Joey Wolffer: The Entrepreneur Behind the StyleLiner
Joey Wolffer
Accessories designer, stylist, world traveler, and the bohemian entrepreneur who put a global treasure chest inside a refurbished potato chip truck.
Joey Wolffer is, as my notes from the day simply put it, just so lovely. An accessories designer and incurable traveler who built a career out of finding hidden gems, she did the most Joey thing imaginable when she decided she wanted a shop. She put it in a truck. The StyleLiner is a global accessory emporium on wheels, and it is exactly as charming as that sounds. She also, I should mention, reads Ninu Nina, which means I am on my best behavior.
A Closet on Wheels
Housed in a refurbished potato chip delivery truck, The StyleLiner is a rolling treasure chest, limited-edition accessories from international designers, many of them unavailable anywhere else, alongside Joey's own jewelry. After years as a trend director for Jones Apparel Group, and earlier work designing for Topshop, Miss Selfridge, and Jigsaw with pieces drawn from Morocco, Brazil, the Balkans, and across Europe, she had a problem: the designers she kept discovering abroad had no platform in the United States. She did not want a brick-and-mortar store or an e-commerce site. She wanted freedom. The food-truck model gave her exactly that.
I didn't want brick-and-mortar or e-commerce. I wanted freedom. If the crowd isn't right, you just drive away.Joey Wolffer
Entrepreneurial Blood
The instinct runs in the family. Her great-grandfather co-founded Marks and Spencer as a street peddler, which makes the truck feel less like a gimmick and more like an inheritance. The apple, she laughs, does not fall far from the tree. Her father she describes as a fighter who built success from nothing, proof that entrepreneurship is not for the timid. And among her icons is Donna Karan, as much for Urban Zen and the work in Haiti as for the design. Joey reads people the way she reads a market, for what is real underneath.
From the Interview
Joey Wolffer, in her own words
For those who don't know, what exactly is the StyleLiner?
The StyleLiner is your dream walk-in closet on wheels. It's a global accessory emporium and, just like us, the collection is always on the move. If you love something you see on the truck, grab it, because it will probably be gone the next day.
How would you describe your look, and your favorite pieces right now?
I try not to get too caught up in trends, so for me the look is always a little Bohemian and a little glam. My favorite designers on the truck right now are Laura B, who makes mesh jewelry and evening bags by hand in Spain, Serpui Marie for straw and beaded minaudieres from Brazil, Venna for statement jewels from Hong Kong, and Barbara Boner for oversized fringe bags from London.
How do you curate the truck?
Innovative yet wearable, with impeccable craftsmanship. Italian leather, please. I'm bohemian, but I love mixing in polished pieces. Labels limit you.
Besides Wolffer's iconic rose, your favorite Wolffer wine?
I really like our Lombardo Merlot, and I make a mean turkey Bolognese that I love with it. Roasted chicken goes well too. The rose cider on ice is also a favorite, sometimes with mint or cucumber, sometimes on its own.
Your style icons?
Jane Birkin, Talitha Getty, Carine Roitfeld, Kate Moss. Women who own their look.
What do you read?
L'Officiel, French Vogue, and Monocle for lifestyle-meets-business. For blogs, Ninu Nina for music and culture, StyleLikeU for raw personal style, and The Cut.
Next stop?
Kenya. I can't wait to see what treasures I'll uncover.
A final confession?
I'm a killer parallel parker, even in this truck. In heels.
Finding Home
There is a tenderness under the wanderlust. Joey bought that first truck, a twenty-six-foot potato chip delivery van, with a small inheritance from the sale of her father's furniture after he passed, and turned it into a boutique of finds and designers from all over the world. She wanted, quite literally, to deliver her discoveries to people. Then came years of trucking across the country and up into Canada, with the breakdowns you would expect, the kind where the engine will not turn over or the brakes simply quit. After her daughter Nell was born in 2015, it was time to give the mobile store a home. She chose the magic of Sag Harbor, starting at 25 Madison Street for two years, growing into 11 Madison Street for seven, and now settled at 23 Washington Street. The art of discovery, she says, was the foundation of the whole thing.
The art of discovery was the foundation of our store.Joey Wolffer
About Antakly Projects
Antakly Projects has been in conversation with artists and creatives from around the world since 2003.
Explore the full archive →And for the personal rants, opinions you didn't ask for, and the occasional existential spiral: follow me on Substack
Follow us on @antakly.projects (instagram) ✦ Stay curious.
