Retail Profile: Jane Hall, The Voice of Style, Toronto, Ontario
Susan Dickenson — Home Accents Today, 7/20/2011 3:58:11 PM
Canadian designer and shop owner Jane Hall has been described as a “color lady… with a cool storefront/studio in
the trendy Beaches area of Toronto.”
Another writer recently described Hall as being known for her “anti-cookie-cutter, colourful interiors and custom furniture.” It was used in June by HGTV.
ca during its Original Home Tour segment on Hall‘s “colourfully eclectic Toronto retreat.”
Hall describes herself as an artist, entrepreneur and multidisciplinary designer. She’s designed and licensed collections for Kravet, Mikasa, Sears and Maggie B; done packaging, illustration and mural work for several companies including Nestle, Second Cup (coffee), and Laura Secord (chocolate); produced more than 200 works as a fine artist and illustrator; and, during the 10 years she worked in the fashion industry, sold to 1,600 stores.
In 2007, she opened her shop, Jane Hall The Voice of Style. “I have worked with fabric, color and pattern for 40 years, and my real gift is in knowing how to combine those elements,” said Hall, who edited her paint suppliers’ 4,000 paint choices down to 400, to make it easier when working with clients. “The average consumer is overwhelmed by choice, and in the face of ‘too much information’ they choose neutrals as a way of not making mistakes. I call it Chicken Chic.”
Within the past year, Hall has commenced work on several projects to expand her brand into the United States and 
beyond. “I have a product that has a global appeal and, in fact, all of the followers of images are from outside North America. My website traffic comes from around the world, and my blog is bringing more traffic to my site every day.”
She’s been working for a year on an online color resource, where designers and consumers can access a databank and information on how to decorate with color and is looking into developing web seminars on the subject. Hall also has a portfolio of her work on the creative platform Behance.net, and sells in the United States through custom home furnishings marketplace Custommade.com.
Describe your store: The store is separated into five groupings around the color themes Flirt, Classic, Passion, Serenity and Spice. If you look at the fashion industry – they merchandise by 
color, which is what I have done at Jane Hall The Voice of Style. Every grouping has custom-made merchandise in those color groupings, and it changes constantly. The beauty of it is that the customer can see how you put colors together, that colors don’t work in isolation. I call it a beige-free zone.
What makes you different/sets you apart from the competition? Loving color and pattern, taking tradition and turning it into something whimsical, are what set me apart. I look at a room from the heart of an artist. I’m inspired by great films, lush periods in design, and the 20th century adaptors who reinvented them with their own twist: Billy Haines, Billy Baldwin, Dorothy Draper, Tony Duquette, David Hicks.
I love details, the art of decoration where an object exists solely to add beauty and humanity to our lives. I prefer shapes that are round. In the age of mass marketing and globalization it’s cheaper to make things square then it is to make them round. It’s also cheaper and less risky to make them in beige or gray then in a color. I import almost all of my fabric from Europe. As I custom-make to order, the choices are limitless and as far reaching as the imagination will allow.
Describe your average customer: Between the ages of 35 and 65, well-traveled, people who like to be different and want their homes to reflect their personalities. They enjoy being part of the process of creating something that is totally unique for them.
How do you reach your customer? I write about design for our local community paper, and for people w
ho have subscribed to monthly newsletters. I have a great website that is updated weekly with new products in the store and showcases completed projects. I write a blog on subjects related to design and am currently working on a series about the history of interior design which my web stats show people seem to be loving. I will be adding speaking appearances and workshops on design topics in the next few months.
How has business been over the past year?Like all business in the retail sector, sales have been flat, particularly with a long winter and very late wet spring, but sales of the custom products – especially the vintage chairs reinvented – are doing very well.
What is the most enjoyable part of your job? Creating
new products and concepts is my passion. I would have to say I am an obsessive person when it comes to my work, which is really like playing to me. It is normal for me to come up with an idea or a concept and then spend months working on it with little sleeping or eating. Creative people call it “being in flow.”
The reward is the reaction of people who pass through my doors. They gasp, they smile they sometimes cry, they leave the store feeling better. The comment that I get the most is, “This is like being in Alice in Wonderland.”
Do you see any trends emerging or remaining “hot” in home accents for your area? I believe there is a market for unique and authentic, a result of the shifting of priorities and values following the recent economic events. Consumers are shifting their focus from quantity vs. quality and n
eed to be excited or wowed to part with their money. They value products that are green and locally made.
Approximate size of your store: 1,200 sq. ft
Year opened: 2007
Average annual sales of home accents: Less than $1 million
About what percentage of your sales are home accents? 80%
Key vendors: Designers Guild, Osborne and Little, Pierre Frey
Website: janehalldesign.com
