Michele Varian Shop & Design

I was admiring my friend’s stylish chair the other day and he told me about Michele Varian’s store. He lives a few blocks away and said it was his go-to place for gifts, and that I would love it. We ventured over and it’s true - I was totally delighted. What a stunning mix of gorgeous items! Housewares, incredible lighting, pillows, some of the most beautiful jewelry I’ve ever seen, and lots of treasures. I loved all the table-wear and colorful and organic feeling mostly stemless glasses - elegant and practical. It’s the kind of place you could stay all day and keep discovering something unique - wow!! The staff were friendly and helpful with just the right amount of interjection. I can’t wait to return and tell all my friends about this very special shop. LOVE!

Wow. We were just strollin’ around town, as one does on a weekend trip to the Big Apple, when I stumbled upon this gem of a place. Being from Europe, living between Amsterdam and Berlin, I have many cool designers and retailers at my fingertips. Yet still, this store was surprisingly different, in a good way. It’s like walking into a treasure room. Wonderful, beautiful items. An eclectic mix of items, some expensive some more affordable. Truly a beautifully curated collection, def worth visiting this store. For myself I bought the pigeons you see in the picture.

Really beautiful store with nice gifts for the home as well as jewelry, however the staff is beyond rude. I went in excited to pick up a few things and the staff barely greeted me and incredibly rude as I was checking out. This is the second time that this has happened. Really such a shame as I see this is the experience with many other customers

It’s a gorgeous store but the staff is always disrespectful, which for obvious reasons, is very disappointing. I was ready to buy some fine jewelry but I rather buy from the designer directly than support this store. Again, this isn’t the first time the black woman at the front is incredibly callous and has zero interest in helping out.

A beautiful boutique with unique gifts for others (and yourself). I didn’t take photos while inside but it’s a very charming place. I purchased beautiful, natural woven wool placemats for our home (pictured) and a lovely piece of pottery for my husband. Happy to stumble upon this place on a Saturday afternoon walk. The staff was very helpful and friendly too (which is always a bonus)!

Visited their Howard street location when I was in NY for business in November. Seriously beautiful and overflowing shop where I wanted to buy almost everything. Ended up going home with a lovely large brass and onyx ring and Hayley was most helpful in my selection. I look forward to visiting their Brooklyn location next time I am in town.

Beautiful design store in Brooklyn. In total, went here 3 times during my last NYC trip. Thoughtfully curated homeware and top tier jewellery collection. I bought a unique necklace that I absolutely treasure and love.

Go. Come. This is the place for quality gems such as tableware to garnish your home-made brunch, pillows for display, art to accentuate your walls, etc. ✧

Lovely products and store but horrible sales person. Very condescending and almost felt like a bother when asking about (very expensive) goods that they sell.

Had such a great experience this past week! I had been meaning to check out their new place in Brooklyn and this space is just amazing!! It was filled with beautiful home goods and their jewelry is stunning!! I have my eye on some Hayley Ks pieces and they carry another fave, La Bulgara always wanted to see these pieces in real life!! I bought a gorgeous evil eye ombré pillow and it came with the insert which I loved so I don't have to run around for it. The workers were so kind and helpful. Can't wait to return!!

I bought my partner a ring for her collection and I could tell she wasn't 100 about it so we went back to find the perfect one. There was no problem with exchanging the rings (within 10days)

I really like this place. I've bought beautiful and lovely little things now and then over the years. But my recent experience made me feel like maybe I've been getting ripped off. Without going to too many personal details, basically I realized they sold my friend a very specific set of 6 unique glass cups from the Dainty Glasses collection of Roost (a homeware company) as 'vintage dainty glasses' and at a price that was 40% higher than the MSRP. I know this because I have the same cups and a set of tumblers (which are larger) from the same collection. The cup set is $45, the tumbler set is $65. Now I feel like they may not be as knowledgeable about what is vintage or which artist produces what. This experience really left me questioning the integrity of this otherwise absolutely enchanting shop :(

