Life Bath & Body is to bring a little of the
sensations of Europe to Ridgewood, especially the smells (if anyone
makes jabs about Jersey’s distinct aroma, tell them to visit the
store for a different perspective).
The store carries products from:
spa products, body care and men’s products from London, bonded by the
Queen and Prince of Wales, plus No. 89 is the official fragrance
choice of James Bond)
-Hervé Gambs (home fragrances and silk flower diffuser coffrets from
the south of France)
-Claus Porto (candles and seven-milled soaps from Portugal) -Provence Santé (soaps and bath products from Provence) -Pré de Provence (soaps and bath products from Provence) -Marius Fabré (soaps and olive oil products from Marseille) -Savon de Marseille (soaps from, um, Marseille) -Doux (soaps from the south of France) -Apiana (honey-based soaps from Switzerland) -Durance (soaps, candles and olive oil products from Provence) -Ahava (dead sea mineral products from Israel) -Bebé (baby products from Italy) -Merkur (full line of safety razors from Germany) -Vulfix (genuine badger hair shaving brushes, pewter accessories and shaving cream/soap from the Isle of Man)
-Geo. F. Trumper (gentlemen’s grooming products from London) -Musgo Real (gentlemen’s grooming products from Portugal) -Jack Black (gentlemen’s grooming products, from, ah, Texas) -Lafco (house & home candles) -olive oil soaps from Tunisia, Turkey, Italy, Greece and more
The store is located at 21 N. Broad Street in Ridgewood; phone
201-444-6141; email lifebathbody@earthlink.net
We’re generally open late on Friday and Saturday nights unless the
New York Red Bulls MLS soccer team has a home match.
Cheers,
Chris Gill
* photos by ArtChick
>Now that’s the sprit… open late on Friday and Sat night. 🙂
>I can see Ridgewood being european or even a little New Hope.
>Love the new skin for the blog! Congrats on the success.
>I love this idea and saw the shop yesterday. I love the little boutiques like this in England and France and it’s a wonderful thing to bring to Ridgewood. Best of luck!
>PJ…. I know this isnt the right stream for this post… but I received yet another mailing from Valley Hospital, outlining their plans. Geez, for a non-for-profit, they sure have a deep marketing budget! They apparently sent out DVDs to the neighborhood? Is that correct? Geez, for a non-for-profit, they sure have a deep marketing budget!
I support their desire to expand, but there are some real questions in my mind as to how this will impact the neighborhood… and this sure looks like a greased pig!
>I’ll take any type of store except another restaurant. Being Bergen County Kitchen is rather boring.