What began as a candle-making side project has now grown into an eclectic brick-and- mortar boutique, offering a variety of home decor, art, jewelry and more. An offshoot of Savvy Design Group, The Edit by MSquared shares space with the interior design firm and is owned and operated by Savvy founder Diane Mantovani and Dr. Zhivegas front man Frankie Muriel.
The pair met in 2015 when Muriel hired Mantovani to design his house, which led to the two of them partnering on numerous projects and businesses. “We really enjoy collaborating and we thought this would be a great way to bring some of our creativity to The Hill, which is our favorite neighborhood in St Louis,” says Mantovani.
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Earlier this year, Savvy relocated its design business from Ladue to the historic Italian enclave, where both Mantovani and Muriel reside, after finding a corner storefront in a brick building.
“It has huge windows and great natural light. Living on The Hill, I just know what a great neighborhood it is, and I always knew that if the right space came available, I wanted to be there,” Mantovani says of the move. “It had a great little area next door and we had talked about doing a shop for quite a while, so everything just aligned.”
The transition into retail began with the pair’s signature line of scented candles, which they used in their own homes and offer as gifts to friends and clients.
“When she moved the design firm, we thought, ‘Why don’t we just sell candles out of the other side?’ We also have a lot of things we like that we thought other people might like, or that we see in our travels when we’re buying accessories for the different homes,” says Muriel of the inspiration for The Edit.
In addition to the candle line, The Edit will feature an ever-rotating array of home accessories, artwork, and even jewelry, much of it made by local artisans, such as Collinsville, Ill.-based artist Kerry Smith and Dose of Heaven brand trucker hats. Inventory will be refreshed weekly. Current offerings in the shop include a variety of stylish barware, vinyl records, vintage ashtrays from 1960s and 1970s casinos, candlesticks, tableware, throw pillows and more.
“Frankie and I constantly get the question, ‘Where did you find that?’ So, I do this for my design clients all the time. We just thought it would be a fun new endeavor to make it available to people on The Hill and whoever wants to come shop,” says Mantovani.
She estimates that the building is around 100 years old, and it had been sitting vacant before Savvy took it over. In their design of the space, they worked to stay true to its architecture.
“We kept it very minimalistic because, being a design firm as well, we don’t want to take away from what we’re showing clients. So it’s a very clean space,” Mantovani says. “We want the accessories and the items to be the focal point.”
The business partners retained an old brick wall that runs through the middle of the space, and added Art Deco-inspired wallpaper, as well as antique tile in the entry to reflect the building’s original time period.
In summing up the concept, Mantovani says, “When you edit something, you look over it and make it better. These are pieces that will make a space better.”
The Edit is located at 1902 Marconi and open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday, Friday, and Saturdays, as well as by appointment.
