A store in Nantucket drew a line in the sand when it comes to influencers.
The owners of Four Winds Craft Guild, an antiques shop that’s been in business since 1948, hung up a “No Influencers” sign in their storefront amid summer tourist season. The sign, which was shared on the Four Winds Craft Guild’s Instagram page — instantly went viral and sparked a debate online.
The store’s first post — which has since been deleted amid the controversy — received backlash from influencer Paige Lorenze. The content creator-turned-entrepreneur, 28, slammed the business for the decision.
“If you call yourself a feminist but proudly put up a ‘No Influencers’ sign, it’s worth asking who you are attempting to delegitimize, and why … Mocking women when they become powerful in a new industry isn’t new,” Lorenze, who opened up a shop in Nantucket not too far from Four Winds Craft Guild, reportedly replied. “It’s just a strange message coming from a store that celebrates a craft with such a rich history of women shaping the island and its economy.”
On the other side of the spectrum, blogger Erin Gates appreciated the “funny” nature of the signage.
“I totally understand the annoyance of influencer culture. Nantucket was once a quaint island, but now feels only for the uber rich,” she wrote per E! News, adding that her visits have been “less and less enjoyable over the years” due crowds at local spots that have since gone viral.
Four Winds Craft Guild owner John Sylvia clarified in an interview with The Cut published on Wednesday, July 29, he did not ban influencers from the shop.
“It was kind of tongue-in-cheek,” Sylvia said. “It can be annoying, but, I mean, I’m not anti-influencers.”
Sylvia added that the sign was put up to respond to the people who come to the antique store and “don’t care about the history” of their inventory.
Dave Portnoy jumped into the discourse and discussed the drama on a recent episode of his “Tea by the Sea” TikTok series.
“I didn’t get the Paige Lorenze comment to be honest, it seemed like it was a little overboard. I’m not sure if the ‘No Influencers’ sign was about her,” the Barstool Sports founder said in a Wednesday, July 29 video. “I’m here on Nantucket … by the way if Four Winds considers me an influencer then I’m just gonna flip-flop to the other side. I don’t think I’m an influencer, I’ve been on this island for more than a decade … It’s not about me.”
Portnoy added he didn’t think that Four Winds Craft Guild was referring to Lorenze with their sign. He also agreed with the store for hanging up with the sign.
“I am against influencers coming to Nantucket, let me say that. So I am onboard with the ‘No Influencers’ sign. But that’s not discriminating at all,” he said. “Me and Four Winds, who I’ve never spoken to and I don’t know who they are, when we say ‘No influencers’ we’re talking .. we don’t want influencers whose entire life is going from Coachella to F1 to Palm Tree Fest.”
Portnoy named his Barstool Sports colleague Brianna “Chickenfry” LaPaglia and controversial looksmaxxing influencer Clavicular as examples of social media personalities who shouldn’t come to Nantucket.
“We don’t want brand trips, we don’t want Tarte. We don’t want all these people who are on a circuit of partying and don’t really care where they are,” he said. “They go from one party to the next … if you’re going to Mike Rubin’s White Party, we don’t want you here. If you’re going to New Years in St. Barts, we don’t want you here.”
After being called out in his video, LaPaglia joked that she didn’t get why she was “catching strays” from her boss and blamed it on his recent root canal. LaPaglia also weighed in on the drama.
“When I first saw the picture of the sign, I was like ‘It’s not really a big deal.’ One, it’s a f***ing basket store,” she said in a Wednesday video. “Who is getting the baskets? Who needs a basket? Are you the f***ing Easter Bunny? I don’t know any basket influencers.”
While LaPaglia didn’t care about it at first, she had a change of heart after Lorenze pointed out the alleged misogyny.
“The whole idea around influencer culture, sure it’s annoying, if you want to get down to the nitty gritty,” she explained. “If someone is coming into your shop with a ring light doing reviews and has a microphone — no one is doing that and that’s what they tried to make it seem like. That’s not happening. Two, at the root of all this influencer hate is misogynistic, if you can’t see that you’re part of the problem.”
