Here’s a news flash worth getting up in arms over: Patty Tobin is now carrying a fabulous new collection of  “gemmy” evening bags! The designer has brought together an impressive assortment of embellished clutches that are now available in New York at the Patty Tobin Fine Fashion Jewelry Boutique, 108 W. 17th Street, and in Albany at Circles in Stuyvesant Plaza.

“They’re the perfect compliment to our jewelry,” says the designer of the new bejeweled clutches. A longtime handbag aficionado, Patty Tobin can tell you first hand how “essential” a good handbag is to your wardrobe. “It’s like a piece of jewelry,” says Tobin. “Only you carry it instead.”

Wonderfully colorful and beautifully crafted, these gemmy little bags feature various animal embellishments from peacocks and cheetahs to tigers and turtles. “They’re just awesome,” says Jayne Drost, Director of the Elizabeth Dee Gallery in Chelsea. “I want to wear this at every art event I go to.”

All of the handbags come with an optional chain attachment that can be easily hooked on to use as a purse strap, or left off if you want to carry it as a clutch. “It’s great to have both options,” says Drost. “I really just want to hold it, but if I need to free up my hands, it’s super easy to just hook the strap on real quick and throw it over your shoulder. It’s still looks great.”

The new evening bags start at $145 for the satin clutches and $395 for the full crystal encrusted clutches. Call 212.414.0174 for more details on our current selection.

It’s hard to believe that it’s already July, and that we’ve officially wrapped up our first full series of Patty Tobin Trunk Show events at Bloomingdale’s! But here we are with 27 exciting days of showcase events under our belt (with more to come this Fall!) After 12 weeks of shows at four different Bloomingdale’s locations including New York City, White Plains, and Hackensack and Short Hills, New Jersey, Patty Tobin and I sat down to take stock of our biggest “show-stoppers” and customer favorites, and to put together our first TOP 10 BESTSELLERS LIST!

For those of you who are familiar with our “Fine Fashion” jewelry line, you already know that Patty creates a lot of “one-a-kind” and “few-of-a-kind” pieces in addition to her classic Patty Tobin signature styles, or our “standard bearers,” as she would call them. (For those of you who are checking us out for the first time, many of Patty’s designs are just that: “One-of” or “few-of” a kind pieces (a.k.a. limited edition items) and when they go, they’re gone; some will be replicated, but very seldom duplicated.)

The collection we brought with us to these shows, which kicked off back in March in New York City at Bloomingdale’s highly anticipated and widely promoted “HOT” event, represented a “Perfectly Patty” combination of said “One-ofs” and the designer’s “signature styles”. So, when we sat down to put together our TOP 10 list, we were faced with a bit of a challenge. We wanted to include not only the pieces that had sold the most in number, and were therefore obvious customer favorites, but also the real “show-stoppers” that may only have sold once due to the fact that they were, in fact, “one-of-a-kind” pieces. In the end, this is what we resolved to feature as our TOP 10 “RAVES & FAVES” AT BLOOMINGDALE’S:

TOP 10 BESTSELLERS

customer favorites

#1) NEW Shell Pearl Lariats

 #2) 16MM Shell Pearls

#3) Ladies loved the LAB!

#4) Bali gets ’em every time

#5) + #6) + #7) Crazy for QUARTZ!!

#9) Fire Agate Ropes fly right out!

 #10) Freshwater Pearl & Gemstone Lariats

Many of these styles will soon be available for sale on our website. In the meantime, please direct inquiries and purchase orders to us by phone at 212.414.0174 (or toll-free at 877.772.8891).

On March 14th Patty Tobin and I kicked off our first series of trunk shows at Bloomingdale’s! I’m gonna tell you all about it, but first I just want to say one thing to summarize how it went: WOHOOO!!! Patty and I couldn’t have been happier with our first two weeks of shows!

