Paige Lorenze Slams The “No Influencers” Sign At Nantucket Store

Most people think of Nantucket as a hydrangea-filled isle straight out of an Elin Hildebrand book. But lately, a heated debate has taken over, starring Paige Lorenze (or Paige Paul, after her July wedding to pro tennis player Tommy Paul) and a local arts store called Four Winds Craft Guild. It all started when the shop put up a “no influencers” sign and (ironically) shared the new signage on Instagram. From there, Lorenze chimed in on the discourse, calling out the store “delegitimiz[ing]” a female-dominated industry.

First things first, some backstory: Lorenze opened her Dairy Boy story on Nantucket in May, drawing in plenty of customers and long lines. A few months later, in July, this sign gained some traction online, prompting her to comment on the shop’s since-removed IG post. “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,” Lorenze wrote, per a screenshot captured by Page Six. “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.”

“For those who don’t know, the creator economy is overwhelmingly driven by women,” she continued. “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.”

The business responded to Lorenze’s comment on Instagram Stories. They said that the sign was not directed toward Lorenze specifically, but was a larger “cultural discussion.” They wrote, “Do you like people filming around you? Talking on your streets into tiny microphones? Recording themselves in your shop? Recording you incidentally?”

Lorenze followed up with another post, sharing a reel that stated: “i think that hating influencers has become a socially acceptable way to hate women.” Lorenze added that she was “dying on this hill.”

She wrote, “Even if the sign ‘wasn’t about me’ that wasn’t my point. It’s about what the sign represents culturally right now. Also please spare me with the ‘it just meant no obnoxious photos and ring lights’ argument ... It was about how people have decided one profession (dominated by women) is socially acceptable to stereotype, ridicule, and in this case blame for a beautiful place becoming more popular.”

Lorenze concluded, “The world (and island) has bigger issues than girls excited taking photos of their ice cream.”