Bryant Park. Now this is my kind of nature. Nature in Microcosm. Endless cafe tables and chairs to use. Free wireless, although I always bring my paper notebook. Breadsticks to nibble on and drinks to sip at the BP Cafe.

And slightly off to the left, The Tents! Yes, it is almost Fashion Week, and I am excited.

[page print from zoozoom.com]

Published: Zoozoom.com, The Zoo Daily
Read it on Zoozoom: click here
Writing: Elaine Perlov
Photo: courtesy of Perch!



I know your home needs adorning. Brooklyn-based Perch! has humorous birdlike offerings for your nest (Sorry Amy, I know you dislike bird puns, but I couldn't resist). Designer Amy Adams showed her latest creations at the prestigious International Furniture Fair at the Javits this past Spring. Her designs are popping up at quite a few great boutiques. Check perchdesign.net for more information.



If you cannot view on Zoozoom: click on the image above
To read more of my articles for Zoozoom: click here

I particularly like neon signs advertising neon sign makers. It is so meta. Eden's canvas is your store window. Think of the creative collaboration.


Neon Artist's Palette, glass tubing, inert gases and clear plastic, Jackson Avenue (23rd Street), Long Island City, NY

To continue with my suggestions for your fun 'vacation in the city' this Labor Day Weekend, I submit the following: stop in to Bookmarks Rooftop Bar for a fun romantic cocktail with the one you love. Just look at this place! We are going this evening.

Bookmarks
Rooftop Lounge
14th Floor
The Library Hotel
41st Street and Madison Ave
212.204.5498

Take a closer look. Art and artfulness is all around you.

I especially love the positive and negative space shapes created by this repeating quatrefoil pattern. New York is the city of quatrefoils. I have never seen so many.

Everything is fontastic on Park Avenue in Midtown. Including the addresses. Who doesn't love a script font in brass?

As promised, pining away at the facades of the Museums, see above and below

I am so good at just missing interesting art exhibits at museums large and small, that I just had to take the time to tell you that. I planned today to go to the Whitney Museum at Altria and the Scandinavia House after my swim, because both are so close to my Y, and because I have never been to either. Well I picked the wrong day. I just missed "Matthew Brannon: Where Were We" (on view March 28 - August 26, 2007), which looked like a great exhibition about graphic design. Here was the description:

Matthew Brannon employs a signature combination of printed materials, design strategies, and text to create work inscribed with psychological content and critique. In various modes of production including letterpress prints, screenprints, and posters, Brannon constructs an indeterminate graphic identity that veils a pointed sensibility. For his first solo museum exhibition, Brannon expands this practice in an installation commissioned by the Museum that explores the complex relationship between art, design, ambition, and taste. Drawing on the graphic iconography of corporate, commuter, and New York cosmopolitan lifestyles, Where Were We presents letterpress and screenprint imagery ranging from men's toiletries to sushi dinners arranged as framed prints on a series of custom display structures designed by Brannon. Another, large-scale commissioned work is on display in the Sculpture Court windows.

I am crushed. Does this show travel? To the Scandinavia House just down the street, perhaps? Oh wait. That is closed from August 20 - September 4 due to summer housecleaning. I am going to go anyway, just to pine away at the facades and take pictures (to post later) of what might have been.


Whitney Museum at Altria
120 Park Avenue (42nd Street)
New York
917.663.2453
Gallery: M-F 11-6 ; Th 11 -7:30
Sculpture Court: M-Sat 7:30am-9 :30pm
Sun 11-7
Admission Free

Scandinavia House
58 Park Avenue (37th & 38th Streets)
New York
212.879.9779
Galleries: T-F 12-6
Admission $3
AQ Cafe: M-F, 10-5

As these beautiful summer evenings dwindle to a sad symbolic close this weekend, be sure to plan a special meal en plein air at Dekk on Reade Street in Tribeca. The food, cocktails, service and atmosphere at Dekk could not be better. And the bread basket! You should abandon your Atkinsian habits for their bread basket. Believe me. The bread is a dusted-with-flour loaf like you have never tasted, and served with an olive oil doctored with olive paste that is divine.

Our first experience at Dekk was for cocktails (mine, a delicious blackberry mojito). The space was open and inviting, so we wandered in and had a great time. Our second experience was an early Sunday dinner on the outdoor patio which overlooks the tree-lined street. We sampled a little bit of everything, including the Caprese Salad with fresh mozzarella, tomato and basil olive oil drizzle ($10.), a tuna tartare with avocado (around $14), and a hearty pizza with artichoke, olive paste and feta ($10).

