last week i was asked to walk the ‘accent on design’ section of the ny gift fair and pick my favorite booths for a “blogger’s award” given out this year. i was bummed that i wasn’t able to spend more time at the show, but i was excited to see so many spectacular booths focusing on handmade work. and my vote for “best” of the show really exemplified that attention to handmade design.

patch nyc is the collaboration of designers john ross and don carney and they got my vote for “best” of the ny gift fair’s accent on design section this year. the patch booth was practically bursting with gorgeous designs, ranging from needlepoint pieces (made by john and don’s moms!), hand-printed artwork by don (i love the hot pink and neon orange mixed in), and gorgeous pieces made by john that are based on the word/text-doodles he would draw while on the phone. i loved that no matter where you looked in the booth, you could see the hand of the artist in each piece. in times like these when budgets are tight, i really value artwork or design that has a story and real sense of the artist built-in. it’s hard for me to get excited about buying something that’s mass produced when i could save a little more and invest in a small company, or an independent artist, that i’ll get to know or at least talk to. that always makes pieces more special for me. click here for more information on patch nyc.

in addition to the beautiful work at patch nyc, i also thought the new trays from simrin textiles were lovely. i nearly missed them until thomas paul pointed them out and i’m so glad he did- the farm yard pieces are definitely something i’ll be saving up for this year. they’d be perfect for summer dinner parties or serving snacks- i have a tendency to collect trays and am convinced one day i’ll have the dinner part to end all dinner parties and finally get to use them all together. until then, you can check out more of simrin’s work right here and here.