The quiet town of Tivoli, N.Y., is welcoming a new neighbor: Jenni Kayne.
The California brand is introducing Jenni Kayne Farmhouse, a 2,150-square-foot property about 112 miles north of New York City to offer hospitality and wellness experiences through its beauty brand Oak Essentials.
“Upstate New York has always been on our radar,” said Lauren Harris, chief executive officer of Oak Essentials.
Outside of its 27 retail stores, “we have not had a big brand moment on the East Coast yet,” she continued. “We wanted to do something on the opposite coast from where we typically do all of our activation, for Oak Essentials in particular. And so much of the beauty press community is in New York, so it felt really natural.”
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It was in 2021 that Jenni Kayne launched Oak Essentials — aimed at offering a spa-like facial experience at home with products sold direct-to-consumer before expanding to Shopbop in 2023 and into 22 doors at Nordstrom in June of this year.
Jenni Kayne Farmhouse is the brand’s fourth hospitality-driven property.
The Los Angeles designer has used residential properties as part of her brand formula, along with her real estate broker husband Richard Ehrlich and Jenni Kayne CEO Julia Hunter. They have bought, renovated and staged luxury homes with every element of her aspirational Pacific Natural lifestyle, from the Aspen wingback bouclé chairs to the shearling Moroccan slippers, to the Oak Essential skin care products.
Jenni Kayne Lake, Jenni Kayne Hillside Haven and Jenni Kayne Ranch homes have been used for influencer stays, content creation and client events where everything is for sale — even the homes themselves.
The company first bought the 20-acre Santa Ynez ranch in Santa Barbara County, Calif., for $950,000 in September 2020 before transforming it with the Jenni Kayne Home Collection and selling the property for $6 million.
“At that point, we had a very, very strong following as an apparel brand but home was newer,” Harris said of how the ranch helped establish Jenni Kayne as a key player in the home market.
They’re using the same model for the farmhouse only with beauty and wellness, as a step toward turning Oak Essentials into a service-driven brand with stand-alone spas. The property houses the Oak Wellness Club — centered on beauty services like facials and body treatments. Like at the ranch, content creators and editors will be invited to the farmhouse to experience the Jenni Kayne brand.
“We definitely plan to have a very intentional brick-and-mortar retail strategy for Oak [Essentials],” Harris said.
The new house features four bedrooms, three “spa-like” bathrooms, an open chef’s kitchen, a pool overlooking the Hudson Valley and a sauna, cold plunge and hot tub, according to the brand. “This house is not massive…so most of the stays will be sort of individual or, like, a couple close friends,” Harris added.
In the fall, the brand will begin hosting customer-facing events and home tours, with visitors able to buy a ticket to a wellness day. They also plan to have sweepstake giveaways with Nordstrom and other retail partners, and in the future will explore partnering within professional spa channels.
“We’re developing longer-form facial and body treatments that will be offered in spa settings,” Harris said. “And we’re thinking about potential hospitality partners, where these will be exclusive spa offerings for them. And then, of course, for us, once we have brick-and-mortar spaces, these would be offered on an ongoing basis.”
They’ve developed a signature facial called the Farm Fresh Facial incorporating all the Oak Essentials products, marrying botanical and science elements, aromatherapy, deep hydration, exfoliation, massage and lymphatic drainage techniques, Harris explained.
Of upcoming product releases, she said: “Our customers are really asking for SPF. So that’s something we’re thinking about, both for body and skin. And there’s definitely some interesting things happening around sun care as skin care, and not really thinking of it as just SPF, but really something that actually can be a treatment for skin too.”
There’s a “big” new product coming in October, followed by another launch in November.