Dekk is one of my recommendations for your 'vacation in the city' this Labor Day Weekend. Treat yourself to the sweet tastes of summer. If you are not in the Hamptons, that is.


DEKK
134 Reade Street (Hudson & Greenwich Streets)
212.941.9401

[pageprint from tordboontje.com]

[pageprint from tordboontje.com]

If we are talking about scroll work, cascading tendrils, and designs inspired by crystal chandeliers, we cannot forget the work of Tord Boontje. Although a tad overexposed by the mass roll out of his lighting products at Target in 2006 for their 'Christmas experience,' which in turn triggered Tord-style tendril graphics to be in every ad and branding campaign this side of the Pecos, including perhaps those on the Gen Art site which started this whole cascade of chandelier posts, Tord Boontje is still the original innovator with a valuable contribution, whose designs must be recognized. (Perhaps that last sentence does not ring true for you. I have different perspective on mass design. We can talk about that in the comments section.)

Pictured above are two of Boontje's cascading tendril chandeliers which I like. The Garland Light is a DIY modern-day chandelier which includes a naked bulb on a hanging cord and a long garland of etched metal flowers which the owner can fashion and refashion as (s)he wishes. Options and customization! How very now.

The Midsummer Light is a clever take on another familiar form, the silhouette. (Need I discuss here again my undying attraction to the silhouette? I think not, for now.) This piece is less DIY, but just as modern-day, with a naked bulb on a hanging cord blanketed with layered Tyvek paper cut-outs of cheerful flowers, leaves and tendrils. If you can trace back in your mind to the moment you first saw these pieces in exclusive design boutiques, you will remember that you once thought that they were totally new and exciting. They still are great innovations and inspired takes on the chandelier.



On Tord Boontje's 2006 collaboration with Target:
Boontje designed 35 products as well as packaging and graphic design to be used in all of Target's Christmas catalogues, store graphics and 'environments,' outdoor public displays and television ads. Boontje also worked directly on the art direction for the catalog photography and the 5 television ads.

Well that was fun yesterday with the chandelier posts. I think I must add chandeliers and motifs to my list of regular features, because there are too many directions I can take this and still do the topic justice in just one day.

Pictured above, for all the renters out there who do not want to mess with rewiring the landlord's fixtures, a chandelier decal for your wall! Simply arrange your dining room table strategically for the full effect of this "Grunge Chandelier" as it is called, but I am not sure why, by Vinyl Wall Art (designer: Holly Jones). This item is so pleasingly affordable at $24 for the small or $36 for the large.

If my theory is correct, that the chandelier has influenced wall paper design motifs, as pictured in this post, then Vinyl Wall Art's chandelier decal is twice triggered: by actual chandeliers and by chandelier-inspired wallpaper. Very clever.

[image from design sponge]

Of course a day of blogging devoted exclusively to chandeliers and the designs they inspire could not be complete without a post from the neon enthusiast herself (me) about this incredible paired-down no-nonsense version from Brooklyn-based Lite Bright Neon. Little did I know, until I wrote this post and started to investigate, that Lite Bright Neon does custom work for retail! Look at this piece they did for Bergdorf Goodman! I am in heaven.

In fact, the very chandelier which I love seems to have made quite a prominent debut in the Bergdorf window. Of course, this makes me want it all the more. Although this neon chandelier has inspired strong reactions against, I still maintain that it is a totally wonderful, humorous and clever work of art. I take many a design friend to visit the chandelier at The Future Perfect on North 6th in Williamsburg where it is for sale; and I remain the only one in my group who wants desperately to own it. Alas. What do they know.

Imagine the dining room table that could complement this piece. And the napkins! And the chairs! I am conjuring up an amazing room in my mind.

[pageprint from brocadehome.com]

Well this is a very chandelier-inspired room, from Brocade Home. The wallpaper pattern, the scroll work on the bedframe, and even the mirror frame at left, are all inspired by the lyrical lines and cascades of chandeliers.

I didn't know it when I woke up this morning, but today on the blog is going to be all about chandeliers and the designs that trickle down from the lovely crystal waterfalls. Do you get it? Trickle down. Like a waterfall. Hee.

I must say, this is a gratuitously visual post about the beauty of elaborate chandeliers. The tendrils in the Gen Art graphic below remind me of chandeliers. There is a lot going on in that graphic. The whole thing seems to be exploding. I like the tendrils. I never noticed it before, but chandeliers also look like waterfalls.

