One could easily while away a weekend afternoon inside Pamela Robinson’s charming shop Red Ticking. Similar in style to a chic Parisian flea market, Robinson stocks her Madison Park store with a curated selection of refined, vintage housewares, tabletop items, and gifts. She also offers interior consulting and design services.

Robinson’s French-countryside-meets-coastal-New-England aesthetic have caught the eye of those beyond Seattle’s city limits: She’s currently busy refurbishing a restaurant in LA and building and decorating a home in Colorado. We caught up with Robinson to get the skinny on Red Ticking.

WWW: What song or album is playing on your store’s sound system right now?
Robinson: The soundtrack from Something’s Gotta Give. The music is just pure summer for us.

What was your first job in retail? What did you love or hate about it and how does it compare to what you do now?
I worked in a clothing store, Casual Corner, but that was many years ago—too many. I learned a lot, but I didn’t love it or hate it. I was excited to work there because I was 16 and it was fun to be in a fashion atmosphere with cool people. When you’re 16, everything’s cool.

What’s your favorite thing in the store right now?
My antique American flag. It’s probably from the early 1900s; it has 13 stars on it.

Where do you shop when you’re not at your store?
The farmers market, because I love food and I love supporting our local farmers.

What do you love about your store’s neighborhood? What nearby restaurants, coffee shops, etc., do you recommend?
The thing that’s great about our neighborhood is that everybody knows each other really well. People are even starting to call it the "French Quarter" of Seattle. There are a lot of French restaurants coming into the neighborhood, and my store has a French flair as well. It’s fun to be a part of that community.

What’s the weirdest thing that’s ever happened in your store?
A man came in to the shop and wanted to buy a chandelier, but he didn’t want to pay the price for it. So he asked for a step ladder, and he got up on the ladder and measured it. He had the measurements sent to a company that made a replica of the chandelier for him instead.