Design

Brooklyn’s Cult Homewares Shop Comes to Manhattan

The Primary Essentials launches a sister location with wares by an increasingly international roster of artisan makers.

BY TIFFANY JOW October 15, 2017

When Lauren Snyder opened Brooklyn shop The Primary Essentials in 2013, she envisioned it as a platform for craft—specifically, a place to discover handmade objects by little-known designers. Her focus remains largely unchanged as she expands to a new sister location in Manhattan’s NoLita neighborhood, offering pieces by international artisans like Austrian potter Matthias Kaiser, Australian jeweler Anna Varendorff, and Japanese studio Hiroy Glass. TPE will also introduce a line of everyday objects designed by Snyder herself. While each location carries different items, a sense of community unites them. Even Snyder’s approach to creating the shop—conceived by her architect husband and anchored by custom display tables from pals Chen Chen and Kai Williams—speaks to her knack for connecting creative minds. “The relationships we’ve built with designers, and the ones they’ve formed with each other, are so special,” Snyder says. “Bringing their work together under one roof is an incredible achievement.”