If you're looking for top notch customer service, to be greeted and smiled at upon entry. Do not hold your breath. You will suffocate and die a very tragic yet unnecessary death. I'm basically strolling through stores after stores in SoHo and I stumbled upon this little gem by the colorful yet discreet displays that you can see if you pass by. You would not even know this store exist if you are like the typical New Yorker that snakes through people traffic to get to your destination. This store is like an Alice in Wonderland experience. From the suspended rope like swing chair located as soon as you enter. Which automatically felt like home. The very homie exotic yet rustic rugs, fabrics and wallpaper. Even down to modern hip yet understated millennial decor that your eye catches. This place is a true collectors paradise for cool, out of the ordinary gifts and trinkets for your home and loved ones. Think of this store as your dear well traveled aunt who from all her world wide travels, brought back gifts from every destination that you can think of. There's something in here for everybody. It's worth the browse through. I definitely wanted to sit on every chair and snuggle up with the gypsy like pillows and read my book upon entry. Only reason why I gave 4 stars, which sucks because I really love this store. However, the associates literally had their backs to customers as soon as you walk in. They were so heavily engaged in whatever they were discussing that people can literally walk out the store with a rug and all the pillows and they won't even notice. They did not acknowledge not a single customer's presence. And I spent a good amount of time having so much fun in here. Kept talking even as folks walked out the door. Wow. No bueno.

Came to SOHO for the wedding gifts for my sister and found this store. They have really good taste and those collections of plates set and home decors are both uniq and creative. I noticed that some of the stuffs are made by local (eg Brooklyn ) artists and you can see how different they are from what you've got in department stores. Got a marble/wood cheese board and a set of hand-crafted brass forks for my sister. Also got a set of wooden coasters with polished brass stands for myself. (Which is totally 200 bucks) I'll definitely become a frequent of this cute point.

Terrible Customer Service- DO NOT ORDER CUSTOM Light Fixtures! Summary/Advice- many mis-steps by Michele & the MV team, and they did not handle it well throughout the process. Fixture was about $4K+, and we expected a lot more from this brand. Don't be fooled by how pretty everything photographs on IG. Take a careful look in person before you purchase. And above all else- DO NOT ORDER CUSTOM. Hopefully they can get their act together. They have beautiful things and a good eye, but their execution is sorely lacking. Deep Dive- Our clients went by the Michele Varian store and loved the light fixtures, and asked us to create a custom fixture for over their dining table. We worked with Michele's team to order a fixture we designed, and everything was pretty smooth at first. Then there were delays with the manufacturing of the fixture, and it was shipping out 3-4 weeks later than expected. Once the pieces arrived to our studio for inspection, several of the brass rods had deep scratches, 2 of the glass globes had chips on them, and the custom canopy also had some scratches. When we brought this to Michele's attention and her team, their response (I'm paraphrasing) was "that is how the material is, so there is no damage. Also, this order has become a lot of trouble, and we actually mis-quoted you for the cost, and we are eating $1400 on the custom canopy" Michele also got a bit defensive about what natural brass looks like, which we know, being interior designers for the last decade. We actually love the look of natural brass and the patina that it develops. These scratches were definintely NOT patina. Eventually, Michele's team did send us replacement brass rods and glass globes, and we were able to buff out the scratches on the canopy. But here's the kicker- the fixture itself was not wired to simply go into the ceiling. Our electricians had to spend a whole day, to get this expensive fixture to actually function. We called Michele's store for some guidance on how to get it to work, and the man in charge of the custom light fixtures, literally LAUGHED AT US over the phone in a "good luck, this isn't my job"tone. We were left to handle the installation with our electricians, whom thankfully, were amazingly persistent, creative, and did get the job done. When the electrician bill came ($1450), I asked them to bill Michele Varian directly, as this custom light fixture had far exceeded our original expectation in design time + electrician costs. And the client really shouldn't have to pay for Michele Varian's mis-steps. Michele has refused to pay the electrican. We will eat the cost, as it is not fair to our clients' to pay this cost. Hopefully they can get their act together. They have beautiful things and a good eye, but the execution is sorely lacking.

It's a cute little place. Things can tend to be overpriced, but what can you do? I bought a ring from there for about $400. It was a gift for a friend, who didn't quite like it. So I've been trying to return it (mind you, it's still in its original box and hasn't been worn once). They literally make it impossible to just return the item and get a refund. Cool. I love paying that much money for something that's not going to get worn. At this point I don't even want an exchange, I just want my money back. Ridiculous, especially for such a nice store.

