cherrypatter nyc
and great ideas for what to do too!
interview: alsun keogh and mary mcfadden at shoe garden
alsun and mary are the women behind the great little shop shoe garden, which has a really great collection of kids’ shoes, and is a place i desperately need to visit of s’s toes are going to start popping out of his sneakers. of this duo, alsun is a mom to two kids, a 5-year old boy aramis and an an 8-year old beatrice. before coming to new york, alsun lived in tokyo for many years and is originally from dublin, ireland. her business career was in finance and technology on wall street. she started this business to keep sane, have fun and to show her kids that you can be a mom and have a career, and also to keep her options open as the kids get older and she finds herself having more time to do more than school runs and play dates!
alsun lives close to nolita, soho and chinatown (no trendy real estate acronym yet). alsun and mary were kind enough (thanks so much!) to answer a bunch of shopping and food questions about their favorite spots in new york recently, and here’s their run down.
shops:
top places for clothes and shoes?
scoop, bbl in nolita, kisan in soho.
go to place for house gifts?
calypso home – their scented candles are great or if you know someone’s home they have beautiful and different cushions or throws.
favorite stationery spot?
kate’s paperie (pictured above) flowers?
blue water flowers on lafayette street – and such nice guys.
favorite place for kids?
lilliput kids on lafayette street (pictured above).
favorite for your mum, your husband?
mum – hermès scarf!
husband – prada
wedding present ideas?
try to find something unique – antique stores are good for close friends otherwise art work maybe photography from lumas gallery in soho.
something just for you?
apple store – some new gadget!
favorite shop – ambiance, service, stuff?
the basics?
local rite aid or c.o. bigelow for a pharmacy, for drycleaning, jeeves for something very special or needs expert mending; king cleaners on 6th avenue otherwise, myoptics at st marks place for glasses, and tights are either wolford or donna karan at saks.
favorite in the neighborhood?
calypso.
food:
date night restaurant?
currently — eleven madison park.
with friends?
for drinks?
favorite dish for dinner and where?
garganelli at convivio.
top place for breakfast?
asian? latin american?
bond st (japanese); la esquina (mexican)
favorite neighborhood spot?
café select.
best coffee?
jack’s coffee on west 10th street.
food craving?
chinese from red egg on centre street.