He rushed off to New York and the Fashion Institute of Technology as soon as he was able, which he followed with stints in retailing in Miami, fashion design in Milan then back in New York, styling interiors photographs for the New York Times and New York Magazine.  In his only corporate job, Director of Visual Merchandising for the fabric house, F. Schumacher and Co., he revamped the look of the firm’s showrooms and designed their first collection of furniture and accessories.  He had found his metier, but weary of New York, he moved to the tiny village of Stonington, Connecticut and started his own interior design firm.

Since 1993, Patrick has created residential interiors for discerning clients in both Europe and the United States, always with the same result: a lively confluence of comfort and style that suits the architecture, the client’s needs and his own, discriminating eye.  His enthusiasm for architectural preservation led him to serve as Vice-Chairman of the Board of the Connecticut Antiquarian and Landmark Society and later as Chairman of the Royal Oak Foundation, the American Friends of the National Trust of England, Northern Ireland and Wales. 

In 2009, Patrick, with his dog Brewster in tow, moved to Rome, for what was to be a six-month sabbatical of study and volunteering.  As six months stretched to a year and beyond, he discovered that not only could he manage his decorating projects from the Eternal City as easily as he had from rural Connecticut, but that he wasn’t ready to return home to the US.  He realised that he was already at home - in Rome.

The European influence of his new home was clearly evident in Patrick’s collection of woven textiles for an American firm which resulted in the first iteration of Tessuti.  The demise of the mill left the collection in limbo, a situation which has been happily resolved by the inception of PG Tessuti, in partnership with Neil Sherring. 

Neil and Patrick each brings his singular business experience and design talents to the development of PG Tessuti.  The overarching inspiration remains firmly Italian yet the designs are created for modern life anywhere good design is valued.  The palette reflects the breadth of Italy’s natural beauty and also takes into consideration the differences in use and the quality of light where these textiles will ultimately find their homes.  Only the finest natural fibres are employed in the construction, just as one would expect from the centuries-old mill near Caserta in Italy, where many are woven.  Together, Patrick and Neil have produced a collection of Italian fabrics for elegant interiors anywhere in the world, evoking both the sophistication and elegance of England’s long decorating tradition and the dazzling splendour of Italy.