At the rate it’s going, the ever-expanding Joule hotel downtown will soon become the crown jewel of Dallas. On May 8, the next great addition to the Joule’s retail ranks, Los Angeles import TenOverSix, opens its carefully curated doors.
TenOverSix is actually two boutiques in one. TenOverSix Presents is a reimagined hotel gift shop, stocked with rare, unexpected and often whimsical home décor, artwork, kitchenware and tchotchkes. Down the stairs, find an edited selection of women’s contemporary fashions and accessories from many brands never before available in Dallas.
For co-owners Brady Cunningham and Kristen Lee, TenOverSix Presents is a bit of an experiment. Cunningham says the idea for the concept evolved after Headington Companies asked them to open a version of their LA boutique in Dallas.
“We love there to be something unexpected,” says co-owner Brady Cunningham of the TenOverSix aesthetic. “We like a girl who doesn’t take herself too seriously.”
“We’ve always been interested in having curated lifestyle pieces — home, art — and we do a little bit in LA. But we thought, ‘Why not have a much more elevated hotel gift store?’ They’ve been so open to every idea we have.”
TenOverSix Presents carries items at every price point, so it works as a hotel gift shop but also as a destination for people living and working downtown who want to buy a gift or “really interesting things,” Cunningham says.
Some of those really interesting things include artful Heath Ceramics, such as pendant lights designed by Heath creative director Alan Silverman; funky Fort Standard necklaces, bottle openers and candelabras; chic Ladies and Gentleman serving tray and mega doily, which acts as wall art and rug; and shrunken, unabridged literature packaged like cigarettes, available as a set.
“A lot of the things we buy are art pieces, but they are also usable and utilitarian,” Cunningham says. Many also show a sense of humor — like the wire fruit baskets shaped like a pig and a whale. “They crack me up,” she says. “I love those goofy things.”
As for the fashion side, Cunningham and Lee didn’t set about re-creating their LA store; they bought with a Dallas girl in mind. “We feel like Dallas girls are really put together,” Cunningham says. “We buy a little bit more mix-and-match casual for LA. For Dallas, we thought about how to put pieces together.”
They also thought about what lines were previously unavailable to Dallas shoppers; in fact, nearly every clothing brand is exclusive to TenOverSix in Dallas, including Araks, Vena Cava, Apiece Apart, Novis and Alasdair. For accessories, they brought in lines they also carry in LA, such as jewelry by Pamela Love and Iosselliani and shoes by Jenni Kayne. (Expect to fall in love with the latter’s D’Orsay flat, which Cunningham says they can’t keep in stock in LA.)
“The idea of opening in a city like Dallas that’s obviously seeped in culture and the arts is so fun for us, because in terms of fashion, while there are great stores here, it isn’t oversaturated with the same brands,” Cunningham says. “It’s great to know we can give people something new.”
Even though the girls buy differently for Dallas, the pieces still fit the TenOverSix aesthetic, which Cunningham says is uncomplicated yet unexpected. “It’s not gimmicky,” she says. “I’m not into anything that takes too much time to figure out. But it’s also not totally simple. We love there to be something unexpected — something slightly off or funny. We like a girl who doesn’t take herself too seriously.”
The TenOverSix girls didn’t stop with fashion and gifts. Weekend is the almost-open coffee shop across the lobby from their boutique — a concept about which they are “super obsessed,” Cunningham says. They also served as creative directors of the new lobby, which now stretches from the Joule’s original front door on Main Street to Commerce Street, where the TenOverSix storefront is. Oh, and they custom designed the women’s uniforms and styled the men’s.
“It was totally organic,” Cunningham says. “All of our ideas seemed to make sense. [The Joule] has been really receptive and easy to work with. It’s turned into such a fun, major project.”
TenOverSix Presents is a reimagined gift shop inside the Joule hotel in downtown Dallas.
The new facade at Ellen Noël Art MuseumPhoto courtesy of Ellen Noël Art Museum
