Guild Store
“It’s not about career. It’s about believing in something,
it’s about prosperity. And it’s about caring and empathizing and wanting to create the best,
the most true to life, the most real.”
– River Phoenix
It took us eight years to catch the dream of a spacious store open straight to the public right in the heart of
Old Town Tallinn.
As nearly all great spaces were inhabited, all we could do was trust. Trust that Life would support those who stay true to themselves and enrich the world with only the very best they could offer.
Two years ago our previous Guildhaus in the medieval tower of Reval got sold and though it saddened us a great deal, it also took us on a journey of finding new rooms for our production. We searched for three months and on the way, we also met a fine moustached gentleman who introduced us to one humdrum apartment and asked, “By the way, I just closed a store on the corner of Lai and Vaimu. The auction is in two days – thought it might be something for you.” Like a bolt from the blue, the opportunity hit us! Now? Right away? Are we truly.. ready?
Three days later we were knocking on the drywalls of Lai 36. Though the space seemed ready to be moved in, the fabricated modern materials so common to boutiques of our time just didn’t feel right… We wanted real stone, real iron and real wood! Crafted by real people so each detail surrounding us would be vibrating softly of love poured into them.
So we entered the process of renovation. We ripped naked every wall, ceiling and corner. We found treasures such as an old wooden door leading nowhere (exactly like in Toomrüütli!), two closed windows, a brick doorway and one metre higher ceiling. And as so, we also found three rotten ceiling beams… As their situation was pretty critical, the whole renovation stopped almost for a year and though at first, it all seemed like a setback, we now know – it gave us time to finish another massive project of renovation – our Guildhaus.
The beams of Lai 36 were repaired by January 2018 and the renovation continued. With six months, the whole space was created basically from zero and furbished in the fashion of a modern guild. Every last detail was designed by ourselves and formed by local blacksmiths and carpenters. The counter was crafted of old oak wood and 200 million years old fossiliferous limestone. The floors were covered with woollen carpets, and the walls were blessed with ancient oil paintings. The whole space got filled with imaginary elements, antique furniture and at the same time, we embraced it with the beauty of real plants and flowers.
The idea was to create harmonious, healing space where we’d all enjoy ourselves.
“In 99% of modern stores – and most of them are illuminated only with artificial light – I dare to doubt that there are many who care how such spaces actually make us feel… But what we create, creates us!” reveals the impulses behind GUILD store one of its founders, Joan Hint. “Logic is dry, poetry is alive – ever heard of that?”
The new GUILD Store is situated on Lai 36,
right in the Old Town of Tallinn
The opening hours are from
Tue-Fri 11.00-19.00
SAT 12-16.00
All other times by appointment
You’re more than welcome to witness the wonder!