What can we say about Rose Apothecary from Schitt’s Creek? It’s the kind of space, or rather, ‘an immersive environment’ every neighborhood needs where one can spend hours just browsing through goat milk body essentials or smelling different kinds of votive candles. And no one really imagined that something this eclectic could actually work in a town like Schitt’s Creek until of course, David Rose came along.
And as lovely and niche as Rose Apothecary’s line-up is, there are certain things about the store that just don’t make sense. Recently artisanal beauty brand Beekman 1802 launched an official Rose Apothecary collection that has some very functional goat milk soaps and body milk. And now is a great time to visit some details about the Rose Apothecary store which didn't add up
It Sells Blue Cheese And Plungers Under The Same Roof
Irrespective of how eclectic the line-up at Rose Apothecary may be, selling blue cheese, expensive tapenade and wine along with toilet plungers and buckets can never be an acceptable vibe. Also, it makes no sense for the store to stock up on bathroom tools because the brand’s USP is its discerning and selective lifestyle umbrella store approach that only sells the very authentic, locally-sourced products across niche beauty and lifestyle spectrums.
Yes, David gets visibly upset that Patrick puts the plungers by the front desk because it’s off-putting, but the question remains as to why Rose Apothecary would stock them at all.
A Luxury Beauty-Led Store Is A Hard Sell In Schitt’s Creek
One of the primary reasons why Rose Apothecary was never really bustling with customers is because it has an acute focus on luxury beauty products, that are produced locally but stored under the store’s logo. It’s a novel concept but an 18 dollar toner is obviously a very tough sell in a town like Schitt’s Creek which is not just small but also has a population that can’t afford something like this.
It would have been almost impossible for David and Patrick to get repeat customers unless they created a loyal base who saw the need to include goat milk soaps and 15 dollar hand lotions as part of their daily regimen and of course, had the money for it. And since Schitt’s Creek is not a business town, they never really got any out-of-towners either, so a luxury beauty brand made no sense.
Fruit Crates At The Gates
Putting up some strawberry baskets or freshly picked apples is one thing, but why does Rose Apothecary have unpolished crates of raw fruit at the door? It doesn’t go with the store’s vibe and neither do people in the town come to Rose Apothecary to get their produce.
Schitt’s Creek has a farmer’s market and possibly local markets too that regularly source fresh fruits and vegetables. So, it doesn’t make sense for a retail environment to put something like this on their line-up. Yes, some luxury stores do stock a minimal range of fresh produce to add to their quaint, homegrown vibe but a store like Rose Apothecary would never sell them.
None Of The Sections Are Labelled
It has to be acknowledged that David and Patrick have made it harder for customers to shop or even browse without assistance at Rose Apothecary. A store that offers a product range this diverse needs properly marked sections, especially because it brings in different spectrums under one roof like skincare, fashion, lifestyle, home needs, etc.
It makes things so much more difficult for people to know what is stored where unless they’re a regular. A lot of the products are stocked on the shelves but they too are not compartmentalized, and a lot of products wrapped in vague brown covers. So not labeling the sections makes customers check every product individually.
No New Arrival Section
Besides the lack of helpful sectioning, the store also doesn’t make an effort to tell customers what’s new or what’s in hot demand. This may have been a deliberate move on Patrick and David’s part to cultivate a culture of personal connection with their customers, but not every customer is looking for that.
Beauty shoppers are always open to new ideas and suggestions or even samples but the store doesn't recommend or tell the shoppers about products that are new or are back in supply.
It’s Loyalty To Homegrown Suppliers
How rich and credible was the beauty vendors circuit in and around Schitt’s Creek? David was hell-bent on only sticking to locally-sourced products that are produced by local communities. However, given the town’s limited resources and lack of luxury outlets, wouldn’t it make more sense to curate some affordable popular luxury brands from New York or LA?
Rose Apothecary was built on an effort to educate people about the need for a luxury beauty regimen and to show them what’s better. And it made sense for David to stick to local suppliers at the beginning when they were on a tight budget. But as the store got a steady customer base why wouldn’t it branch to feature other credible names in its curation?
Set Up Like A Design Studio
Any and every ceramic and design studio in and around New York is set up exactly like Rose Apothecary, and it's like the planners took a trip around upstate NYC to study small lifestyle-led businesses and just designed a collective visage of that aesthetic.
Independent beauty stores or niche retailers are usually marked by a sense of personal touch which David was of course, very keen on as well. But why then does Rose Apothecary’s interior lack a sense of individuality or even a specific vibe? Its interiors are just a collection of things that suggest quaintness like indoor succulents, old-timey apothecary tables, ladder windows, Colonial-era stocking shelves, etc.
No Beauty Fridge
The lack of a beauty fridge at Rose Apothecary is quite disappointing, especially for the show’s art directors. A lot of skincare products are usually meant to stored under constant cool temperatures and if they’re being stocked for more than a few weeks they absolutely need to be stocked in a fridge to be kept fresh.
Rose Apothecary does have a fridge but it’s for the wine and cheese, and as any independent beauty seller would agree, storing skincare essentials with potent, smelly cheese is a no-no. So, it’s quite weird of David not to suggest a beauty fridge for the store.
The Scattered Black Crows
Is this a cheeky reference to Moira’s big-budget Hollywood film The Crowening? If not, then the several black ceramic crows that are randomly placed on Rose Apothecary’s shelves make absolutely no sense. They’re somewhat gothic and edgy and may have been a premeditated addition by David as it goes with his personal vibe and fashion but they look very out of place in the serene, posh environment at the store.
Not only do they take up a lot of space, but they also don’t go with the store’s uptown color palette. Some fans have noted that David used the same crows when he gave Blouse Barn a total do-over, so clearly, it’s his favorite prop. But it seems very unlikely that he would display them at Rose Apothecary.
No Vendor Information On The Products
One of Rose Apothecary's biggest oopsies was definitely its varied list of vendors, like Himalayan cat breeders and preserves made in real Mennonite households. But none of the products at Rose Apothecary features any information about who made them or how it’s sourced.
The store is anchored on the idea of promoting local communities in and around Schitt’s Creek and also acts as a sort of a map to the artisans or home-based sellers that exist in the area. Plus the customers would obviously need to know a lot about where each product is sourced from, so it makes no sense that the store wouldn't prioritize this communication.