Back Where It All Began
A reflection on twenty years of friendship, one year of Nickey Kehoe NYC, and the slow, intentional work of building something that lasts.
Two decades ago, at one fateful dinner party in New York City, two young design-obsessed urbanites met. Amid the raucous conversation, they discovered both were on a parallel mission to shape space and cultivate humanity within design. And our story began.
Our partnership is in many ways like a nurtured home, built with inherent curiosity and a desire to hear the other’s views, interpretations, humor, and wisdom. The “curious workshop” and our friendship are intertwined with our shared values of exploration, growth, patience, support, respect, and much laughter.
As we both say all the time, we could not do this single-handedly, nor would it be the studio that it is with a sole voice. This friendship is the lighthouse that guides us as we manage various projects, obstacles, and goals. - Golden Light: The Interior Design of Nickey Kehoe
Pictured above: Pieces from our Collection, Vintage treasures, and Fine Art adorn in the parlor level of our shop in Greenwich Village, photographed by Kate Jordan
IN CONVERSATION WITH TODD & AMY
You met in New York almost two decades ago. What do you remember most about those early days together in the city?
Amy: One memory strongly comes to mind: Todd had been living in New York a lot longer than me, and it was very soon after I moved to New York that I met him. His apartment was an introduction to the city unto itself. He seemed like such an adult! He had this incredible, beautiful loft in Bowery — the quintessential cool loft — with this 12-or-14-foot-long farm table. Anyone in my life that I brought over to Todd’s apartment still talks about that table to this day. When we started working together we’d both stay in that apartment, he had a separate bedroom and a little nook where I’d sleep. That loft is super pivotal — not just to Todd before me, but for me, too. It was such a cool New York deep dive into downtown. It was across from CBGB’s, he had all these interesting, cool neighbors. Big moment in the early days.
I was one of four roommates — so juxtaposing my situation with his, I was like, "Yeah, I’ve got to get here someday."
Todd: I remember the first time we went to the flea market together, which, looking back, was quite significant.
Amy: Totally. We just thought it was a fun little outing for friends getting to know each other. That time when you're meeting somebody new, it’s a little bit like non-romantic dating. We were getting to know each other, but Todd’s right — who would’ve guessed?
How has your relationship evolved from friends to business partners and now co-owners of two shops on opposite coasts and a design studio? Was the evolution gradual or did it seemingly all at once?
Todd: We started working together out of our houses, and then we moved into our first studio, which was a tiny storefront in Hollywood — this was before we had the shop. Then we bought a house together. So I think it was this gradual tiptoe into different layers of permanence, but it felt normal, easy, organic.
Amy: Gradual is definitely the right word, but the alignment was woven into all of those big steps, although I don’t think we saw those steps as big at the time. Everything just felt foundational. We didn’t blow all our money on a space, we worked from our homes, like Todd said. Everything felt responsible but none of it felt daunting. The next thing always just presented itself, a soft sort of entry into another big thing.
Todd: We’ve always been really scrappy. Even with our first store, we looked at spaces that felt kind of expected or too typical, then we found this strange, abstract space and very quickly we were both like, “Yeah, this works.”
Thinking back to those big decisions, we were like, “Yeah, okay, great.” We underwrote each other’s whim — not even whim, but more of a gut instinct. There was a little irreverence for what most people would do in those situations.
Amy: A lot of gut. Now, it’s been 20 years of doing that — and having it work out — that’s what made New York happen so quickly. We could trust it because we had practiced it.
Pictured above: A collection of inspiration and memories: Amy as a little girl on her family’s golden linen sofa—a precursor to the drapes. Nickey Kehoe’s beloved neon sign on the shop’s art deco building. A collection of note cards, designed and developed with Thunderwing Studio. A hand-painted envelope from our longtime collaborator Sean Daly. Samples of product development and a nod to our past — Todd as a little boy on his beloved horse Hippy (named for his long 1970s hair). One of our custom tissue papers developed for the shop as well as snapshots of store vignettes.
What does it actually look like to work with your best friend? Any advice for someone who wants to go into business with theirs?
Amy: The gift of working with your best friend is that when you have a hard day, you can talk about that hard day. You can not be your best self because the other person understands you so well. That’s something I’ve always been really grateful for: just being able to say, “I need to get this off my chest — what do you think?” without feeling like a burden.
