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The beautiful Runaway Bicycle dresses and blouses. These have a really easy fit - most people can wear both sizes. They're easy and beautiful at the same time... and they bring such a vibrant splash of color to the day! Ready for Summer <3
Don Carney <3
Don Carney, working away on his new collection for our show and party on April 19 <3 Don has been drawing the natural world since his childhood - it's his biggest source of inspiration. He started to hone his artistic sensibility while studying illustration and painting at the Art Institute of Boston before moving to New York City where he worked as an illustrator for fashion design clients. Shortly after moving to New York, Don met his partner John Ross and together they founded Patch NYC with a small collection of hand-detailed bags, scarves and hats made by John's mom. Bergdorf Goodman ordered this first collection as well as Barney's... and soon their design studio was flourishing with orders from around the world. It's so fun to think of these wonderful days of retail - when Barney's was really exciting to visit and there was always a sense of discovery with all the special things they would find and carry.... Patch's work was part of that! Today Don collaborates with Astier de Villatte, West Elm, Miriam Haskell, Monoprix France, Antoinette Poisson, Fragonard.... the list goes on! Part of what we love so much about what Don and John do is their constant inspired state... always looking, always creating. And you never know what they will dream up next. This new collection of artwork by Don feels so exciting for us - and also nostalgic at the same time. My mom has one of Don's beautifully framed ink drawings in her living room, and I have one of his stitched pieces he used to make with his mom in my home. We have had various series of works by Don at the shop over the past 20 years that we have felt honored to share with you. In the photos above, you can see the frames from Don's collection - he works with these to create the drawing that will go inside. And together, once all the pieces are framed, they look incredible together. We love them mixed with vintage artwork, and they can also go modern. This finished collection is going to be a special one, we can tell! Can't wait to share it with you so soon <3
Don Carney & Patch NYC
We are so looking forward to welcoming our friends from Patch NYC to the shop to celebrate our 20th year in business on Friday, April 19. Don Carney and John Ross - founders of Patch NYC - have inspired us from the very beginning of our shop. My mom and I are celebrating 20 years together... but she started it all 5 years before that with a sweet & small location, chickens in the backyard... a magical little space that she created with mostly her determination and heart. It was during this time that I would join her for buying trips and daily phone conversations as I was finishing at university and taking first steps out in the world. We met Don & John on one of these buying trips and we immediately fell in love... with them and with their work. I was also then living in New York and at that time they had the most beautiful jewel box of a shop in the west village. I would make bi-monthly walks to their sweet place to see all they were creating... as it was ever-changing, always new and exciting. When we started carrying their work, they were making these wonderful figures out of vintage flowers and fabric, pipe cleaners... they were dazzling in their beauty, so useful for the eye and sense of delight. We once unintentionally broke into a show they were exhibiting at before the opening hour, as we were so excited to see what new special things awaited us on the other side of the entrance steps... haha oops! We were dedicated from the start. As true artists do, Don and John have always been creating new things - whether it's something they design together for Patch NYC in the way of scarves, incense holders, pillows, jewelry... or as individual artists in the way of Don's ink drawings, or beautifully framed stitched artwork that for a time was a collaboration between Don and his mom Carmella as well as John's calligraphy work. We had a show for both Don & John about 15 years ago - that included Don's ink drawings, and all the other special things they were making at the time. It was so much fun, and we were so happy to welcome them to Tucson. As we were thinking about our 20th anniversary and how to celebrate, we thought about how we would love it if they would be up for working on a new collection to show at the shop. Lucky us, they were completely up for it.... and Don was excited to work on a special collection of ink drawings. He is deep in the throws of his work at the moment and has been sending us photos of it all in progress. We are sharing a few photos above. We are thrilled to have this show for our dear friends... the work is looking incredible - we can't wait to see it on our shop walls and share it with you! I will be sharing more about Don's history and work tomorrow, and in the meantime, if you would like to see more you can go here for Patch NYC and here for Don Carney's artwork.
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The easy shirt and dandy pants, both in sanguine crisp cotton, by Manuelle Guibal. The whole Spring collection from Manuelle Guibal has truly been a favorite. Every piece is easy and elegant and made of the most incredible linens and cottons.
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The beautiful pleated dresses by Runaway Bicycle in these three beautiful colors. The color is beautifully saturated and the feel is light and airy. These are fantastic dresses for the coming months!