When customers tell Cigdem Turkomer that visiting Le BonNton feels like traveling, she knows she’s accomplished her vision for the globally sourced home décor and clothing boutique.
“It’s mostly things that have a story behind them,” Turkomer said, looking over her inventory. “I even know [makers’] names. It’s mostly selling the experience, the mood and feeling of traveling.”
Turkomer draws some of the shop’s international goods and influence from Istanbul, where she grew up and worked for 15 years in set design, photography and scene making. During that time, Turkomer’s work set the scene for documentaries and feature films screened throughout Europe and Turkey. In addition to the retail side of her business, Turkomer continues to offer event-decorating services.
“I love to make spaces, to create atmosphere,” she said. “Even when I am in a hotel room, I create my own space and decorate that.”
To craft a “lifestyle boutique” experience in her store, Turkomer says she focuses on fair, sustainable sourcing and stays attuned to the mood that each product creates.
“I believe in energy and vibrations,” Turkomer said. “I love things not synthetic or plastic ... not always hand-crafted, but earth-friendly things.”
While many businesses purport ethical sourcing and quality inventory, Turkomer says, fewer put in the work to ensure that these statements are true.
“It’s easy to say those things,” Turkomer said. But when working with vendors, “I do really care. If I don’t like something, if I don’t feel that energy, that [compensation] doesn’t go fairly to the maker, I won’t work with them.”
Turkomer moved to the U.S. about eight years ago, and first established Le BonNton – derived from a French phrase meaning “good manners and good style” – in Northampton, Mass.
But after seven years doing business in western Massachusetts, Turkomer found herself missing Istanbul’s seaside lifestyle. So, she planned a move, casting her net wide along the New England coast and eventually finding a suitable vacancy just off Main Street in Warren. Le BonNton officially opened its doors in Rhode Island this past May.
While Turkomer hadn’t previously spent much time in Rhode Island, she says that the Ocean State’s coastal landscape and cultural offerings have provided a welcome sense of familiarity.
“You can find everything as a style, as entertainment, as food,” Turkomer said. “There are many varieties and diversity, and it looks like Istanbul ... I feel like I’m at home.”
Warren, specifically, also provided an established small-business community, though Turkomer said that establishing a retail store in a town that’s well-known as a food destination has required some extra legwork.
But it’s a worthwhile effort, she says.
“If a town has good restaurants, food and music, it’s a destination,” Turkomer said. “But we need more retail shops in those towns, we need more variety,” she added, particularly to entice visitors into longer stays.
OWNER: Cigdem Turkomer
TYPE OF BUSINESS: Home décor and clothing boutique
LOCATION: 30 Child St., Warren
EMPLOYEES: Two
YEAR FOUNDED: 2017
ANNUAL REVENUE: WND