Don't forget to vote at the Gen Art site! See previous post. Vote for emerging young talents in Film, Fashion, Music and Art.

My friend Tommy Cole of Alter sent me an e-mail yesterday about his friend Helena who designs a fantastic line of clothing called H Fredriksson. And then I saw H Fredriksson featured today on Shiny Squirrel, a fashion blog I really like. I borrowed the duo pictured about from Shiny Squirrel.

According to the e-mail from Tommy, Helena is up for a major grant from the Gen Art fashion organization that is based on votes from the public. Please take a moment and follow link below to VOTE for her collection. Go to: www.bioregenart.com and just click on the Fashion Link.


I love what Helena had to say in the Nylon article currently on newsstands!

"Manhattan is the face and business of fashion and Brooklyn is the creative sanctuary."

Amen to that. Click the link to read the article, or purchase the August 2007 issue today! I am pleased to find out about this designer. I love her work. Excuse me while I go browse her site some more.

I was walking along the designer blocks of 5th Avenue one day and became very enthralled with the door handles at Fendi. The materials, the shape, the sizable size. All quite statement-making. The materials remind me of Japanese laquerware that is sprinkled with gold leaf, and all of it suspended in a resin. Clearly, it was my penchant for plastics that drew me closer.

As I photographed the door handles, many people slowed to take a closer look, and also appreciated them. That was a nice chain reaction I was pleased to have caused.

Jean-Georges Vongerichten's establishment on 54th Street. Vong is pretty fontastic.

I've been tagged to play '8 facts' by Deb at Your Destiny is Stone Golden, and here are the rules:

Players list 8 facts/habits about themselves. The rules of the game are posted at the beginning before those facts/habits are listed. At the end of the post, players then tag 8 people by posting their names and make sure they know they’ve been tagged by leaving a comment at the tagee’s blog.

So here goes . . . (everyone writes the 'so here goes...' so I did too.)

1. I have a thing for repetition. I eat peanut butter toast for breakfast and would wear the same thing everyday, if I could. There is discovery in repetition. There is newness in sameness.

2. On the other hand, I don't much like sameness. In the end, I love seeking out new things constantly. I always thrust myself into new situations just to see how I will do. I have found that I have many skills.

3. I have only been camping once in my life, and once was more than enough. No thanks on the camping. You can't wear nice outfits and nice shoes. What is the fun in that.

4. On nature: I love nature if it is in close proximity to, or preferably contained in, a dense active urban area with lots of shopping and opportunities to people-watch and drink iced coffee and eat biscotti at outdoor cafes. In the end, I prefer 'Nature in Microcosm' to actual wooly, wild nature. (Please see Nature in Microcosm or My Mini Lawn for further evidence.)

5. I use paper towels with gay abandon.

6. I am not much for dogs, but I don't mind cats. If I had a cat, I would name him Chairman Meow.

7. When we moved to Greenpoint, I thought it was the land of milk and honey, only the milk was pierogies and the honey was pickles. Pure Heaven.

8. When I let my mind wander while riding the subway or walking along, a lot of perfect cat names come to my mind. I don't know why. I don't have a cat. So I give these names to you. If you have a pair of cats, you could rename them 'Cat Stevens' and 'Kitty Carlisle.' How about 'Cat the Great'? That would be a good one. An 'enlightened despot' cat. Or 'Cat of Aragon.' Or 'Cat Deneuve.' Anyway I don't know why 2 out of my 8 Facts are about cat names. I did not plan that.

*9. Bonus fact about me: I cut my own hair in between haircuts, and always try to hide it from my haircutter, but she always finds out, because I always confess at the end of the cut. As if I could ever fool her. Psst. I just trimmed my bangs with my thread scissors. Just now.


Tag! You're It:
Jodi @ The Jodiverse
Kyria @ Kyria Abrahams
Jon @ Happy Mundane
Holly @ Decor8
'Poppy' @ Poppytalk
Susan @ Sulu-Design
Jessica @ Shiny Squirrel
Danielle @ Final Fashion

If you stand at Noguchi's Cube at 140 Broadway in Lower Manhattan, and look further downtown, you can see this monumental incredible work in orange and steel. I also wanted to show you what really goes on at the base of the sculpture. This touched me. The sculpture is part of the fabric of the street. It is loved.

The hungry tourist is dazed and can only see the Halal cart.
I think he has failed to notice the monumental orange sculpture entirely.
Maybe after he eats, he will regain consciousness.


