Profile

In mid-2008, Ashley Turen innocently applied paint to a vintage leather jacket in a hot summer’s day fit of wardrobe revamping. Friends and family began to request more and more of her hand-painted designs, and soon the Tisch graduate opened her eponymous downtown boutique. Two years later she expanded into this 1,500-square-foot, two-room shop, which stands out among the area’s snarl of trendy stores. The racks are filled with Turen’s customized pieces—hand-painted leather bombers and leggings, fitted art-print dresses and classic Ts. There are also modern basics from brands like Timo Weiland and Naked and Famous, along with bulky jewelry from NYC-based designers like Dannijo and Ann Dexter-Jones that pop against the hand-painted, textured walls. For shoppers with more particular taste, Turen can also customize pieces. Equipped with a large book displaying all sorts of possible embellishments, she guides clients through a collaborative process to create one-of-a-kind garments. — Anne Bauso