A Brooklyn artisanal gift shop featuring a nautical theme and European goods has opened a Greenport outpost.
Paspartou features an eclectic mix of home goods and interiors collected by owner Gosia Rojek on her travels. European ceramics and textiles, hand made jewelry, rugs, cushions and nautically themed tote bags fill the Front Street shop. A native of Poland, Rojek travels back to her home country three to four times a year, bringing back exquisite artifacts.
“I think Poland is a gold mine for beautiful things that most people don’t get to see,” she said. “This year, I’ve started bringing back some glass as well, we also import linens that are very, very good quality. These are from a small family-owned factory outside of Warsaw. I call up with a custom order and it will be delivered in about two weeks. It’s a great relationship and the products are fabulous.”
The store’s unusual name stems from the French term to frame (passe-partout), she said.
“The meaning of it is actually a matte around a picture or something passing through something or something inside something,” Rojek said. “It’s basically an inside.”
Consider it the natural progression of Rojek’s plan to create a brand mixing international elements with a maritime touch. In 2011 she opened her first store, Shelterego, on Shelter Island. After two successful seasons, Rojek closed Shelterego and opened the first Paspartou in Cobble Hill, Brooklyn.
“We always use some nautical elements,” she said. “In Brooklyn, we wallpapered one of the walls with an old recycled jib from an old boat.”
Rojek is an avid sailor, weaving nautical themes into her stores as well as her products. She shows off some of her own tote bags, explaining their design.
“The outside of the bags are made from an old main sail and the inside is made from an old spinnaker, so it’s all recycled,” she said. “We try to use as many details from the sail as we can.”
Simple, sturdy and colorful, the totes have a chic utilitarian look to them.
“This is a continuation of my store Shelterego. We’ve got stuff from South Africa, we also import from Turkey and France. What we’re trying to achieve is to have things that other people do not,” she said.
Paspartou is located at 10 Front Street in Greenport. Store hours are Sunday & Monday 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Closed Tuesday & Wednesday. Thursday 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday & Saturday 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.
For more information go to www.pas-par-tou.com.
