Patagonia opened Patagonia Bowery, the brand's first surf store on the East Coast. The store is opened at 313 Bowery in New York City.
In New York City, it also operates three other stores on 414 W 14th Street, 101 Wooster St . and 426 Columbus Ave.
The Patagonia Bowery store offers a complete selection of Patagonia surf-specific items such as wetsuits and surfboards by Fletcher Chouinard Designs. The store looks and feels like Ventura, CA's FCD (Fletcher Chouinard Designs) shop but stayed true to the building's heritage and a participant in the local community. Patagonia is the also new respectful caretaker of the CBGB gallery annex that will continue the building's story and add to its history, which goes hand in hand with Patagonia's environmental responsibility and mission statement.
PRODUCT:
– Patagonia Bowery's wetsuits: The entire line has 100 percent external seam sealing, internal taping on all critical areas and is made of high quality neoprene that passes Patagonia's standards for long-lasting performance and durability. Each R series is lined with a carefully selected combination of liners that are designed specifically to maximize flex, minimize weight without any compromise to warmth or durability.
– FCD surfboards: Made with100% epoxy surfboards, established in 1997. Featuring extruded polystyrene cores allow for lightweight blanks. Twice as much glass is used as a regular surfboard, but we achieve the same weight. Handmade in California. custom built climate controlled glassing facility uses epoxy only. Only 1200 boards are made a year, each one built as if it were our own. Our boards represent over 100 years of combined surfboard building experience in our factory.
– Local and other vendor products: Patagonia Bowery is also offering unique surf products made locally and a few from the U.S. that can't be found anywhere else, including:
– Greenlines: Locally designed boardshorts made by a couple of eco-conscious brothers from the Jersey Shore that use recycled materials and have a very simple/timeless design.
– Imaginary Surf Co: David Murphy is a Brooklyn based shaper making boards and handplanes using recycled and forward thinking materials- our wetsuit scraps are used for the handles.
– George Nicholas Handplanes: locally made in New Jersey using scrap foam from FCD boards.
– The Seea: Sun protective bathing suits and wetsuits that are designed with a female surfer's needs in mind. They have found an amazing balance of active/surf swimwear and style.
– Enjoy Handplanes: Ed Lewis is a local staple in Cardiff, CA and has been making handplanes utilizing broken surfboards, ruined wetsuits bio epoxy resin and previously worn Patagonia products. You can donate materials to them via their website (http://www.enjoyhandplanes.com).
The Patagonia Bowery store is located in the partner space to the famous music venue, CBGB's, formerly the 313 Gallery and CBGB Record Canteen. In the tradition of Patagonia, the store sought to showcase and preserve as much of the history of the building in respect to the developing neighborhood. As a result, the design of the store was intended to be as minimal in change as possible.
During construction on the ground floor, a giant mural was discovered underneath a layer of sheetrock against the original plaster. The mural has been preserved and blocked out on the wall.
Many existing floor beams were damaged through years of neglect and water damage. These beams were removed and relocated as a suspended ceiling floating above the fitting rooms and cash wrap.
“If good things come to those who wait this store is going to be ALL TIME. The word 'Excited' doesn't even come close to describing how we feel right now, it's been a long haul, and a lot of work but we are extremely happy with how the store turned out. The true test will come when the doors open and the surf community of NYC gets to see it, I hope they like it as much as we do,” says Jason McCaffrey, Global Business Unit Director for Patagonia Surf.
Patagonia, Inc., based in Ventura, California, is a leading designer of core climbing, snow, outdoor, surf and sport-related apparel, equipment, footwear and accessories. The company is noted internationally for its commitment to authentic product quality and environmental activism, contributing over $49M in cash and inkind donations to date. Incorporating environmental responsibility into product development, the company has, since 1996, used only organically grown cotton in its clothing line. Committed to making its products landfill-free, the company's entire product line is recyclable through its Common Threads Initiative. The company also advocates corporate transparency through its interactive website, The Footprint Chronicles, which outlines the environmental and social footprint of individual products. For more information, visit www.patagonia.com.
