Patricia Nash loves leather. In fact, she can only think of one thing that has a more enticing aroma. "The smell of fine leather to me is second only to the smell of good food," says Nash, a handbag and accessory designer who lives in Farragut. Not surprisingly, both food and leather have helped Nash make a name for herself in Knoxville. Along with her husband, Jeffrey Nash, and son, Jeffrey DeAlejandro, Nash owns The Crown & Goose in the Old City (123 S. Central St.). Open since February 2008, the establishment offers traditional British and modern European food with the cozy ambiance of a pub. Besides being the owner of a popular local eatery, Nash is now becoming known in the area for another reason. After 20 years of designing and developing accessories for other companies, Nash's Knoxville-based company, Me & You Accessories, recently launched her namesake collection of 100% Italian leather handbags at 40 Dillard's stores, including the West Town Mall location. After an enthusiastic response to the line's debut in September, the chain plans to double the number of stores carrying the line this month. The Patricia Nash line draws on Nash's extensive travels and fascination with European leathers. Her goal in creating the collection was to offer old-world craftsmanship at an affordable price. Each bag in the line is named after a European city. Prices run between $90-298. "It is hard to find leather bags that are truly 100 percent leather unless you pay double the price of a Patricia Nash bag," Nash explains. "A lot of love goes into this product. We're taking real handcrafted leather skins from Italy, hand-dyed, hand-cut and hand-sewn, with hand-burned edges. The logo is hand-embossed." In describing what makes her collection unique, Nash says the designs bring back memories from years gone by. "They almost look like a vintage bag that you pulled out of your mother's or grandmother's closet. They are reminiscent of the day when you had a beautiful piece of leather and they constructed a bag of it, but the leather was the focal point of the bag," she says. In addition to receiving favorable reviews in Lucky, Travel + Leisure, and City magazines, the collection has attracted celebrity attention. Reality TV star and clothing designer Whitney Port was recently spotted carrying the Barcellona saddle bag in New York City. Country music artist Miranda Lambert was seen backstage at the "Late Show with David Letterman" with the Berlino bucket flap handbag. As with her restaurant business, Nash says her handbag line grew out of her own passions and discovery of an unmet need. "It wasn't like, 'Gee, how can I make money?' It was, 'Gosh, why isn't anyone producing really beautiful Italian bags at a price people can afford?' " Nash has lived in Knoxville for 12 years and proudly calls the area home. "We just love Knoxville. We've both lived in big cities. I've lived in Houston and New York and my husband lived in London and has traveled all over the world. But we wanted to live the rest of our lives here," Nash says. With both The Crown & Goose and corporate offices of Me & You Accessories located downtown, Nash says she and her husband are committed to the area. "My husband is from London," she says. "When he first came here, he was immediately drawn to downtown and became a big supporter. He really got me turned on to loving downtown.
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