Todd: It’s that hop-to mentality — keeping all the major things at the forefront: our friendship, our relationship, each other. We look out for each other, and that’s a really important part of this too. We’re not in this alone. We are the partnership.
Amy: Yes, we both love beautiful things and making environments, but our friendship is the gravitational pull. Of course, there are the aesthetics, but also values and morals. If you don’t have those aligned, it’s not going to work. And then there’s work ethic. With Todd, it’s just never been anything we had to question. We were always willing to do what had to be done — from the early days of doing everything ourselves, to whatever needs to be done now, 20-some years later.
Todd: Sharing that moral compass — how we operate in the world — is so crucial. It creates a shorthand. We don’t have to debate or have long discussions about big decisions. We don’t need to “sleep on it,” we make decisions quickly. We’ve grown so slowly that there’s never been this mad rush to be something else or reinvent. It’s always felt very grounded and organic.
Looking back, it makes us happy that we had such simple expectations of what a business should look like. We care about people. We care about each other. We care about our clients. The business is the child we had together.
Opening New York feels like a bit of a homecoming. Has the city changed — or have you?
Todd: I think the city has changed a lot. But with any homecoming, it’s about what’s changed in the place — and also in you. The early parts of our careers were on 10th Street. One of Amy’s first jobs was there. I remember walking up and down those streets when I worked at Ralph Lauren, and I never thought about going into places like Karl Kemp. They felt fancy, a little intimidating. But I remember so clearly finally going in and everyone being so lovely. It felt like I had entered this world that had always felt kind of forbidden.
Coming back — being on 10th Street in a city that was foundational to both of us — it’s surreal. But it also feels completely natural. Of course this is the next step.
Pictured above: The garden section of our HOUSEHOLD shop in Greenwich Village, photographed by Kate Jordan
One year in NYC – what does this milestone look and feel like to you both, individually?
Amy: It’s still kind of wild that this anchor on the other coast exists. As natural as it feels, it was the biggest step we’ve ever taken. Sure it brought challenges, but that made the opening even sweeter, more special, and more tender.
Filling it with the spirit of LA — through the people who work there — is a huge point of pride. I’ve been saying this a lot lately: we’re not just selling beautiful things, it’s how we sell them. Through the people who take care of our clients.
There are still “pinch me” moments. A mom I know took her daughter there for spring break, and they made a beeline for the shop and took a photo. When I get pictures like that, I think, “My goodness.” Like Todd said earlier, the business is our child — but New York specifically feels like a birth. We spent so much time getting it ready, and although Todd’s there a lot, it still feels remote, not under our daily purview.
Todd: It’s crazy going there and seeing the day-to-day — someone sweeps the steps, someone waters the plants. The shop opens. People come in and shop.
I remember walking in one evening right before Christmas. I’d just gotten out of the cab from the airport, walked in and, within five minutes, ran into two old friends shopping. They didn’t know I was coming — it was just this unexpected reconnection to an old life. But also a reminder of the kind of everyday magic that’s happening in that shop.
What are you dreaming up for year two and beyond?
Todd: Dancing bears? Gosh, I don’t know. Honestly, I think year two is just about fine-tuning what we’re doing. It isn’t about more. It’s this continual process of refining and re-beautifying. There’s a kind of meditation in the maintenance of these places that feels very… calm. There’s no rush to it. The hustle is over. Let’s just enjoy the process now.
Amy: My nervous system couldn’t appreciate that more. Going back to what we talked about earlier — that mindset isn’t something all partners would agree on. But for us it’s not just about the big pushes. We don’t have to triple or quadruple. The whole point of offering what we do on the East Coast was to give people there access to what we’re already doing here.
In year two, I think enriching our role in that community — trade, non-trade, showrooms, neighbors — is going to be a big part of it. And I think the other piece, when I think about year two, is deepening our connection with the community there. We’ve done the 10th Street walks, we have an event with Urban Electric in the fall that will include several folks on the block – it’s exciting!
Todd: What’s nice is that, just like HOUSEHOLD in LA, it’s quickly become a neighborhood store. We have regulars now. People come in every Saturday, they bring their dogs. People come for provisions, candles, a hostess gift, something for a dinner party. We’re part of the community. It’s not just a design shop for the trade — it’s a respite. And that feels especially important in the kind of crazy world we’re in right now.
That’s what we were hoping for in New York, and it’s happening.
🤍🤍🤍