Brooke & Lou to Stay, Senti to Open at Nolan Mains

Edina's buzzy new shopping destination shows no signs of slowing down.

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50th and France's newest outdoor shopping district Nolan Mains continues to prove to be the hot haunt for all things retail. Since opening in 2020, Peter Deanovic, principal of Buhl Investors, which sources the retail tenants for the mixed-use development, has worked to fill the area with a unique mix of tenants, from nationals like Billy Reid to local concepts including Scout, Dugo, Six For Good, Stranger & Co., and more. Deanovic's even bene known to offer flexible leases and rent deals that to small business owners, giving them a chance to test the waters for their concepts. 

Take interior designer Bria Hammel's Brooke & Lou, for instance, who popped up at Nolan Mains last Spring to test the brick-and-mortar waters for her life-friendly home furnishings brand. After a successful six-month run, Hammel's decided to go from pop-up to permanent and make the Edina shop Brooke & Lou's flagship and showroom for its array of home décor pieces, entertaining essentials, assortment of large furniture and upholstery pieces, and newly-launched holiday collection. 

"Over the last six months, we've had the opportunity to connect with our community in a deeper way through events and local partnerships," says Hammel. "Plus, giving customers the chance to see, feel and shop Brooke & Lou in person has helped our business not only thrive, but grow."

Another local joining the Nolan Mains roster is Senti, the brainchild of Jen Knoch, creator of From Grasse With Love, a line of luxe fragrances, candles, and skincare products. Knoch has reimagined and rebranded her online-focused business From Grasse With Love to "Senti" (the prefix of "sentir," meaning "to feel" in French), a brick-and-mortar shop focused on the entire sensory experience. It will offer products that cater to sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch. 

For Knoch, the opportunity came up when Deanovic approached her after she popped up with her candles at Nolan Mains tenant and local lingerie retailer Flirt Boutique. "It sort of all just fell in to place," says Knoch. "I couldn't ask for a better location or opportunity." 

Expect to see an expanded assortment of fragrances from all over the world (including her best-selling Calming Park candles, all made in Grasse, France—AKA the perfume capitol of the world), plus elements that dip into your sense of taste: teas, tea accessories, and other confections; touch: cozy slippers, lavender sachets, silk eye masks; sight: unscented candles, tapered beeswax candles, and other visual pleasures for the tabletop; and sound—Knoch plans to spin vinyl records from France and Italy from the '50s and '60s. 

"It's really all about how important our sensory self is in terms of self-care, our well-being, and sleep," says Knoch. "Those rituals of our daily life—those little moments that offer a bit of luxury at every moment of our days."

Watch for Senti to open in late November. shopsenti.com, @shop_senti