All posts tagged: Bisha

Trump Soho

I want – I got’s Bisha Adventure in New York City

Oh my god, I better not miss this flight. I’m standing in line for security checks; it’s 7:30am. It’s Monday morning and I’m hoping to catch my 8am flight to New York. I’m impatient and freaking out. I clear security without much time to spare and I’m running to gate 151, hoping that boarding hasn’t closed yet. I didn’t even close the clasp on my bright pink sandals. Amazingly they don’t fly off my feet. I slow down a bit when I see a lineup of people at the gate. Thank god, still time. I laugh to myself. This is the start of an amazing day. I love my life. I’m going to New York City for the day. I leave Toronto at 8am and I the return flight is at 7:30pm. This trip is the product of a fucked up week, to put it mildly. The day after the earthquake I receive an email from Foujan at Matchstick. There may be the potential for a blogger to be sent out to NYC to join …

The Standard New York

Our first stop was at The Standard Hotel in the Meatpacking District. This is where Charles and Alessandro were staying. They enjoy The Standard and mentioned how busy the hotel usually is. The dinning rooms are packed and the patio is pretty busy. It’s the kind of hotel that attracts locals as well as tourists. I’m always hearing about this and that party at The Standard on the blogs. Charles took me on a little tour of the hotel, showing me the patio and restaurants. The hotel room had the most incredible view of Hudson and the very cool High Line Park. The High Line was originally constructed in the 1930s, to lift dangerous freight trains off Manhattan’s streets. Section 1 of the High Line is open as a public park, owned by the City of New York and operated under the jurisdiction of the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation. Friends of the High Line is the conservancy charged with raising private funds for the park and overseeing its maintenance and operations, …

R 20th Century Design

R 20th Century Design showroom was the first stop of the day. R 20th Century represents a distinguished group of historical and contemporary designers whose work is among the most innovative and finely crafted of their time. Zesty Meyers and Evan Snyderman founded R 20th Century in 1997 to realize their combined goal of promoting a closer study, appreciation and preservation of 20th and 21st century design. R is currently developing exhibitions and publications on the designers it represents — a diverse program that includes work from North America, South America, Europe and Asia produced between 1945 and today.(source) Evan walked us through the store and talked about some of the artists they represent. He was very friendly, knowledgeable and cute. I was really intrigued by artists Hugo França, Jeff Zimmerman and David Wiseman. Hugo França creates functional and sculptural work from discarded wood found in Brasil. Finding wood left behind by deforestation requires constant scouting in the Trancoso, Bahia, area. Finding his way on foot, by donkey or canoe, he relies on the Pataxo …

Craig Van Den Brulle

The second stop was Craig Van Den Brulle. Craig Van Den Brulle is the owner of the upscale Craig Van Den Brulle furniture store in the Nolita section of Manhattan, which opened in October 2007. Van Den Brulle has been in the home furnishings industry for over 10 years. In 1997 he opened Capitol Furnishings; the celebrated boutique featuring 20th Century home furnishings and his own “urban classic” designs. Capitol quickly became an essential shopping destination for the city’s most influential architects, interior designers and collectors. Van Den Brulle has now expanded from the original Capitol Furnishings to a 3,000 square foot flagship store which is just one block away on Elizabeth Street. He is the designer of the VAN DEN BRULLE signature collection, a line of upscale furniture and home essentials inspired by clean lines and modern simplicity. In addition to selling home furnishings, Craig Van Den Brulle buys modern designer pieces from the 1930’s to the 1980’s. They also have a rental service for the film, television, and magazine industries. To complete this …

Crosby Street Hotel

The Crosby Street Hotel is an eclectic and quiet place with tucked away patios. During the day it’s cheerful and bright but I could see it being quite romantic in the evenings, especially on the huge back patio. CROSBY STREET HOTEL is situated on a quiet cobbled street in the heart of New York’s vibrant SoHo neighbourhood. There are 86 bedrooms and suites over 11 floors. Each has high ceilings and full length windows. Interior design by Kit Kemp reflects a fresh, contemporary style. There is The Crosby Bar, a private leafy garden, guest drawing room, several stylish private event and meeting rooms, a luxurious 99 seat screening room and fully equipped gym(source). A short film by Jean Roman Seyfried called The Reconstruction Of My Views was made that chronicles the building of the Crosby Street Hotel over a 2.5 year period. I learned the Crosby also has a state-of-the-art screening room with 99 seats. The setup uses the most advanced technologies with 3D capabilities. Of course there is a Sunday night film club too. …

