Geminola

Geminola

633 Old Post Road, Bedford

…And the wonderful
world ofLorraine Kirke

In one of the small storefronts in the Bedford Playhouse building there’s a new shop that’s practically bursting at the seams with treasures. Geminola is packed with vintage dresses, antique lace, colorful textiles, whimsical accessories, and all sorts of wonderful oddities. It’s the kind of place you walk into expecting to have a quick look around and then find yourself still discovering goodies twenty minutes later.

Geminola

The woman behind Geminola is the acclaimed Interior Designer, and Waccabuc resident, Lorraine Kirke. She’s the author of Would You Like to See the House?, and her wildly eclectic interiors are instantly recognizable for their fearless use of color, pattern, texture, and theatrical flair. She has a remarkable ability to bring together things that seemingly have no business being in the same room and making the entire space feel like a story. Her own Waccabuc home is something of a cross between a witch’s castle and an enchanted villa, filled with unexpected details and a certain irresistible magic.

Geminola is an extension of Lorraine’s wonderfullyeccentric world.

And for those who recognize the name, Geminola is something of a New York fashion institution. Lorraine first opened the boutique on Perry Street in the West Village in 2004, where it developed a devoted following over its twelve-year run. Specializing in ethereal, one-of-a-kind clothing created from vintage fabrics, antique lace, and reimagined garments, Geminola became a favorite among women looking for something they couldn’t find anywhere else. Its creations even found their way onto some of television’s most memorable wardrobes, including Sex and the City and Girls - as Lorraine’s daughter, actress Jemima Kirke, famously wore a Geminola wedding dress as Jessa Johansson in the first-season finale of Girls. The Perry Street shop was a known hotspot for celebrities, and though we can’t name names, it seems the new Bedford outpost is already attracting some very recognizable faces. Apparently the A-list can’t resist a little of Geminola’s serendipity.

The shop’s name itself is a playful combination of the names of Lorraine’s three daughters: Jemima, Domino, and Lola.

“I’ve always loved old things, particularly beautiful fabrics and pieces that have a history to them. But I especially like the things that other people overlook or think of as trash or scraps. I was working in interiors and would find these incredible old tattered textiles that I wanted to use for curtains or upholstery, but then sometimes I’d look at them and think, wouldn’t this make a wonderful dress? I started experimenting, dyeing things and putting different pieces together, and it just grew from there. I’ve never really been interested in making something that looks like everything else.”

Lorraine’s creative process is as wonderfully unconventional as the finished products. Rather than designing collections around seasons or trends, she follows her instincts, collecting vintage slips, dresses, lace, velvet, and antique textiles wherever she happens to find them. Some pieces are restored or altered, others are dyed and transformed entirely, and still others are simply too lovely to change. The Bedford shop also offers an assortment of vintage home accessories, hand-dyed table linens, and unexpected decorative finds, all chosen with the same distinctive eye. …In a small store, Lorraine has squeezed-in an entire world of imagination.

“I’m always looking for things. Wherever I travel, I’m wandering into antique shops, flea markets, little places where you never know what you’ll find. I buy what I love, whether it’s a beautiful piece of old lace, a dress from the 1930s, or something completely peculiar that catches my eye. Then I bring it all home and start playing. Sometimes I’ll dye something, cut it up, add lace, or turn it into something entirely different. I never really have a plan. I just know when something feels right.”

After closing her West Village storefront in 2016, Lorraine continued creating and collecting from her Waccabuc home. And while the new Bedford location is considerably smaller than its Manhattan predecessor, it has all the same personality. Lorraine shares, “The little storefront offered an opportunity to bring Geminola back to life in the community where I live. I’m excited to push the envelope a bit and introduce a new audience to my universe of pre-1950s vintage.”

“I wasn’t necessarily looking to open another shop, but when this little space became available, I just fell in love with it. It’s so tiny and charming, and Bedford has such a lovely village atmosphere. I’ve been working from home for years, surrounded by all these dresses and beautiful things, and I thought it would be fun to have somewhere to put them all again. I love the idea of people wandering in, discovering something unexpected, and finding something they absolutely adore. I’ve helped so many people find wedding dresses and fabulous party dresses, and my favorite thing is actually these short 1950s tea dresses with all the patterns and colors.”

In a world of increasingly identical mass-produced everything, Geminola is, like Lorraine, refreshingly and

unapologetically its own thing.

Geminola · 633 Old Post Road, Bedford