by Moses Y. Bension
Kiel James Patrick was born and raised in Rhode Island and so are his bracelets. When Unabashedly Prep last ran into him back in January, he was in Palm Beach hung over and trying not to show it in a photo for Town & Country. Before that, he and F.E. Castleberry and friends took J. McLaughlin’s new sailboat out for a spin in Newport. So Kiel’s been busy.
He’s also been redesigning his Turk’s head knot bracelets, and the new spring line is available in an all-new array of preppy colors. The colors, like the “Narragansett Lifeguard Chairs” shade of red and “Collin Banister Wharf” in nautical white and navy with a touch of fiery sunset orange, are named after Kiel’s memories of, as he put it, “life experiences, people I’ve met, books I’ve read, adventures I’ve ventured.”

Kiel James Patrick Turk's Head Sailor Bracelets, $40
The hand-braided twisted cotton bracelets are still crafted from the same locally sourced custom-made nautical cord as they have been since their inception in 2009. A new detail this time around is the solid brass anchor enclosure instead of the usual button fastener of seasons past. The anchors on the Ocean State’s flag and license plates were his inspiration: “Newport’s nautical Old New England charm offered me an array of décor and style I simply admired.”
He’s also stuck to a marketing strategy of word-of-mouth and social networking power, and it’s worked. Kiel James Patrick is expanding; they just moved their studio into a new factory in Pawtucket. He’ll pop in every so often to pull a needle and thread through a bracelet in progress, and it’s entirely possible the bracelet you order is one he sewed himself. It’s all part of his dedication to the local community. He’s even been known after a few drinks at the watering hole to take the bracelet off his wrist and bequeath it to a lucky patron.
Check out kieljamespatrick.com for the complete collection of bracelets, belts, and ties.
F.E. Castleberry left a comment on 3/21/2012 at 1:30 PM:
@BLJ—Unabashedly Prep has always, and will continue to be, my point of view. Not that of any of my advertisers or clients.