Todd Merrill Antiques

Todd Merrill is located in a building with beautiful stone carvings.  It was another store that was packed to the gills with furnishings.   You always were discovering something new that was missed in this store. Todd Merrill Antiques features American and European vintage furniture, antiques and lighting from the 1920’s to the 2000’s. Including rare and unique furniture by Paul Evans, Karl Springer, James Mont, Gio Ponti, Adnet, Fornasetti, Venini, Tommi Parzinger, LaVerne, Vladimir Kagan and many more. Todd Merrill Antiques has opened a new 4000 square foot shop focusing on American and European designer furniture and lighting from the 1920s through the 1980s, at 65 Bleecker Street in New York City. The new showroom is on the ground floor of the Bayard-Condict Building, New York’s only building by esteemed architect Louis Sullivan. The historic landmark space is located at the top of Crosby Street at the intersection of Bleecker Street, and looks directly down into the heart of Soho.(source) It was at Todd Merrill that I finally began to understand how important Paul Evans …

Moss

Moss is one part of a space that holds three stores. The other two are Flos and Moroso. This trio of stores were my favourites on this trip. In 1994, former fashion entrepreneur Murray Moss opened Moss in a small gallery space in Soho, with a determination to transform the public perception of industrial product design. The store quickly became internationally known for its product selection and presentation, with clients ranging from highly informed design professionals, to celebrities, students, and tourists with maps. The shop grew and evolved — expanding to nearly 7000 square feet in late 1999 when Moss’s partner Franklin Getchell joined the company. Together they expanded the product base to include furniture, especially from Italian manufacturers, lighting, watches and jewelry, books, tabletop and a significantly increased focus on the studio work of the designers we offered(source). Moss also has a small section of unusual jewellery and watches. It’s just as eclectic as the other offerings in the store.  They aim to have more than just home furnishings for sale which attracts a …

Moroso

Moroso is another store that makes up my favourite trio with Flos and Moss. This was the first store that had a lot of textiles on display that we visited.  The standout fixture was the huge white couch with the large, intricate black and white drawing behind it.  The drawing’s historical style contrasts with the modern furnishings around it.  It’s really interesting to see how each store is incorporated invisual displays.  Items from Moss, Flos and Moroso are together throughout the three separate spaces.  That collaborative sales pitch isn’t something I see often and very effective considering the niche placements of each store. The best way to introduce ourselves? Just telling you what we do. Since 1952 MOROSO has been designing its sofas, armchairs and accessories with wellknown designers such as Ron Arad, Carlo Colombo, Enrico Franzolini, Marc Newson, Toshiyuki Kita and Patricia Urquiola. MOROSO has been constructing its sofas and armchairs aiming at top quality. For its quality, the company was the first producer of upholstered furniture in Italy to receive on 24 June …

Flos New York

Flos occupies the corner of the shared building with Moss and Moroso.  It’s home to some seriously hot looking light fixtures. You can find designers like Philippe Starck, Jasper Morrison and Pier Giacomo Castiglioni here. Today Flos is an international organization that offers a complete range of residential, commercial and even custom-made lighting products that can be seamlessly integrated in any office, hotel, or store, together with a specifically designed line of informative materials, among which a corporate manual. Flos contract division assists architects with the know-how it acquired over its forty years of experience not only as a manufacturer, but also as a specialty lighting systems designer for a wide-range of challenging environments, such as museums, stores, and theatres.(source) The store itself is quite minimal with a few tables. Most pieces are displayed on shelving built into the walls.  The standout item in the store is the oversized Kelvin LED lamp design by Antonio Citterio with Toan Nguyen in 2009. The Hooo!!! & Haaa!!! Lamp By Philippe Starck, Jenny Holzer, Moritz Waldemeyer and Baccarat …