Kipepeo

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As a former art director at Glamour, Kipepeo jewelry designer Carol Muthiga is well-versed in the ways of accessorizing. She began creating her own gold-plated necklaces and earrings in 2001, expanding her business into this Nolita flagship in 2006. Although Kipepeo means “butterfly” in Kiswahili—a reference to Muthiga’s Kenyan roots—the designs draw upon a range of influences, including Victorian trimming, seventies trends, East Indian art, and Japanese crests. Antique-inspired lockets, lacy filigree earrings, and pendants shaped like leaves, wings, shells, and feathers are mounted, portrait-like, in ornate gold frames around the store. Muthiga works in 18-karat gold-plated brass and 22-karat vermeil, so her striking designs are considerably more affordable than the solid-gold baubles at Me & Ro across the street. In the rear of the shop, beyond a massive vase brimming with peonies, she showcases her newer line of slouchy handbags, sewn from 100 percent Italian leather. Photos of Kipepeo-adorned celebrities like Alicia Keys, Cameron Diaz, Jennifer Lopez, and Anne Hathaway line the back wall. — Lauren Murrow