Tucked away in an adorable collective of jewel box boutique spaces for local independent businesses sits Hunt & Bloom. This blink-and-you’ll-miss-it shop is a fantastical emporium of all things kitsch. In just under three years, proprietor Will Hunt Lewis, with his encyclopedic knowledge of all things interiors, has made himself indispensable to Houston’s top designers — the designer’s designer, if you will.
A long and storied career in buying and merchandising for top brands like Jonathan Adler, One Kings Lane, and Kravet, as well as a successful store and events business in his home state of Mississippi, primed Lewis for his current position as the authority in well-curated taste. Lewis is often called upon to contribute to blue chip design media outlets such as Martha Stewart Living, House Beautiful, Architectural Digest, Veranda, Southern Living, Forbes, and more, and Houstonians should revel in the thought that we get to keep him right in our backyard.
A single visit to Hunt & Bloom will make any and every maximalist feel right at home. The shop is a delightfully-tiny wonder, but hours pass like minutes while discovering everything from majolica oyster plates to weathered vintage garden gnomes. One thing’s for sure: this shop is no sparse, gallery-chic showroom, and Lewis wouldn’t have it any other way.
“I’m more, is more, is more, is more,” Lewis says of his quirky, off-the-beaten-path boutique. “I love color! I am the opposite of that kind of ‘California Cool’ aesthetic, even though it’s gorgeous. I love a beautiful, natural linen sofa, and I love neutrals and that sort of thing. I tried to be a minimalist, and sleek and cool in one of my NYC apartments. That lasted for about five minutes — and that’s just how it is.”
A designer’s designer
Antique and vintage finds nestle among capsule collections from makers both stateside and across the pond. Stately coffee table books, candles, trays, matchbooks, and a plethora of beautifully-made ceramics and barware fill every nook and cranny, floor-to-ceiling shelving, and antique buffets and tabletops in this classically-moody space.
“I love to mix in new with old,” Lewis tells CultureMap. “That’s what I wanted this store to be about, mastering the mix of incorporating old pieces with new pieces.”
This masterful mix of old and new is what keeps top Houston designers clamoring for Lewis’ wares. Taking place quarterly, his wildly popular Tastemakers on the Hunt series invites in-demand designers like Creative Tonic’s Courtnay Tartt Elias, Kara Childress, and former Luxe Interiors editor Paulette Pearson to curate capsule collections from the store’s inventory that fans may then shop online. Lewis’ next tastemaker is none other than Nashville-based designer, author, and internet personality Stephanie Sabbe, who has over 80,000 Instagram followers.
Helping homeowners
Those familiar with the successful Hunt & Bloom website can attest that the store carries decor, gifts, and trinkets for any budget — the same can be said for the store.
“As a merchant or courier, I want to have things that anyone can come here and buy,” says Lewis. “So whether you’re looking for aspirational, or entry-level, I’ve got a price point where you’re not going to come in and say: ‘This is not for me.’ I never want someone to feel like that. There is really a reason that I have the things that I have; I want someone to come in and pick up anything.”
All too often, homeowners struggle with the task of filling shelves, bookcases, China cabinets, and even coffee tables in a way that appears studied, thoughtful, and well-traveled. Hunt & Bloom offers shoppers the opportunity to have Lewis curate these spaces in a way that appears both lived-in and personal, finding the perfect pieces to complement cherished family heirlooms and collectibles that may have lost their pride of place.
An advocate for what he has coined “the art of slow decorating,” Lewis laments that homeowners feel pressure to buy items for the sake of filling spaces as quickly as possible: “If you have built-ins, they don’t have to be full right away.” The all-too-common practice of making a Supermarket Sweep through the local Home Goods is not something that Lewis believes benefits anyone, much less a home’s interior design goals.
“What does that do besides fill space,” he says. The notion prompts Lewis to recall a quotation that was displayed in the corporate offices of Jonathan Adler in NYC: “Don’t buy it if your heirs won’t fight over it!” So, filling spaces with meaningless items is deemed a bad investment of both time and resources. “Who’s going to be fighting over all that stuff,” asks Lewis. “Nobody. So take your time and find pieces that you love, not pieces that you have to have right now because it has to be done — because you don’t actually have to.”
In addition to furniture and decor for every day, Lewis goes all out for the holidays. While Christmas is when holiday staples such as Spode and Radko are out in full force, he makes sure to stock party supplies, gifts, and decorations for shorter-lived celebrations like Valentine’s Day. Currently, the shop is full of fervor for Fall! Velvet pumpkins, pheasant feathers, and a dedicated “Spooky Shop” of vintage-inspired table decor are ready to adorn new terrains.
Hunt & Bloom welcomes the community to enjoy their recurring book signing events, artisan pop-up shops, and floral workshops. Also worth checking out is their new collaboration with Helenita Home. The store is also a top three finalist for a coveted ARTS Award for Best Home Accents Store for the Western US Region — impressive!
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Hunt & Bloom is located at 2600 Persa Street, Houston, TX, 77098.
