J Brown & Co

Disrespectful and Arrogant Owner
Let me share my experience with the owner of the J Brown & Company. My spouse and I were in the Old Town and entered this store and began browsing products. I got interested in a few decoration items. The sale items were not marked. Therefore, I asked prices of the items that I was interested to purchase. He seemed agitated and not responsive to provide me prices.
Anyway, I got three items and approached him to pay for the items. I complimented his glasses and said these are very nice glasses. He completely ignored the compliment with bad attitude and rudeness.
He charged my card and told me that don’t come to his store to buy from him in the future. My spouse and I left speechless and didn’t know how to respond. We left his shop with really bad feelings as we didn’t know what did we do wrong.
As soon as we got out of his shop with the extreme negative feelings he gave us, we realized that we would not be able to keep these items at home as it will remind us this horrible experience and bad feelings that the owner (Mr. Brown) of the shop gave us for no reason. We were in awe and confused why a shop owner will treat his customers in such a bad and rude manner. Is he a racist or mentally unstable? Is he about to close his shop as his business seems like not doing well and he seemed frustrated?
We decided to go back, return items and ask him for reason why he was so rude and disrespectful. I told him that I want to return these items and asked him why he was so rude and disrespectful? He returned products enthusiastically and didn’t respond. We left his shop with really bad energy and feelings he gave us on the New Year’s Eve.
We came home and checked online reviews about his business and found that he treated so many other customers in a disrespectful, rude and arrogant manner as well. I don’t know how his business can survive where owner treats customers with such rudeness and disrespect. Who will shop at such a place where you have to deal with an owner who is so disrespectful and arrogant to his customer?
The decoration items he sells are exactly the same you will find at Neiman Marcus with much lower prices. He appears to buy items from Neiman Marcus and price them higher than what you can buy at Neiman Marcus.
I recommend don’t even go close to this toxic place due to its owner (Mr. Brown). He is extremely rude, arrogant and appears to have unstable personality. He is a loose cannon and you never know what type of bad feelings you may get from him that will leave you in shock and awe!!!

Wow. Just wow. I am left speechless at the pretentiousness of this shop and its flagrant, borderline hostile owner. Before yesterday, I had avoided going into this shop even though it looks from the window like things I would totally buy. The reason I have avoided it every day when I walk by to and from work and have told my friends and coworkers to avoid it is because of the sign painted on the door which states «No photography allowed.» I found this to be so pretentious that I never wanted to walk inside for fear that the person who owned the shop was that pretentious as well. However, I had a few minutes as I was walking past yesterday and thought it only fair that I share my thoughts with the staff or owner in case they did not realize it was off-​putting. If *I* think that, certainly others do and in that case, he was losing business. If *I* was the owner, I certainly would want to know if I was offending people before they even walked in! (And it’s really hard to offend people in this area.) Well, I went in and stood at the front desk for about 10 minutes as a man in the rear of the store was helping another customer. After about 10 minutes of not being helped, or greeted at all, (and yes, as others have stated the cloying fragrance is overwhelming) I made my way back to where he was, and stood there waiting for him to acknowledge me. He looked at me, didn’t acknowledge me more than to look me up and down for a moment before deciding I was not worth his time, and then went back to helping the woman. After a few minutes, I said «Excuse me. Do you have just a minute?» And he said «Yes?» I asked if he was the owner and he affirmed he was. I told him I had noticed the sign in the door and wondered what that was about.” He proceeded to tell me that other dealers have come into his shop and tried to surreptitiously take pictures in order to copy his merchandise and designs and he won’t allow that. Are you kidding me??? Like his merchandise or designs are far superior to anything any other store owner could find on the internet or in LA or Paris? REALLY? Just in case (I mean, just in case) he didn’t realize it was off putting, I said «Well, I have avoided coming in here as a regular customer because I found it off-​putting.» His response? «Well, that’s fine. That’s your right.» Then he swung back around in a flamboyant manner and continued with the lady. I said to him «Excuse me.» And he turned around again and peered down at me from his nose. I said «I just thought if *I* found it pretentious, others might too and you could be losing valuable clients.» (Like myself and my friends who totally buy the brands he carries. But usually in Bethesda or Chevy Chase, which is less convenient.) He peered at me for a minute down his glasses again then said «You have a right to your opinion.» As if I was a lowly serf telling him of subpar working conditions and he was the King of the kingdom. Then, he literally turned on his heel (I have never seen anyone actually DO this before) and put his back to me. I assumed I was dismissed at that point. Not even a «Thank you for stopping in and sharing your concerns. I appreciate you taking the time to do that.» I cannot even describe here the attitude of disdain that emanates from the owner of this place and the arrogance and pretentiousness he exudes. You just have to be in his presence to get the full gist of how full of himself he is. I agree with a previous poster who stated that all the reviews lauding this gentleman as «friendly» and «helpful» were probably posted by his friends after he kept getting all the BAD reviews about his haughtiness and airs. I left thinking of that scene in Pretty Woman where she walks into the store and says to the snooty store owner, «Big mistake. Big. Huge.» In this case, all I can say is «Big mistake. Big. Huge.» I will not only be repeating this incident to my MANY not so bad off friends and coworkers, but I would LOVE to publish my thoughts on my VERY WELL READ society blog. The only reason I gave it one star (besides the fact that you must give at least one star) is that there is a pretty entrance. (Marred by the «no photography sign, of course.) If you go into this store and buy ANYTHING from this AA, you will be making a mistake. Big. Huge. And you better be wearing this season’s latest couture fashion and your best Christian Louboutin loafers or you could be standing at the counter for a while suffocating in the smell while waiting to be approached with contempt and ultimately dismissed as a non-​entity. I’ll stick to Saks for my Mackenzie-​Childs items and continue buying my Nest candles online where I can actually find them for HALF of what this store charges. And I can even take photos of them if I wish!

