I returned recently to the island of Umbra to shop at MUWU. I bought a shirt there a while back and wanted to see if there was anything new I might like. The last time I was there I was on a shopping mission: Teleport in, buy the shirt I wanted, teleport out. This visit I decided to explore the island a bit. I should stop and smell the roses more often.
Off in one corner I found Le Parc. It’s a bucolic little farm area, complete with cows, pigs, and horses. It’s a lovely little spot that seems to serve no purpose other than to look lovely.
There’s no store, there’s nothing to buy, just a barn and a blacksmith shop with some animations to try. Building for the sake a building? Maybe! I don’t know why Le Parc is there, but I like it.
Near Le Parc is the dance club No Name. It bears mentioning just because it’s great to look at. Someone with a real eye for design put this thing together.
Inside and out there’s a consistency of design and color that you don’t see often. Whoever built this had a real vision and plan.
The retail part of Umbra is not without eye candy, too. Directly across from MUWU is OhLaLa. While they don’t sell any clothes for guys, the giant tea set and box of crackers design made me look inside anyway. I found something I thought my wife would like and sent her the landmark (because I’m not foolish enough to just buy it and find out I was wrong). If having a cool building to draw in customers is a retail strategy, it worked.
I’m seeing a lot of this lately: Retail areas that feel like theme parks (in once case it was a theme park) or immersive alternate realities. They always make an impression, and I’ll be taking a closer look at them soon.
