It takes a certain je ne sais quoi for a new retail venue to stand out in Berlin, a city known for its streamlined designs as much for its sparsely decorated, storm-grey structures, and its high-octane offerings. Jewellery brand Avgvst’s new flagship store in Germany’s capital (its fifth retail space), translates this industrial aesthetic into its steely interiors softened with accents in sunny yellow, a signature colour theme rendering all their jewellery shops. Designed by Crosby Studios led by Harry Nuriev, the retail design is built around the concept of a ‘dark kitchen’ which operates solely for takeaway and delivery orders sans a physical space for dining. This meant a heavy departure from the high-brow, sleek aesthetic of fine jewellery shops being swapped for an unorthodox one, communicating more relevantly with a wider, younger clientele. The collaboration also manifested into a new jewellery collection where common kitchen utensils such as forks, spoons, and knives were used as motifs for sleek, metal jewellery designs.

Described by Nuriev and Natasha Bryantseva, founder of Avgvst, as a “wandering, nomadic shop put together from scratch,” Avgvst Berlin features a mixed-used retail space including a tattoo studio and a secret garden. A strong sense and philosophy of upcycling also permeate the retail store—instead of plaster, office blinds were repurposed as textured wall finishing materials. At the same time, restaurant equipment was transformed into display cases, and foldable camping chairs and tables became the shop’s permanent furniture.

Elaborating on the interior design’s concept, Nuriev tells STIR, “A dark kitchen, also known as a ghost kitchen, is a professional food preparation facility that operates without a physical dining area for customers. We aimed to create a store where nothing was specifically made for the chosen space, assembling the interior from ready-made equipment already produced. Such a store can be easily relocated as it is not integrated into the premises […] We live in times of change—interiors with marble and stone blocks seem outdated.” 

Occupying the ground floor of a 19^th century residential building, the retail interiors are further articulated with grey concrete floors, backlit ceilings as well as mirrored walls, corresponding with their raw, industrial kitchen theme.

The fruitful partnership between Avgvst Jewelry and Crosby Studios began in 2017. Together they have created five retail store designs and two product collaborations. In addition, they have also worked on numerous visual explorations and experimentations. To quote the collaborators, “The first Avgvst store created by Crosby Studios opened in Moscow in 2018. It was Nuriev’s idea to make it monochromatic yellow. The colour was chosen by chance: Natasha Bryantseva brought a yellow notepad to her first meeting with Harry. It turned out to be perfect for the brand: the colour of tansy that blooms in August, the colour of the sun, the colour of gold.”

“The small yellow store located in the most prestigious retail area of Moscow attracted fashion crowds and was featured in travel guides. Photos taken inside the yellow interior flooded Instagram, so now Avgvst is often evoked through that colour… Avgvst has always strived to create a less pretentious space to sell gold and diamonds…” they continue.

As Nuriev relays to STIR, visitors entering the flagship store are greeted with a folding camp chair, stainless steel display cases made from restaurant equipment, and a real gas stove with jewellery lying on it to their right. A statement yellow sink with a yellow kitchen faucet takes up the room’s centre, which is filled with live flowers as per the seasons. Velvet surfaces of the display cases and benches make the retail design seem less industrial, livelier, and more luxurious. Aluminium office blinds add texture to the walls, revealing and concealing the brickwork, their angles adjustable. Proceeding further, the space indulges in a ‘non-jewellery objects zone’ which also hosts the cashier desk, apart from notebooks, sunglasses, tarot cards and accessories in leather.

The tattoo and piercing area awaits a little further, with a client’s chair as well as an artist’s seat arranged in the space. Lying ahead is a small office area which opens into the ‘secret garden.’ “We accompany customers to the garden after their purchases, offering them a drink,” says the founder of Crosby Studios, a practise that works across a range of typologies including public spaces, private residences, retail stores, product design, fashion and art collaborations, as well as immersive installations that are approached and created through ‘the lens of radical design.’

“In all our stores, we use open displays on velvet. Jewellery can be simply picked up and tried on without asking to fetch it from a display glass case, locked with a key. Sometimes, a jewellery shape can transform into a chandelier, as in one of the stores,” Bryantseva and Nurieve tell STIR.

‘Beauty and disorder’ translates to cutlery-inspired jewellery

Subsequently, The Cutlery limited edition collection marked the duo’s creative collaboration and the Berlin store’s opening last year, transforming recognisable kitchen utensils into minimalist wearable designs in line with the dark kitchen concept. ‘A playful experiment,’ the second Avgvst Jewelry x Crosby Studios collection reduced silverware into a triple trinket, a necklace, and a solo earring pair, devoid of traditional jewellery adornments and instead, conveying the simple idea of ‘something being cooked.’ “Anything can be jewellery,” the duo comments on the endeavour. “There is a lot of manual labour and attention to detail, just like in making jewellery. This concept, with its functionality and lack of decor, is further explored in the jewellery collection,” they add.

“Avgvst as a jewellery brand always explores the history of art and museum archives. Repurposing designs that lived for centuries is our main design method. But the idea for our jewellery can also come from dance, music, or a photograph of a French actress—we strive to create a perfect object that will make your heart ache with recognition. Harry also seeks inspiration in the art and architecture of the past,” Bryantseva mentions, alluding to her brand’s ethos: “Avgvst Jewelry is about beauty and disorder.” With Avgvst Berlin, the creative collaboration stands true to this very philosophy, differentiating itself from the typical designs and ambience of fine jewellery shops, a refreshing departure from how luxury spaces are perceived.