On a hazy summer day last month I made my way to154 Orchard Street in New York’s Lower East Side to talk with fashion designer and now boutique owner, Annie Havlicek about her work and what it was like to open her first shop.

JW: Tell me a little bit about your background. I read that you studied fine art for a little bit, so how did that bring you into fashion, or did it?

AH: It did! I started art classes at the age of three. I just always loved to draw and did it all through school. I did precollege programs at the Art Institute of Chicago and I just always thought I was going to do illustration, that was my thing. Then I took a fashion design class and really loved it. My teacher encouraged me to go to Parsons. So then I did everything I could to get in, got in and moved here and that kind of got it going. I didn’t get into fashion until my senior year of high school and then it was just like, “Okay this is what I’m going to do.” But it’s very similar to the things I grew up seeing and helping my parents do. My mom is an interior designer and it’s very similar that in a lot of respects so it kind of was natural in that sense.

As we talk Annie and her shaggy haired counterpart, Max, show me around. The boutique makes a sophisticated statement that is punctuated with old-timey elements, which perfectly mimic Havlicek’s design aesthetic.

JW: Tell me about the store and how it came to be:

AH: It’s 350 square feet. It’s located on Orchard Street between Stanton and Rivington. I chose the mezzanine level; I liked the look of the flower boxes in the window. My dad and Max actually built the whole thing with their hands. They knocked it out in four days. My dad is a general contractor who designs and builds luxury homes and started out as a carpenter. They got all the lumber, all the materials and drove them out from Chicago, along with my mom.

I think I shortened their lives by a couple years! It was a lot of work and no sleep. We literally worked on it nonstop for four days. But it came out really nicely. We even built the dressing rooms, all the built-ins, and all the crown molding.

The boutique houses Havlicek’s spring/summer 2010 collection neatly displayed in the custom made built-in units. The flowing silk dresses, mustard yellow skirts, and other smart, but elegant pieces were inspired by a mix of two Renoir paintings, Bal du Moulin de la Galette and Le Dejeuner des Canotiers, and summer days in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Among these pieces are other treasures for sale: sweet pairs of tan and lace oxfords are the product of Havlicek’s collaboration with Osborn Shoes. There are straw boater hats by Brixton. An antique mirrored vanity displays funky-chic jewelry—fabric covered rings and bracelets by The Docent, a miniature telescope pendant and other pieces from Digby & Iona. On an opposite wall sits an antique hutch filled with hand-painted china and various succulents. All of these–including the furniture—can be purchased.

After seeing what the shop had to offer I am curious to learn how Annie’s work came to be, what was to come, and more about Annie herself.

JW: What in general inspires you when you’re designing?

AH: It comes from a million different places. One season it could be a movie, this season I was listening to song from Tom Waits over and over again so that affected the collection. It could be a vintage piece of your mom’s clothing and it all comes together to create this story. It comes from so many different places there is not one thing. For spring it was easy–well, even that was a collaboration of my first summer in Williamsburg, hanging out in the park, brunching and then paralleling that to the Renoir paintings. You have this main inspiration that is influenced by a million different things that you fall in love with.

JW: So tell me, what’s new for fall?

AH: Do you want to see swatches?!

JW: Of course!

Excitedly the designer rushes off and returns with a folder bursting with tiny fabric samples in an array colors.

AH: Fall is a little blues, Americana/Tom Waits inspired. It’s a little bit darker but it’s still really pretty. This is our color palette, we have the emeralds and navies, some black-which I don’t usually do, but I’m making myself put black in this fall collection because we never really have it.

JW: In New York, there has to be black!

AH: Exactly. We’re also using prints that are a take off sort of an old classic calico print.

JW: It’s very homey feeling it kind of reminds me of grandma, in a really good way.

AH: Yes Exactly. Like vintage Ralph Lauren in the best way ever–that’s what I’m telling myself. We’re also going to have some t-shirts, and a little bit of lace worked in, There’s an adorable pair of black velvet shorts coming in and a blue velvet dress, a little touches of velvet, because that is huge for fall.

JW: Looks great.

AH: OH! There’s also plaid coming! This is kind of a first for us.  We’ve been mostly doing silks, but this is going to be a really cool yarn died cotton plaid. I’m trying to mix in a few more easy casual pieces to create more of a range.

JW: So what do you like to wear on a regular day? I ask the designer who sits across from me wearing an outfit that may be comprised entirely of pieces from her own spring/summer collection.

AH: Well you caught me! I really do wear the collection, with other pieces mixed in. I’m not really a jeans and t-shirt girl.

JW: What are you doing when you’re not here? What do you do for fun?

AH: Well, for me this is fun, so it kind of is my entire life right now.

But I love to cook and have dinner parties.

JW: What’s your favorite thing to cook?

AH: Coq au vin!  Or just something simply and awesome. But aside from that I also love to bake and read.

JW: Do you have a favorite book?

AH: Favorite author, Tom Robbins, it’s really hard to narrow it down to the favorite book.

JW: Any favorite films?

AH: Too many. I know its probably been said a million times but I love Breakfast at Tiffany’s. It’s just so comforting. It’s stylish, it’s beautiful, it’s beautiful. I love it.

JW: Anything to add?

AH: Oh! The door on the dressing room is my childhood door that my dad brought from home. He’s really cute like that.

Annie Havlicek is opened everyday between the hours of 12pm and 8pm and her online store is always opened for business.

Photos by Jeffrey Mosier Photography