When a toymaker and shoe designer hook up, things are bound to get interesting. Certainly Patch NYC—a general store for the "homemade"-obsessed—shows signs of the careful construction one would expect from a wingtip and the same whimsy one finds in a jack-in-the-box. Inspired by a cap knit by the mother of co-founder John Ross for his first New York winter, the accessories collection has expanded from a small line to a sales draw at retailers like Barneys and fashion capitols like Paris. "We were so naïve when we started," says Don Carney, Ross' partner. "We really had no idea how much impact one store or magazine could have on our collection." Powered by flea markets and thrift stores, Ross and Don successfully meld the modern and the medieval to create jewelry made of Seventies Farrah Fawcett buttons, brass-boot candlestick holders, and even unconventional wedding cake toppers still charming enough to be featured by Martha Stewart.
No lesser an interior expert than Jonathan Adler approves of Patch NYC's quizzical style—he recently picked up one of Carney's brilliant ink drawings. Highlights of the new collection include a natural French burlap tote emblazoned with a fedora (one of Carney's original works), a slew of pendant necklaces, and a chain bracelet jam-packed with gold-plated charms, trinkets, and metal findings. For once that hoary old saying has some meaning: Everything old is new again.
For information and online sales go to www.patchnyc.com.