At Yowie Hotel, an Overnight Stay Is Also a Crash Course in the Best Design You’ve Never Heard Of

Jaelani Turner-Williams
·2 min read

Entrepreneur Shannon Maldonado started Yowie as a web store in 2016 to promote up-and-coming talent. Now, her new hospitality space provides an immersive experience.

Yowie has always been the place to discover something new. That’s because the Philadelphia design boutique’s founder, Shannon Maldonado, started it as a way to promote a roster of talented makers and artists you probably aren’t familiar with. Often, the reason their chairs, throws, or pillows haven’t pinged your radar is because the store is the first one to share them.

Now, after a years-long lead up, the shop is sharing and caring on a few new levels. In April, Maldonado closed the original Queen Village brick-and-mortar to open a hospitality space, the 13-suite Yowie Hotel with an accompanying design shop and cafe, located a few blocks away on South Street. She hopes the hotel will allow people to connect in a greater way to her world of design, and her hometown.

For the hotel’s only double bedroom, Maldonado had local company Plaster XOXO finish a wall in a terra-cotta color. Local artist and ceramicist Jeff Rubio created the beaded works that hang above the beds. The pink light fixture is from Rich Brilliant Willing and the side tables are from Parachute.
For the hotel’s only double bedroom, Maldonado had local company Plaster XOXO finish a wall in a terra-cotta color. Local artist and ceramicist Jeff Rubio created the beaded works that hang above the beds. The pink light fixture is from Rich Brilliant Willing and the side tables are from Parachute.

"We want it to feel like even though you’re at the hotel, we’re really setting you up to have a great experience in the city. Then when you’re in your room, we’re making it as comfortable and cozy and inspiring as possible," says Maldonado.

For the rooms, she collaborated with designers on much of the decor and furnishings, a lot of which can be purchased in the downstairs shop. Her must-haves included custom bowls and coffee mugs from Cloud 9 Clay, Personal Best Ceramics, Domenic Frunzi, and Frances Iadarola. "They all just really make the kitchenette in each space pop, and I just love the idea of someone using them during their stay and coming down to see us in the shop and taking them home with them," Maldonado says.

A fluffy Llot Lov pendant hangs above a custom neon-orange Paradise Grey dining table. The chairs are by Blu Dot. Atop a Bi-Rite rug is a coffee table by local arts non-profit Rair made entirely of upcycled materials. The muted gray sofa is by Audo.
A fluffy Llot Lov pendant hangs above a custom neon-orange Paradise Grey dining table. The chairs are by Blu Dot. Atop a Bi-Rite rug is a coffee table by local arts non-profit Rair made entirely of upcycled materials. The muted gray sofa is by Audo.
Maldonado partnered with Daltile to use matte one-inch keystone tile in a different tone for each bathroom, and suite 302 features a blue color. The orange surface is by Shelfology, and the soap bottle is Cloud 9 Clay.
Maldonado partnered with Daltile to use matte one-inch keystone tile in a different tone for each bathroom, and suite 302 features a blue color. The orange surface is by Shelfology, and the soap bottle is Cloud 9 Clay.

See the full story on Dwell.com: At Yowie Hotel, an Overnight Stay Is Also a Crash Course in the Best Design You’ve Never Heard Of
Related stories: