Patricia Gilman is a doer.
About 20 years ago, one thing she discovered she really liked doing was photography and that she did it well, too.
Since then, Gilman has taken photos all around the world, from Cuba to Croatia and Greenland to the Galapagos Islands. You can see some of them at patriciagilmanstudio.com.
The images were satisfying and beautiful in their own right. And yet, she felt, there was more that could be done with them.
“I was looking for something different to do with my photographs,” she said, “especially since there are so many photographers out there.”
She learned about a program through which she could print her photos on fabric, and soon she had created PG Studio Textiles. She launched the business nearly five years ago.
“I have at least 100 different products,” she said. “I have a lot of scarves, pocketbooks, three or four different kinds of clutches and big bags or tote bags you take to the supermarket. And all of the photographs are mine.”
Among her top-selling products are ones including her photos of poppy fields in Estonia and tiles in Mexico.
Her most expensive offering is 100 percent cashmere scarves, which go for $175. Merino scarves are $135. Pillow covers $25. Face masks $15.
“They’re well made,” she said of the masks, “and they come with three added filters. I’ve been wearing mine for six months. I change masks to match my clothes.
“Everything is good quality,” she said. “The purses are leather or fabric…polyester shopping bags, canvas tote bags.”
Yet, her photography and PG Studio Textiles is basically a side gig for her.
“This is an avocation more than a vocation,” she said.
Truth be told, she’s a Manhattan real estate broker — albeit, yes, one with a stellar photographic eye.
Gilman, 79, tried retiring before — three times, actually — but she just couldn’t hack it.
“You never really retire from real estate as long as you keep your license,” she noted. “Retiring, what am I supposed to do? Just sit around? I hate it. I already did that for a year! I hate it.”
Gilman grew up in the Bronx near Yankee Stadium. She used to wait outside the ballpark to get players’ autographs when she was a teenager.
Before settling on real estate, she worked in various jobs, including fundraising, retail, marketing and sales promotion.
“Don’t ask me what I haven’t done,” she quipped.
On a personal level, she enjoys volunteering and sports. She has two children and four grandchildren.
“I like to read, I like to knit,” she said. “I just don’t like to sit still. So, a creative type.”
As for how she came to advertise in The Village Sun, her friend Linda Roche, a former member of Community Board 1, suggested it. Thanks, good call, Linda!
As for now, PG Studio Textiles has inventory, and it all features Gilman’s amazing photography. And, in a special offer, Village Sun readers will get 10 percent off the total by entering the discount code, SUN10.
So, by now, you should have “gotten the picture” about Gilman’s photography and products.
It pays to advertise in — and to read — The Village Sun.
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