 

 

Simply put, the jewelry was a smash hit! The colors pulled people right in, and the prices — as usual for Patty Tobin — were so reasonable people couln’t believe it!  It wasn’t just the customers responding to the jewelry either; everyone — from the sales associates on the selling floor to the personal shoppers upstairs to the various makeup artists running back and forth — was loving the collection!

In all honesty, we would have been more than happy with the opportunity to showcase our jewelry at any Bloomingdale’s store, but I have to say, there really was something very special about debuting at the 59th Street flagship store in Manhattan. It may just be my long-time love affair with that particular department store — or maybe it’s because it’s such an amazingly iconic place — but whatever the reason, I have to tell you: Each morning when the loud speakers around the store would sound off at 10AM sharp with a loud siren blast that let everyone know the doors were officially open for business, and Frank Sinatra’s voice came ringing out to “New York, New York,” I felt a truly thrilling sensation.

It wasn’t just the excitement, or the nerves for that matter, but an overwhelming sense of pride that bubbled up inside me, filling me with utter confidence. Pride for my amazing aunt, who has worked so hard to get this far. Pride in her amazing jewelry designs and all the wonderful people who have been such dedicated supporters of Patty Tobin; people who know and love the jewelry, appreciate its value, and who recognize Patty’s incredible talent.  Pride that we are still one of the few jewelry companies that actually manufactures our products not just in the U.S., but right here in our home state of New York. And just an overall sense of satisfaction for how hard we’ve worked and how far we’ve come since openning our first Patty Tobin Fine Fashion Jewelry boutique in 2009.

With six days of shows at 59th Street and two in Short Hills, NJ, we got to meet so many wonderful people. Patty and I were both loving the opportunity to interact with so many new customers, fellow designers and entrepreneurs, as well as Bloomingdale’s amazing staff. The energy on the selling floor of such a large retailer as Bloomingdale’s is really quite invigorating. Despite being on our feet for 14 hours a day for the better part of those two weeks, as soon as we stepped on the floor, I could see we were both energized — “rearing and ready to go,” as they say!

Patty really outdid herself with the jewelry for these shows. The pieces she designed for Bloomingdale’s events included several of my all-time favorite Patty Tobin styles, plus a whole bunch of brand new pieces that were so new, in fact, even I didn’t get a chance to see them all until we were setting up on the first day!

The colors were just magnificent! Sparkling blues, rich purples and bright bursts of orange that were literally stopping people in their tracks. We had plenty of pearls, as always, but we had an especially fabulous collection of stunning “gemmy-gem gems,” as Patty would call them.

More exciting news and updates, plus plenty more photos from our first Trunk Shows in New York City and Short Hills are coming soon, so stay tuned for more at PattyTobin.com!

UPCOMING TRUNK SHOWS AT BLOOMINGDALE’S

Find us in Fashion Jewelry from 10:00AM – 6:00PM

The Shops at Riverside (Bergen County, Hackensack, NJ)

     Weds, April 3rd

     Thurs, April 4th

     Fri, April 5th

White Plains, NY

     Sat, April 6th

Visit our Events Page for complete details on all upcoming shows at pattytobin.com/events.

Patty Tobin introduced a fabulous new concept last fall when she first designed a collection of fire agate gemstone bracelets that feature a very strong, but very easy to maneuver magnetic clasp. For those of you who know Patty and her designs, you already know her reputation for attention to detail when it comes to selecting the perfect clasp for each piece and these new bracelets are no exception.

This year, Patty has taken it a step further introducing a fabulous new design featuring opaque cube-shaped Hematite gemstones with an egg-shaped white vermeil clasp. The stark contrast between the deep, richness of the gemstones’ charcoal color and the bright “blingy-ness” of the sparkling clasp makes for an absolutely stunning look. But the most exciting part is how easy it is to turn these bracelets into a short or long necklace!

