THE RURALIST
Five minutes with Johnny Pizzolato
Interview by Jillian Scheinfeld
Not unlike most city expats who settle in Sullivan County, Johnny Pizzolato wearsmany hats. The showroom owner and former rock musician settled part-time in Sullivan County shortly after being introduced to his current hamlet of Barryville. Alongside husband Roswell Hamrick, Pizzolato jumped right into paving his way in the community and launched The Stickett Inn in 2011, a design-focused hotelthat functions as a gathering space and getaway destination. You can thank his mother for the cheeky, brilliant names of both Pizzolato-built establishments: The Stickett Inn and the adjacent Bang Bang Bar. Locally, Pizzolato is known for his dedication to reviving The Barryville Farmers Market and his position on the board of the Upper Delaware Scenic Byway Committee. We spoke with him about his fashion career, local politics, and making lasting change in small communities.
When did you get into the fashion industry?
I started my fashion career when I was a budding rockstar. I would go out on tour and I’d bring friends’ look books to different stores. I got my first commission check selling my friend Carlos Campos’ clothing line called Guido — it ended up selling really well. I fell into it and realized it was my tribe pretty quickly. I then founded International Playground at the end of 2008. It began as a series of pop-up showrooms and pop up stores in NYC and Paris. We became permanent in 2010. The concept was to have a store and a showroom all in one. I realized quickly that it was too distracting to have the general public coming in, so we separated the businesses. We now do some sales, but we’re primarily a press showroom.
Who are some designers you work with?
I’ve been working with Chromat since I started the agency. She started in experimental cages and has now graduated into swimwear. That’s inspired the rest of my clients to move into swimwear. We work with a lingerie company, Yes Master and Victoria Hayes, who we were introduced to by Madonna’s team because we worked with her on a lot of tours. It’s fun to watch the different phases of our showroom, but now we’re mostly swim-focused with some ready-to-wear.
What brought you to Sullivan County?
My former husband bought a place up here 20 years ago, but the first time I came up was with Josh Fox, who did the fracking movie, Gasland. My current husband lives in this fantastic church [in Barryville], and so as a reformed Catholic, I immediately fell in love. Then all of the buildings in front of the church were up for sale, so I went to a bank auction and purchased all of them for the price of a car. We launched the Stickett Inn in 2011 — my mom came up with the very funny, punny name. And then we started Stickett Inn Cider in 2017, which enabled us to have a bar, called the Bang Bang Bar. I consider Barryville home even more than my apartment in the city at this point.
Innkeepers are often exposed to an entire community. Do you see the locals and weekenders intermingling harmoniously?
The bar is our best marketing tool because everybody walks in. It’s a local bar, so anybody who moves up here sort of reports to the Stickett Inn when they first come. It’s great because we get to meet everybody and everyone seems to be glad that Barryville is thriving.
What roles have you taken on since?
My husband is the president of the chamber of commerce and I’m on the board. I’m also a member of the Upper Delaware Scenic Byway Committee. When the farmer’s market was in jeopardy of leaving Barryville, a group of us came together and reinvented it here at our church. In the woods, you can make broader strokes and more noise about local issues — everything from voting to being active in the community really matters.
Tell me more about your farmer’s market project.
