• Wendy Nichol

  147 Sullivan St., nr. Prince St.; 212-431-4171

  In an age when designer names are commonly splashed across everything from key chains to iPad cases, Wendy Nichol’s handbags are the welcome exception. The designer opened her tiny Soho shop in September to showcase small-batch collections in cowhide, deer suede, lambskin, and silk, from simple pouches lined in glove leather ($205) to travel duffels (from $1,135). Handmade in the store, her bags are distinctive in their details—a horsehair tassel, outer leather stitching—but not in trumpeting telltale prints or logos. One-off designs pop up in the store window on a weekly basis, but note: Nichol employs a “get it and it’s gone” philosophy.

  See Also: Browse 125 Spring Bags in Shop-A-Matic

From the 2011 Best of New York issue of New York Magazine