Stack 1, 2, 3 or more as bracelets, or fasten two together to wear as a choker style necklace, or 3 or 4 together to make one long rope! Wear them together, separate, whatever you feel like. There are so many options from just a few bracelets!

Our customers in New York have been loving these bracelets! They’ll make for great holiday gifts, and at only $195 each, they won’t break the bank. You can always buy one or two to start, then add more later if you don’t want to splurge all at once. Starting today we’re offering a Special 20% Off Promotion on these bracelets from now through Small Business Saturday, November 24th, so this is a great time to buy and save on yours! (Now only $156! You save $50 on each one you buy!)

These bracelets are currently available at our New York City boutique at 108 West 17th Street in Chelsea and on our website at pattytobin.com/shop. More details and images are available here.

It’s nearly November, and you know what that means…

It’s time to start thinking about the holidays.

We’re gearing up for the holiday season at Patty Tobin with a number of new and exciting arrivals at our New York City boutique. Many have already gone up on our online store, but many more will be coming over the next few weeks, so be sure to keep an eye out on our blog and Facebook page for announcements of more New Arrivals.

Patty is back at it, doing what she does best: Creating magnificent one-of-a-kind necklaces like this gorgeous bronze and pale pink keshi torsade shown above ($895). Patty has brought in a number of stunning new pearl torsades in rich copper tones, pale pinks, lustrous whites and iridescent peacock shades of freshwater biwa, coin and keshi pearls.

While we love, love, love our pearls, Patty just wouldn’t be the Patty Tobin you all know without her “gemmy gem gems.” Like this AMAZING new smoky topaz five strand bib necklace ($895). It’s simply incredible with all different shapes, sizes and shades of smoky topaz mixed together in different combinations on each strand. Each stone is faceted so the whole piece shimmers like you wouldn’t believe. Patty used an easy sterling silver extender clasp in the back, so you can bring it up or let it down to suit your neckline, which makes it extra easy to style with different outfits. Trust me when I say, a picture doesn’t do this piece justice.

Not all of our new pieces are big megas like these ones either. We have some lovely new delicate single-strand pearl pieces in 18K vermeil and 14K gold as well as some beautiful gemstone pendant necklaces in blue topaz, rose amethyst and citrine. Personally, I’m in love with our new labradorite single-strand briolette necklace (shown below). The blue fire in these otherwise gray-colored stones is so prevalent, the piece literally shifts between all different shades of blue and grey as you move. Simply stunning without being big or heavy and definitely suitable for everything from the office to the opera.

But that’s not all! Back by popular demand are some of our favorite crystal pieces. Customers have been asking for our sparkling crystal stackable bracelets (only $24.95!) and they’re finally here! The bracelets have been hugely popular and a much-requested customer favorite. They make wonderful holiday gifts for female employees or stocking stuffers for your girls, and at $25 bucks, how can you go wrong? Buy one, two, three; mix and match, or stick with one color and stack em — we promise, you’ll be amazed how many compliments you get!

Plus, a great new crystal addition has also just come in. Patty came up with a great new delicate design for a crystal necklace that features hand-knotted crystals in a single-strand with a simple sterling silver extender clasp that allows you to adjust its length and pairs perfectly with our crystal bracelets. The best news?? They’re only $95!! That’s right, a beautiful gift that won’t break the bank and that comes in half a dozen colors to choose from, including champagne, smoky, platinum, amethyst and an opaque black. These bad boys go day to night, sparkling all the way; no fuss, no muss. It’s a no-brainer! I can’t wait to take some pictures to share with our followers, so be sure and stay tuned for some great new photos over the next couple weeks.

Proud to be Made In America. Patty Tobin jewelry is all hand-crafted here in New York State.

 

“Patty Tobin does not fit the typical mold of the successful jewelry designer that she is,” says Platinum Style in their new Fall 2012 issue profiling the designer and
her stunning collection of semiprecious gemstone and pearl jewelry.

