Brandini Toffee: Our redesign and renovation of their Palm Springs storefront

Having lived in Palm Springs since 2003, it is fair to say that I have watched the owner of Brandini Toffee grow up.

In 2006, young toffee-maker Brandon Weimer and his childhood friend had the opportunity to go on a high school class trip to Italy. Challenged by their parents to earn half the cost of their trip, they accepted, and Brandini Toffee was born. With overwhelming support from their community, the two surpassed their funding goals within a few months and made it to Italy.

Martha Stewart featured the young toffee maker on her television show, and today, Brandini Toffee has three store locations and is sold on QVC.

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Having watched his business grow over the years, naturally I was thrilled when Brandon asked me to redesign their flagship store location in Downtown Palm Springs.⁣

A branded vintage trailer parks in front of Brandini's Palm Springs location.

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The "Before"

While the store was perfectly clean and functional, it lacked a clear relationship to their brand identity and wasn't particularly inspiring.

I told Brandon, affectionately, that it reminded me a little bit of my fraternity house or a sports bar -- with its exposed brick walls, black tile all the way to the ceiling, and dark gray floor that can take a beating.

I loved my fraternity house, but that's not the vibe that Brandini is going for.

Even with its admittedly lackluster store design at this location, Brandini Toffee has raving fans and a big following.

The store is very busy during the weekly Village Fest "street fair" that takes place in downtown Palm Springs every Thursday evening.

In addition to selling their boxed toffee products, the storefront offers ice cream topped with their candy. Brandon was also about to add espresso coffee drinks to their menu, which called for new equipment, a redesign of the service area, and expanding the counter.

All this meant that it was definitely time for a design upgrade!

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The Inspiration: Brandini Brand & Packaging

As we set to work on the design, naturally, we took inspiration from Brandini's brand guide and packaging.

An image from Brandini's brand deck includes retro imagery and midcentury modern pattern.

Their brand keywords include:

Decadent

Refined

Sociable

Brandini's packaging is black and white with a pop of color, in this case, the turquoise/aqua color shown here. Their packaging also incorporates the architectural "breeze block" popular on midcentury homes in Palm Springs.

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The Design Plan

First, we presented a mood board showcasing elements that we proposed for the design:

• a black and white striped floor

• midcentury-inspired "tulip tables"

• classic outdoor cafe chairs in a black and white stripe

• terrazzo countertops

• wallpaper printed with a breeze block pattern

• turquoise vinyl wallcovering that looks like grasscloth

  
  

Then, we brought the mood board to life!

First, we start with detailed two-dimensional plans and elevations.

Then, we presented Brandon with 3D images of our proposed design.

Let's just say, he loved it!

The only change that he requested was to the countertop. The bright turquoise quartz counter shown in the renderings was just a bit too "much" -- so we switched to a terrazzo countertop, with hints of aqua and turquoise, that is even better.

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The "After"

Welcome to the "new" Brandini Toffee Palm Springs!

The outcome looks pretty close to our renderings, wouldn't you say?

We ended up simplifying the striped pattern of the floor, to minimize the time that the store would need to be closed for renovations.

A curated gallery wall showcases the brand's history and personal story.

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Working with Sarabeth Designs, we created a custom breeze block wallpaper, printed on durable vinyl, to go behind the counter and the menu boards, as a direct reference to their packaging and the brand's Palm Springs roots.

The service counter, with its expanded coffee bar, features a fluted design

and a recessed brass toe kick.

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"Can We Talk about The Bathroom?"

This is exactly what I asked Brandon the first time I visited the store with him.

He replied that he didn't really want to renovate the bathroom, to keep costs down. Moreover, his storefront is located in a historic 1920s Spanish building, adjacent to the newly-renovated Historic Plaza Theatre. Given the age of the building, renovating the bathroom was not going to be easy -- especially since the storefront's main electrical panel is located inside the bathroom.

To be honest, I tend to "judge" a business by its bathrooms. That's where you can tell a lot about their attention to detail, their cleanliness, and how they feel about their customers.

It took a gentle nudge, but I got Brandon on board to renovate the bathroom while the store was closed -- and, wow, was it worth it!

Here is the bathroom "before"...

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Here is our design plan and rendering...

And here is the finished bathroom!

It's really all about the wallpaper....

My friend Sara Zigman, of Sarabeth Designs, created custom artwork showcasing palm trees, midcentury houses, poolside scenes, and other iconic aspects of the Palm Springs lifestyle.... featuring Brandon's toffee and his two beloved bulldogs. She then turned the artwork into custom toile wallpaper, all unified against a tonal breeze block background.

Friends, how cute is this?

It's safe to say that Toby and Winston are living their best lives!

For us, design is personal. And business is, too.

I hope you enjoyed this tour!

Stay sweet, my friends.

xo CK

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Sources-

Photography: Public311 Design

Designers: Christopher Kennedy, Keith Fortner & Madilyn Riley

General Contractor: Edgardo Serrano, Desert Supreme Construction