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This article appears in the May 2025 issue of CTC&G (Connecticut Cottages & Gardens) with the headline: In the Bag.
Ready for the red carpet, couture fabrics are reimagined as Cliff + Soph handbags.
We asked interior designer Patrick Mele to choose avant-garde fabrics to be presented as this season’s fashion-forward handbags. With tenures at Ralph Lauren, Kate Spade and his eponymous design firm, Mele is always ahead of the trend in both fashion and design. His curated selection features iconic textile houses Brunschwig & Fils, Fromental, Jim Thompson, Osborne & Little, Perennials, Pierre Frey, Rogers & Goffigon, Schumacher, Zoffany and passementerie from Samuel & Sons. Mele’s cultured aesthetic is evident in the artful compositions on display in his newly opened Westport studio. These exclusive Cliff + Soph handbags will be sold during May and June at Mele’s Greenwich shop, with a portion of the proceeds going to charity.
Stephanie Errickson, the creative force behind Cliff + Soph Design handbags is an accountant by trade and has worked as a bookkeeper for interior designers for years, but she discovered her artistic calling in handbags. Founded in 2020, her first creations were upcycled from clients’ workroom scraps. Today, all the Cliff + Soph handbags are made in Connecticut with designer fabrics. Errickson creates the hardshell pieces herself and relies on her talented sewing director, Sue Fow, to fabricate the soft clutches, totes and market bags. Errickson’s favorite part of the process is dreaming up new designs and finding adornments to make extra special or one-of-a-kind pieces. “I am a big accessory girl,” admits Errickson. She is always on the hunt for unique items like vintage jewelry, including earrings and necklaces, as well as newer items like Swarovski crystals and unusual hardware pulls. This is truly a passion project for Errickson—she named the company after her cats, and, as a huge animal lover, she donates a portion of each sale to charities benefitting animal welfare. The Sophie Top Handle bag is her bag of choice, but she admits they are like children, and it is often hard to say goodbye to her original creations.