Well, if you ask us, that’s an understatement. There’s not much that is “typical” about Patty Tobin — the woman or the jewelry. She’s a one-of-a kind woman building a one-of-a-kind jewelry empire; one necklace at a time.  After a lifelong career in marketing and business development, Tobin embarked on a creative venture that she didn’t realize at the time would turn out to be the perfect merger of her business sensibilities and a then undiscovered talent for design.

When we first met with Platinum Style‘s team to begin planning for the fall issue, both the stylists and the photographers who came to the boutique were constantly repeating their amazement with Patty’s collection. The only difficulty, they said, was in choosing which of her amazing pieces to use for their “Fall Into Fashion” issue. “Looking at the beautiful jewelry pieces displayed in her boutique, you would expect her to be a seasoned artisan that’s been perfecting her craft for the past 30 years,” says the mag.

Since opening on the inaugural Fashion’s Night Out in September of 2009, Patty Tobin jewelry has been very well received both by new local clientele as well as various members of the media, including CBSNews.com, Women’s Day, Esthetique, and Plus Model Magazine. USA Today and CNN have also profiled Patty Tobin and her dramatic career shift for feature stories related to successful career moves.

Patty admits to being a “bit of an oddity by traditional standards,” in her interview with the magazine, but believes she represents a growing group of men and women who have ventured into an entirely new career later in life. In that respect, she says, “I guess I am the poster child for the career set over 50.”

A self-admitted “fashion junky,” Tobin says when it comes to her “design process,” she is unlike many other jewelry designers. Her natural sense of style, paired with an eye for aesthetics, and the discerning taste of a third-generation fashion maven, is what guides Tobin’s creativity. Pulling inspiration from everything around her — from the women on the street in New York to old photographs of movie stars and fashion icons to the flowers in the park or the sun setting over the Hudson — Tobin is always absorbing the vibrance of her surrounding environment and looking for different ways to reflect those elements in her jewelry.

Beginning with a search for materials, Tobin says she will snatch up pearls or stones or metal findings that are a “bit funky” whenever she can. “I’m looking for something a little different, a little unusual, but that will still appeal to my customer base.” Whether it’s rough cut ametrines, or faceted bilemon topaz nuggets, or a firey bunch of blue-gray labradorite briolettes — two of the designer’s favorites by the way — Patty is always looking for the best quality semiprecious gemstones and pearls that she can fashion together this way or that for an unexpected twist.

Using gemstones in rich, vibrant colors and pearls of all different shapes, sizes, and hues, Patty Tobin creates jewelry that is at once classic, but also fashionable. “Understated Elegance,” says Tobin, is her trademark aesthetic. “For me, nothing makes a statement quite like the sophisticated elegance of a traditional design brought fashion forward just enough to make it stand out without being ‘trendy.'”

Patty Tobin shares her genuine enthusiasm for what she does with Platinum Style, explaining that “being able to create these ‘pretty’ things that make people happy when they put it on gives me great pleasure.” We would be forgetting a key factor if we didn’t mention the value of Patty Tobin jewelry and the crucial role her price-points play in the designer’s success.

Not only is Patty Tobin jewelry beautiful, but one of the founding principles of the Patty Tobin brand is affordability. “The fact that we make [our jewelry] affordable is perhaps the most satisfying part of the business,” says Tobin. “You don’t have to make a ‘gabillion’ dollars to afford Patty Tobin fine fashion jewelry.” It is this mixture of quality, beauty and affordability that has been the recipe for success for Patty Tobin — the woman, the business, and, of course, the jewelry.

So what does the designer want you take away from this story?

Two things: First, never say never. Patty could never have imagined departing from the consulting world she had always known for nearly thirty years to reinvent herself in her mid-fifties as a jewelry designer in New York City. But, like the designer says, “Who knew?” Anything is possible if you work hard enough and smart enough. Second, please — I say again, please — support small businesses whenever possible.