This is a beautiful store with a great atmosphere! I very much enjoyed my experience here, mainly because of the welcoming, happy store owner and his kind staff woman. I found so many divine candles at such good prices. My whole family loves this place, and now that I’ve been here, I can definitely understand why.

While the store looks beautiful, and I am pretty sure you can find something that you will like there, they do overcharge for some items. Faux flowers from same brand can be easily found at other stores for a little less. The owner though, DOES seems very aloof. There was a blonde lady there that was polite and helpful, but as I was complimenting her about the store she pointed that the gentlemen beside her was the actual owner. I complimented him and he kept going with his conversation. No smile, no welcome. I asked a product related to the lady, and while she was trying to help, he kept talking to her as if I was not there! Well, I guess you don’t actually need to talk to shop right?! 4 stars to the store and 2 to the owner. 3 seems like fair!

I had a great experience at the writing of this review, I feel like the negative reviews are from people who like being sucked up to. When I entered there were two people who greeted me and invited me to brows and to let them know if I needed anything. I was allowed to brows comfortably without any hovering and they were available to answer questions and give me information on a few items I wanted to know more about. beautiful shop, gorgeous higher end home brands like Jay Strongwater and some great small batch artists with unique home goods. They had a great clearance section as well. I did not experience any of the negativity a few people have mentioned. and if you read my reviews, you will see I’m a tough critic.

One thing I miss about living in Virginia is this place. It was my go-​to for candles and ornaments. Loved the bird sets, too. Since my first time in the store several years ago (I brought my then-​infant daughter), the gentleman has always been so friendly and happy!

Great boutique store in Alexandria. Sure, the owner may appear aloof at first, but if you talk to him he is actually pleasant and helpful. I have been in there several times– they sell my favorite Nest candles– and he was super helpful-​even went so far as to put it in a great gift bag. Their holiday displays are amazing. You are going to pay top dollar– but folks– this is King Street in Alexandria. The square footage price is top dollar… I love little stores like this!

The attitude of the staff is despicable! I had noticed the attractive window display and gone in — first mistake. I thought the smell in the store was rather overpowering but continued browsing the mediocre offerings — second mistake. Noticing some scented candles I was going through them, when a man appeared asking in a condescending tone if I needed something. I said that I would like a rose scented diffuser if they had any. A pantomime that followed was bewildering: he started darting around shouting ‘r-​r-​roz-​z-​za’, smirking and happily! informed me that they did not have any ‘r-​r-​roz-​z-​z-​za’. I walked out, shocked, — third mistake. Only later I realized that his reaction may have had something to do with my looking vaguely Hispanic; I am not but I should have said something… Anyway, do not repeat my mistakes — do not even go in!

The owner is absolutely fantastic and extremely talented. The store is perfection. The merchandise fabulous. A must if you are in the Old Town area!

The store is truly gorgeous and the merchandise is all beautiful. From candles to furniture to elegant champagne glasses, everything in this little shop is something I’d want to have in my home. The owner is very friendly and he has a lot of knowledge about where things in his store are from and the history behind practically all of the items. I purchased some silk flowers, candles, a very unique picture frame, and a dainty silver tray from his store yesterday.
There is a great selection of glassware, ornate chandeliers, silk pillows, beeswax candles, and even chairs. I try to visit this shop at least 3 times a year to see the new inventory and to stay hi to the owner. I’ll definitely be back.

I have to say that this place is a treasure. I can’t wait to go back to Old Town Alexandria just to see what they have new and inspiring in home décor. The owner/​manager could not have been nicer or more friendly and asked about my Mackenzie-​Childs collection. Their selection of gifts is unique and beautiful and the store if overflowing with merchandise artfully staged.

The owner is rude and pretentious, ironically while selling knick-​knacks to tourists or those with no sense of quality. Do not shop at this store if you are shopping on King Street in Old Town Alexandria! With great shops in the area, better products, and less ridiculous prices, I’m surprised he is still in business. The owner of J Brown & Company has no idea how to deal with people, which is one of the basic tenets of doing business.

Yuck! They have nice things, but you can probably find things just as nice elsewhere, minus the «attitude». The guy looks at you like you have manure on your face, turns his snott;y nose up at you, looks away, and pats around with his plants. You can smell that air freshener or whatever two blocks away. I’ve walked in the door three times to see the reaction I’d get and got that same snot box attitude. The lady is nice, though.