Just days after marrying tennis star Tommy Paul, influencer Paige Lorenze found herself in an unexpected public feud when a sign inside a longtime Nantucket shop sparked a social media battle that quickly drew thousands of reactions.
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Fresh off their July 14 wedding, tennis star Tommy Paul, 29, and influencer Paige Lorenze were settling into married life after exchanging vows at Old Westbury Gardens in Nassau County, New York, People reports.
But only days after saying “I do,” a stop at one of Nantucket’s oldest businesses sparked an online feud after Lorenze, 28, took issue with a sign hanging inside the store.
‘No Influencers’
Four Winds Craft Guild, which has operated on the Massachusetts island since 1948, is known for selling locally made artwork, baskets, carvings and other handcrafted goods. Hanging inside the shop is a sign with a simple message: “No influencers.”
The sign immediately caught Lorenze’s attention.
The socialite influencer, who founded the lifestyle brand Dairy Boy in 2021, took to social media to criticize the business, arguing the message attempted to “delegitimize” an industry largely driven by women.
“Mocking women when they become powerful in a new industry isn’t new. 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,” she wrote in the now deleted post, according to Page Six.
Lorenze went on to defend the role influencers can play in helping businesses grow.
“For those who don’t know, the creator economy is overwhelmingly driven by women,” the tennis star’s wife wrote. “Brands have shifted billions of dollars into creator marketing because it consistently delivers something traditional advertising can’t….trust, community, and measurable sales.”
She concluded: “One woman with a loyal audience can successfully launch a business at a scale that would have once required corporate backing and massive advertising budgets. That’s a win. This sign isn’t.”
Store fires back
The exchange didn’t end there.
After its Instagram page was reportedly flagged, Four Winds Craft Guild responded on social media, suggesting it wasn’t bothered by the criticism.
“Imagine being so bored with life that you spend your pastime trying to report a photo on IG that makes you feel uncomfortable,” the store wrote.
In another post that shared a screenshot of a deleted post, the quaint little shop argued: “The ‘No Influencers’ sign isn’t about her and never was – this is a cultural discussion…Do you like people filming around you? Recording themselves in your shop? Recording you incidentally? Walking past a ring light as you quietly make your way to get a coffee at 8 a.m.?”
The business also shared the image of its “No influencers” sign once again, later posting it on Facebook with the caption: “Came for the friendship baskets, stayed for the shade.”
‘Narcissistic influencers’
As the disagreement spread online, many social media users sided with the longtime Nantucket shop.
“I find these so call influencers to be pushy, intrusive, and just plain self promoting not to help you or direct people your way but just to promote themselves and pass themselves off as being in the know. For them it’s a numbers game to build numbers in followers for money and satisfying egos. Rather than self promotion learn something,” one person wrote in the comment section of the store’s Facebook post, titled “TAKE TWO.”
On Instagram, a second shared, “LOVE IT. We need less narcissistic influencers polluting timeless and classy spaces with their fast-consumerism and entitlement!”
“Thank you for standing firm on this! [Paige Paul] your actions proved why that sign was needed. Let people do business and shop in peace,” another added.
‘Make your coffee at home’
Some, however, decided the store was “discriminating a group of people.”
“I don’t understand. Just say no photography. It’s not that hard,” one user wrote, while another influencer, who claimed to be an attorney, jumped in and defended Lorenze.
“Being unwelcoming to a single group of professionals into your store feels incorrect? Your desires to not want to be filmed at 8am getting coffee are valid, so maybe make your coffee at home?” the user wrote. “And if you want to be off the grid and away from influencers doing their thing in the real world, maybe move to a completely unpopulated place?”
Replying to that comment, one netizen fired back: “‘No influencers.’ That includes YOU. Also, the store has the right to put up whatever sign they please!”
What do you think about the store’s sign? Is it fair to expect people to change their routine and “make your coffee at home” to avoid influencers “doing their thing?” Please let us know your thoughts and then share this story so we can get the conversation going!
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