International designer comes home, sets up shop
FORMER NEIGHBORHOOD GROCERY STORE NOW STOCKS EXOTIC OBJECTS
Apasserby peeks her head in the entryway. After a quick glance, the rest of her crosses the threshold. It’s well past closing time, but the door is still open, allowing the warm sun of an early May evening seep its way into the interior.
“I’m just coming in to take a look,” she says to the proprietors. “It’s just such a pretty store.”
One of them, a young man in a white oxford shirt and khakis approaches and extends his hand. “Hi, I’m Patrick.”
That would be Patrick Mele, a rising, internationally known interior designer, who recently fulfilled a longstanding wish — to open a shop in his hometown of Greenwich. He wanted a space that would showcase his style, serve as a gathering spot and become an ever- changing canvas for the concepts and looks he has rumbling about in his creative mind. The visit is brief, but there is a promise she will soon return — music to Mele’s ears.
“I want people to come and enjoy and discover and hopefully take something away with them,” he says, settling once again in an upholstered café chair. “I have learned whatever knowledge I have from those experiences.”
Mele, 34, carries a worldly presence even as he projects a hometown charm. When he gave birth to his eponymous store late last year, he imbued it with the same DNA. “They can do in their own homes,” he says. “I want them to see they can put a collection of African masks over a chintz Victorian couch and that, in fact, it does work. In the store, they can see all these disparate objects and per- sonalities and cultures come together rather than clash.”
The 500- square- foot space is a former neighborhood grocer transformed by Mele’s touch. He removed shelves, painted all surfaces white ( including the high tin ceiling) and removed vinyl siding to reveal transom and showcase windows. Within, one finds refurbished antiques and other finds, from the 17th century to the present. There is art from contemporary artists, including Doug Mey- er, artisan perfumes from Regime des Fleurs and select pieces from Creel and Gow, a New York City boutique shop that specializes in unusual and exotic objects.
It is as much a store as it is a vibrant and active studio for a designer who is increasingly busy, with projects in New York City, Westchester County, N. Y., Fairfield County, Washington, D. C., the West Coast, St. Barth’s, and, most recently, London. Mele splits his time between his New York City home and the shop on William Street, which is just off the bustle and hustle of the Post Road and Greenwich Avenue. His stylish mother, Patricia, keeps the doors open Tuesday to Saturday, sometimes solo, but often in tandem with her son.
“Since he was a child, he has had this innate sense of style,” she says sitting behind the counter. “He will say, ‘ Mom, put this on this way and, boom … he is absolutely correct.”
Mele grew up in Greenwich, but knew he would cross its borders sooner rather than later. “I didn’t know what I wanted to be, but I knew the world I wanted to work within.”
He was energized by the intersection of art, fashion, decorative arts and architecture and emulated those who built successful lifestyle brands. He started early and formed a window design business when he was 14, working with stores such as Lynnens and Paperie on Greenwich Avenue. He also soaked in the creativity and energy he witnessed during his mom’s tenure at Best & Co., a high- end children’s store run by Susie Hilfiger in Greenwich. During his senior year of high school, he literally got out of town, securing an internship with a fashion designer in New York City.
Syracuse University came next, where he studied environmental design, and then New York University, from which he graduated in 2006 with a degree in art history and cultural studies. Five years later, he launched his namesake design company. In between, he spent time at Kate Spade, Ralph Lauren, J. Crew and Privet House. And he never forgot the experience of growing up with a restaurateur father, who ran several eateries, including the now- closed Restaurant 64 in Greenwich. Mele and his sister were welcomed into that bustling world, meeting the people who made it all happen, from the waitstaff to kitchen crew, the artists who decorated the walls and the customers who came to celebrate.
Mele always has been drawn to people — their stories, their motivations, their dreams. When he meets a client or customer, he delves deep to find what turns them on and off.
“I develop a story or character … a kind of ultimate vision or version of that person. Part of a designer’s job is to bring out qualities of the person that they possess and are not necessarily aware of. I help them to fully realize that, and that has to do with their environment, how they dress or how they appear. It’s wonderful to be part of that transformation.”
In the days to come, Mele’s own story will change. He wants the shop to constantly evolve with new pieces and ideas. He will launch a creator- in- residence series at the shop, starting with designer John Derian, whose decor items and unique upholstered pieces will be available. Signature summer items, such as Lafont Paris sunglasses and beach caftans will arrive this month.
“I want to celebrate the best of the past and push the concepts of what works and what doesn’t,” Mele says of his store and design approach. “I don’t want to be a revisionist. I want to be dynamic and of my time, but as I push it forward, I want to blend in the past.”