As a "Three-Quarter Irish-American" (and proud holder of dual passports), I guess I'm obligated to take a little pride in Saint Paddy's Day—despite my annual disgust at the day trippers vomiting green beer along the Fifth Avenue parade route. Most of all, I am proud to be the descendant of beleaguered immigrants who persevered—misunderstood, maltreated and despised (as waves of immigrants, sadly, always have been and continue to be). Today, Irish-Americans have fully taken-root in the New Country. But I still pray we remember what our forebears endured—and commit to helping those who arrive on American shores a century later.
This day holds another distinction for me, too. On this morning in 2017, we moved-into our new (old) house in Pittsburgh. At the very moment I write this, four years earlier, the amazing crew from Roadway Movers were schlepping 150 heavy boxes of books from the trucks—piling them in our dining room (where they sat for eight weeks...). While I miss New York—every. single. day.—I also realize that my little shop would likely have succumbed to the pandemic in NYC. An "organized retreat", well before 2020, ensured that I would have a great place to move my merchandise and it allowed me to reinvent the business in a new (and successful) way. Perhaps it was a wee bit of "the luck of the Irish."
The sterling silver Art Deco cufflinks, shown above, are finished with a jade green enamel over radiant guilloche work below. They might bring you a bit of luck, too! Click on the photo above to learn more about them.
Though our Greenwich Village store is now permanently closed, LEO Design is still alive and well! Please visit our on-line store where we continue to sell Handsome Gifts (www.LEOdesignNYC.com).
We also can be found in Pittsburgh's historic "Strip District" at Mahla & Co. Antiques (www.mahlaantiques.com) or in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania at The Antique Center of Strabane (www.antiquecenterofstrabane.com).
Or call to arrange to visit our Pittsburgh showroom (by private appointment only). 917-446-4248