The client
Tulip Perfume Co. is an independent fragrance boutique and perfume house that has crafted modern eau de parfums and perfume oils in small batches in Northern California since 2007. Its vegan, cruelty-free perfumes sit alongside a curated selection of clean skincare, bath, body, home and gift items, sold online and at its flagship boutique.
The challenge
A showroom full of product and an office behind it are worth protecting. Tulip wanted cameras to:
- Protect the business from unauthorized break-ins, and record clearly if one ever happens.
- Deter theft on the showroom floor.
- Cover every part that matters: the entrances and exits, the showroom floor and the office.
It also had to suit a boutique. The cameras needed to look tidy rather than industrial, footage had to be easy to find and watch, and the owners needed to check in from their phones.
What we did
Designed before drilling
We started in November 2021 at Tulip’s McKinleyville location with a site survey. From that we designed the network: how the cameras connect and power up, where the recorder lives, and how the camera system sits on the shop’s network, documented in a Layer 2 network diagram.
The whole system: cameras, one small PoE switch, an on-site recorder and secure remote viewing.
The right cameras, even in a chip shortage
The original plan used UniFi’s entry-level G3 Flex cameras. In late 2021 the global chip shortage made them impossible to get from reputable suppliers, and the ones on offer elsewhere sold for several times their usual price with no warranty. Rather than take that gamble, we sourced UniFi Protect G4 Dome cameras, a better camera by every measure:
- Vandal resistant, with an IK08-rated housing.
- 4-megapixel video at 24 frames per second, with infrared LEDs for night vision.
- Built-in microphone and speaker, so staff can speak to someone at the camera without being there.
- A sleek, compact dome that blends into a boutique ceiling instead of sticking out.
The system also includes UniFi Protect G3 Bullet cameras. Between them, the cameras cover the ways in and out, the showroom floor and the office.
An indoor dome camera install of ours at a different site.
Recording that stays in the shop
Every camera runs on a single Cat 6 cable to a UniFi Switch Flex, which powers it over PoE, so there’s no separate power supply at each camera. Footage records to a UniFi Cloud Key Gen2 Plus running UniFi Protect, a compact recorder with its own hard drive that’s easy to tuck out of sight. Video stays on site rather than in someone else’s cloud, and the owners still get secure remote access through the UniFi Protect app.
UniFi Protect. Image © Ubiquiti Inc., used with permission.
Trained to use it
A camera system only helps if people know how to use it. We trained Tulip’s team on local and remote viewing: how to watch live, find a moment in the recordings, and check in from a phone.
Moving with the business
When Tulip moved to a new location in 2025, it called us back. The new space was a fresh build-out, so we could do the wiring properly from the start: we planned and installed structured Ethernet cabling for the new space, then moved the camera system onto it and set it up again. The boutique kept the cameras and the app it already knew, on cabling built for the space.
Two engagements: the original install, then structured cabling and the move to the new location.
The result
Tulip’s entrances, showroom floor and office are covered by cameras that record in the shop and that the owners can check from anywhere. When the business moved, the security system moved with it, onto new structured cabling built into the new space.
Protecting a shop or office?
Small retailers need the same things Tulip did: cameras that cover the doors and the floor, recording that doesn’t depend on a monthly cloud plan, and an app the owners will actually use. We start with a walk-through of your space. See Video surveillance.