Woodland nymph meets Edgar Allen Poe in this little NoLiTa shop of home furnishings, jewelry and exquisite curiosities. Michele Varian is famous for her pillows but the other stuff, ranging from wispy to WTF, will catch your eye first: ethereal glass vases, delicate jewelry, quill pens, pewter twigs, bronze bird feet, a porcelain beaver skull. She also has white sake sets and a small selection of spare tabletop merch for the anal-retentive among you who prefer clean and modern. I came in search of a present and wanted to buy up half the store. I decided on a lightly gilded sea urchin salt cellar, fashioned by Neptune and kissed by Midas. I loved it so much I wanted to keep it for myself. (Most of the items are one-of-a-kind which is fantastic but it also means you can't double up on purchases.) Prices are not cheap but not outrageous either, considering that most things here are handcrafted and highly ornate. You'll find plenty in the $50-$100 range. Also, be aware that the shop closes early: 6 pm weekends and 7 pm weekdays. BOTTOM LINE: The shop is excellent for gifts but it will really challenge your spirit of generosity. If you're a selfish A-hole, just come in and buy stuff for yourself.

The rude, snide, millennial staff are the biggest reason we will never return here. My husband and I received a gift for our home that did not match our decor, so we thought to exchange it. You would think with $100 you'd have your picking of many wonderful items-wrong. We literally struggled to find another item in the store $100 and under--this store is everything that is wrong with NYC. $350 for a throw pillow? $220 for a small jar? $675 for a 3ft area rug? $200+ for a FLY SWATTER? We were nauseous. The sales associates were apathetic-after watching us laugh our way around the store for a solid hour, not once did they ask if we needed help. We asked if they could retrieve extra cutting boards in the back stock room--the blonde sales associate behaved as if it was the hardest she'd ever worked in her life. The sales associates would rather you leave them alone so they can continue to watch YouTube videos of Fiona Apple and talk about how they'd marry Bernie Sanders if he were 20 years younger. My husband and I left, with my husband saying "I will never walk into that store ever again in my life."

I love this place! Everything in here seems found or collected or crafted. Always changing, it is really nice to see what is new everytime I am in town. Just last weekend I purchased a hot water bottle for those cold minnesota winters. Between that and the doll's hands, glass jars and pillows, you could spend a small fortune here. But it would be oh so worth it.

We've been there a couple of times in the past year and I usually love the collection of items in this store but this time nothing caught our eye. Some of the items are a little over priced but if you are looking for something unique, this is the perfect place to check out.

Michele's store is a total feast for the eyes/senses. You walk in and it's like you've entered this alternate reality after being on SoHo's hectic streets. Everything seems like it must have a story behind it. Always get my gifts here and will get bigger design pieces here when I can afford it. Recommend making a trip even in this snowy weather!!

I cherish the handmade handbags from here! I own two and they are beautiful! All of their bags are made in their studio. Each style is being made in a limited quantity and is only available in their store or online. I have a passion for all things unique that not everybody can have because they are one of a kind! Check them out!

This is a great store to try out if you're looking for a gift. Everything stocked seems to be carefully selected. They have everything from knick knacks to pillows to antiques to candles to jewelry. I think the pillows are pretty expensive (even though I know they are handmade) but it's still a good bet for a unique gift. Also, the salesgirls are always very friendly and helpful.

As an insider in the design world for the past 5 years, I am very hard pressed to find a store that really impresses me. Walking into Michele Varian for the first time I was thrilled to find a huge assortment of items I had never seen in blogs or magazines, and at varied price points so that I could actually afford to walk away with a beautiful terrarium and pair of earrings without breaking the bank. This store is a true treasure, a rare diamond amongst the swarm of chain retailers that is SoHo. Can't recommend this store highly enough!

The things they sell are simply amazing - I used to come here every year to buy a birthday gift for my wife (made by a certain pair of NY-based Japanese-American jewelry designers). People who worked there were knowledgeable and cheerful, and that made shopping there fun. Unfortunately, that changed this year, with uncaring cooler-than-thou attitude of the sales lady (who may have been tired at the end of the Christmas shopping season, but the store was empty at that particular moment). I walked out deciding to try something else this year. The store is just as beautiful as ever, and what they stock is fantastic. But please be prepared for the attitude.

The best store for interesting gifts (and of course if you're looking to treat yo self). Gorgeous and unusual odds & ends, jewelry, and home decor in a friendly range of price points. Beautifully curated.

Deftly curated selection of stylish, eccentric gifts and home goods, from tiny objects to tableware to pendant lamps and chairs. You would be hard pressed to walk out of here without something delightfully odd and/or beautiful for yourself or as a gift. Best of all, the staff are always good-natured, helpful, courteous and knowledgeable.