A rendering of Don Purcell with the art of Ashley Longshore on the walls.
Don Purcell is the latest alumnus of The Jeffrey Kalinsky School of Retail who is opening or in the process of opening a specialty store. It’s a testament to the training and contacts the founder of Jeffrey New York bestowed upon employees at the Manhattan, Atlanta and Palo Alto, Calif. locations, which were a fertile training ground for retail talent until all three stores were shuttered during the Covid-19 pandemic by owner Nordstrom Inc.
Purcell will unveil on September 10 during a soft opening, a 1,200-square-foot flagship in Atlanta, featuring on the walls the work of art world star Ashley Longshore, a New Orleans-based artist, whose bold style is matched only by her extroverted personality.
Don Purcell, a distinctive curation of fine jewels, art and gifts combined with a passionate personalized luxury in-store shopping experience, will be located in Buckhead, a high-end residential and shopping district in the northernmost fifth of the city.
The jewelry selection will feature collections by Cathy Waterman, Eli Halili, Hoorsenbuhs, Irene Neuwirth, Loree Rodkin, Marie Helene de Taillac, Melissa Kaye, Mio Harutaka, Nina Runsdorf, Renee Lewis, Sanjay Kasliwal, Spinelli Kilcollin, Sylva & Cie and Will Hanigan Pearls.
Purcell’s taste runs the gamut, from delicate Eva Fehren diamond rings and bracelets to Monies’ colorful pieces made from natural materials such as wood, amber, amethyst and lapis lazuli. On the more whimsical side, Purcell will feature The Paper-Cut-Project, which makes intricate paper wigs and has partnered with Hermès in the past. Trudon candles and
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Judith Leiber minaudieres, which are small works of art themselves, will round out the offerings.
Don Purcell will feature Cathy Waterman’s necklaces.
Purcell, who was the inaugural general manager of Jeffrey New York when the Manhattan flagship opened, said, “I worked at Jeffrey for over 25 years and suddenly I didn’t have a job anymore. I started thinking about what I really wanted to do, and a dream of mine has always been to one day open my own store.
“I decided that this was the best time to do it,” Purcell added. “I have relationships with amazing designers and vendors. Jeffrey was a great teacher and a great retailer, and he’s mentored me through this whole process. We talk about a couple of times a week.”
Jesse Dong honed his skills and earned his luxury stripes as a buyer at Jeffrey for eight years. In April, he opened Two: Minds, a 3,000-square-foot multi-brand retailer on Gansevoort Street in New York’s Meatpacking District featuring labels such as Givenchy, Stella McCartney, Tom Ford, The Row, Jacquemus and Khaite.
Philip Manghisi will launch Wunderkind on the border of Paradise Valley and Scottsdale, Arizona in December. He said of Kalinsky, “I learned from the best. Jeffrey was so smart and shrewd and good at what he did, watching him think and seeing him run the store was an education.”
Wunderkind will feature Balenciaga, Chloe, Stella McCartney, Paco Rabane, Dries Van Noten, and the Elderstatesman, among other ready-to-wear and contemporary labels, along with shoes, fine jewelry, eyewear and home products.
“I’ve been traveling to Scottsdale for years,” Manghisi said. “From the first time I went, I couldn’t understand why there were no specialty stores there. Barneys New York closed in 2016. There’s money there and women are spending on themselves.”
A rendering of the exterior of Don Purcell.
Don Purcell will get a burst of energy from Longshore’s art, and an array of her products will be for sale, including handbags and clever hostess gifts. “I’m very close with the amazing artist Ashley Longshore,” Purcell said. “She’s kind of like a sister to me in a lot of ways. Her art will be in the store for the first eight months to a year, and after that, she’ll help me curate other artists that we want to support. Ashley is a force to be reckoned with. I admire her talent.”
Purcell decided to open his namesake store in Atlanta, where he lived prior to joining Jeffrey in New York. He returned to Atlanta in 2007 to run the Jeffrey store there. “Jeffrey in Atlanta needed a penicillin shot,” he said. “I’m from a town of 200 people in the mountains of Virginia. I do still love New York, but I was ready to go back home to Atlanta. I have an amazing clientele that I’ve built up over the years. Atlanta just seemed like the right home for me. Nobody is doing what I’m going to do in Atlanta.”
