A couple of weeks ago, Miss Ashe Mischief and I were browsing shops on Magazine Street, and we stopped into the new location of Spruce Eco-Studio. I had never been into their previous location, though I knew all about it, because the old location was sort of tucked away further down Magazine Street without much else around it. You had to really WANT to go there. The new Spruce location, at 2043 Magazine Street, is on one of my favorite blocks in the city. This block, which also houses Juan’s Flying Burrito and the Trashy Diva uptown location, has become a hub for green boutiques – there’s also Branch Out, Green Serene, and of course my friends and fellow New Orleans Craft Mafia members Heather & Mark of Unique Products share the space at 2038 Magazine Street with the ladies of Magazine Metals.
So after accidentally discovering the new location of Spruce, it was a pleasure to get an email from them recently to let me know about an upcoming open house event they’ll be hosting on Friday, September 10.
Spruce offers not only eco-friendly products for home and garden, but they also offer eco-friendly interior design services. They’re a one-stop shop for products such as clean burning/mobile fire places, solar powered garden lanterns, recycled vases, wall textures, tile and much more. I had the chance to ask one of the founders, Nomita Joshi-Gupta, a few questions about what inspired her and partner Cheryl Nix Murphy to start Spruce and what the future holds for them.
Spruce Eco-Studio founders - Cheryl Nix Murphy & Nomita Joshi-Gupta
What inspired you to create Spruce?
A chance to rebuild my home with green products inspired the creation of Spruce. As I was re-building my house I was also simultaneously dog earring hundreds of magazines with green products….ranging from countertops, tiles, fabric and décor…and then I thought I have a selection to start a showroom to showcase my findings and offer design services. My long time friend Cheryl joined me in this venture and Spruce was born. We spent almost a year researching the honesty of each of our products and our concept. Now we have a curated collection that we are proud to offer to our clients.
Can you tell us a little more about the products and services that you offer?
We offer building products such as surfaces, finishes, tiles, fabrics, wall coverings, and retail products such as outdoor décor, retail and most importantly green design services. We also have an extensive webshop… sprucenola.com. Our singular mission is zero compromise between design and sustainability.
Why is being “green” so important to you? Why New Orleans?
Being green has always been a way of life for me growing up in India and for Cheryl an avid preservationist. In New Orleans we all have practiced green by salvaging buildings and putting them to good use. Now it is even more important for us encourage sustainability in our design and our culture…we have a chance to become a model city for the next generation.
What’s up next for Spruce?
We are surrounded by innovation in product design on a daily basis. This has inspired our next step – to design our own line of products.
If you’re in New Orleans, I highly recommend you take the chance to stop into Spruce’s Magazine Street location at some point. Anyone can shop their offerings online at sprucenola.com.
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
This will sound funny – but I only knew of Spruce from their logo!! when I was looking for logo designers I ahd come across their logo and loved it – now I can check out the store!!! Glad you posted this, looks like such a cool store!
I remember seeing them move in and thinking I needed to stop by. So glad you did, it sounds great! Geez their website alone is so beautiful and full of decor inspiration.
Congratitulations !!!! Nomita Joshi Gupta,
It is a success story! ‘Keep it UP’
Usha and V V Shrotriya