Shops We Love: Litchfield

Litchfield, which opened in Vancouver’s historic Gastown last November, is owner Jonathon Litchfield’s first boutique, but he’s hardly a newcomer to the West Coast design scene. The former president of Sturdy Living, Litchfield struck out on his own to highlight “well-designed, well-intentioned items — things I’ve collected and use in my life.”

The store’s simple, orderly aesthetic was partly inspired by the three years Litchfield spent in Japan as a child. Precise and clean-lined, it marries raw wood tables with industrial shelving and cinder-block walls, but makes them feel warm and welcoming.

Litchfield stocks the space with hard-to-find housewares, kitchenwares and even camping gear and grooming products, being careful not to clutter up the displays. “If I was driven purely by sales, I’d have three times as much product here,” he says. “But I’d rather customers be comfortable.”

Located at 38 Water St., Vancouver.