“Small businesses have always been the backbone of this Country,” Tobin points out at the close of her interview. “As all of us as consumers are looking for ‘value’ in our purchases, so [also] as consumers, should we look to add value to our financial and business systems,” by supporting local small businesses. Patty Tobin Fine Fashion Jewelry is manufactured not only in the United States, but in New York State.

We’ve been thrilled to work with Open Closet Magazine and Platinum Style, both new publications dedicated to the New York-centric fashionista. The stylists from both magazines have been loving our new Fall 2012 arrivals and will be shooting them for their upcoming issues! Here’s a little sneak peak of what’s new pre-photo shoot. We’ll have more news, updates and behind the scenes photos following our shoot at the store this weekend. Patty herself will be featured as an up-and-coming designer and life-long entrepreneur in the second issue of Platinum Style, due out this fall. We can’t wait! Stay tuned for more excitement in the coming months!

Here are some of the styles the magazines have been “oohing and ahhing” over …

Open Closet Magazinepulled this pink and peacock shade keshi pearl torsade for it’s first ever cover shoot with Mob Wives Star Ramona Rizzo. It’s not hard to see why they wanted it — it’s a signature Patty! And it’s just a stunning piece!

 

America’s Next Top Model runner-up, Laura LaFrate, appears on the cover of Metroland‘s latest issue for the Summer Fashion 2012 Special, which features this photo of her in a gorgeous Alice & Olivia silk blouse and skirt and our new Carnelian Gemstone chains ($295). Both are available at Circles in Stuyvesant Plaza! Visit our online store to shop for this necklace and others like it!!

Shop for this necklace online at PattyTobin.com/shop!!

It’s Memorial Day weekend, and you know what that means: Vacation season has officially begun!

 

All you regular weekend getawayers out there probably know all too well how tricky it can be to pack  for that much-anticipated weekend jaunt to the beach or out to the country. Every trip is the same, you tell yourself “you won’t need much,” but as the clothes and the shoes and the toiletries start to make their way into your oh-so-adorable (but oh-so dinky) Longchamps weekender bag, suddenly you realize you either have to drastically cut back on what you’re bringing or lug two bags with you instead of one.

Packing light is a skill, it’s true, but packing light without sacrificing the integrity of your outfits or your fashion sense? Now, that’s pure talent 😉 We asked some of our “best dressed” customers their tricks of the trade for consolidating one’s tiny tote for a weekend away and found that many of them had the same thing to say as Travel + Leisure magazine:

When traveling this summer, all agree, a dynamite “statement necklace” is a “must pack” item!

And where better to find the perfect statement necklace than Patty Tobin Fine Fashion Jewelry? There’s no designer out there to compare with Patty’s undeniable style, bold color selection, and unbeatable price-points. You can travel with ease knowing that you have only one lightweight bag to carry and one key accessory to take each of your outfits to the next level. “From black tie to blue jeans,” as we like to say, pair your piece with a little black dress for a Saturday night party in the Hamptons, or wear it with shorts and a tank top to Sunday brunch and shopping with the girls; no matter where you go, we promise you’ll be getting compliments.

Lighten the load when you travel and take Patty Tobin “to go” with you any weekend, to any where, for any occasion. Shop online and receive 10% OFF your entire order now through May 31st! Just enter promo code GETAWAY at checkout.

Patty’s new agate shard pendants are stunning — and a steal at $395! Each one has such a unique quality and natural texture. Dr. Jen Hartstein recently sported our black striped agate pendant (center) on her CBS Early Show segment with Russ Mitchell. An earthy but fashionable necklace that suits all ages and skin tones, this lightweight piece makes a statement without weighing you down. Perfect for any occasion — dress it up or pair it down — this style is a perfect example of our motto: “from black tie to blue jeans.” A great gift idea as the holidays are rapidly approaching. All styles are now available online at pattytobin.comand at our Chelsea boutique (108 W. 17th Street).