The Halal cart at the base of the sculpture serves the people.

And the sculpture's leg serves to protect and cradle the doors of the halal cart
as they provide food to the hungry wandering tourists.
A wonderful symbiotic relationship.
You won't see this detail shot in the art books.

How could you resist the five-color neon puppy? With tongue hanging out and expectant gaze, his face is so alluring. I can't look away.


Puppy, glass tubing, inert gases and clear plastic, 15th Street (7th & 8th Avenues), New York, NY

I wanted to share with you another 'secret haunt' of mine. Dave's on the west side of 6th Avenue between 16th and 17th Streets proved to be an endless source of fascination and inspiration for me one day last Fall.

My experience at Dave's that day gave me the Special Shopping Feeling, which I would define as the following: the Special Shopping Feeling hits you when you least expect it; but when it does, everything suddenly looks great on you, and is in a price range that suits you at that moment. You are thus inspired to try new shapes, new fabrics, new colors, and basically reinvent yourself (whereas before you were feeling so cautious, so formulaic, so in a fashion rut).

As you can see from the photo above, Dave's carries basic workwear labels (which I utterly love; but my fascination with menswear tailoring, and the simple yet bold details found in workwear and uniforms is a story for another post). What you will find when you walk through the doors of Dave's are oodles of Levi's, Carhartt and Dickies. And curious amounts of plaid too. You will probably wonder why a fashion designer would recommend this place to you.

I will tell you. I was looking for some good basic everyday pants. Nothing fancy. Just a good basic everyday worker uniform of my own. (I should add here too that I am obsessed with Communism for the clothes. I love the idea that everyday, one wears the same thing. I also love the stunning visual effect created by that same singular outfit, replicated in the thousands when you and all of your comrades assemble for parades. You must admit it's true. It is visually stunning. I hope I don't get blacklisted for this comment. Anyway, when I work in my studio, I prefer a uniform. My item of choice: Style 2102 in black by American Apparel. In fact, I own more than 10 Fine Jersey Short Sleeve Tees in black, which I wear with minor variations. It is all about the minor variations for me though. But that too is a post for another day.)

Back to the Special Shopping Feeling and my great find at Dave's. I tried some Levi's cords in a shape that was new to my closet. I am not a jeans person at all. I am a cords person (which I would define as a much friendlier down-to-earth type, looking to wear just plain pants, not a flashy pocket stitching. I hope I am not alienating any jeans people out there. I admire your jeans-wearing-ness. It is just not my personal style.)

The cut of these cords was so flattering. I loved the lower-but-not-too-low waist, the flaps on the back pockets, the cut of the leg. All super. I bought a color I never buy. Slate Grey. And then I purchased the same style in a second color. Chocolate Brown. Not black! Not trouser-style! I broke out of my holding pattern. Oh that Special Shopping Feeling.

I was waiting for the B61 bus on Bedford Avenue in Williamsburg one day last week when I happened to turn around. Hey that's new! Ella Cafe, located just to the left of the Bedford stop on the L train, not only serves organic coffees, teas and made-to-order smoothies, but also offers a full organic menu, starting with a whole host of nice breakfast items, including egg sandwiches, cheese omelets, steel cut oatmeal, pancakes and brioche French toast ($4.50-8.50), all the way up to lunch and dinner entrees of grilled salmon ($11.95), grilled tilapia ($10.50), duck confit salad ($11.95) and even a grass-fed rib eye ($16.95). They have great hours too, open until 11:30pm Tuesday-Sunday, and 10pm Monday. They open at 8am during the week and 9am on weekends.

On my first trip around lunchtime (2:30ish), I plan to try one of their organic soups, probably the chilled gazpacho ($4.95), and a cappuccino ($2.75). Meet me for lunch! We can sample this new spot together. I haven't stepped foot inside yet, because the bus was coming, but I did see a nice outdoor patio in the back.


Ella Cafe
177 Bedford Avenue (between N7th & N8th)
Williamsburg, Brooklyn
718.218.8079
L to Bedford
WiFi: yes
Takeout: yes
Chef: Oleg Lyaskoronsky (Gramercy Tavern)
Website: ellacafe.com (but not up yet)

Lower Manhattan has a wonderful collection of public sculpture. I remember years ago seeing a Richard Serra somewhere in that neighborhood, and I'll never forget it. This steel Cube by Isamu Noguchi is worth a closer look. You will find it in front of Brown Brothers Harriman at 140 Broadway.

I have a penchant for plastics. Especially shiny cute objects made of clear plastic. If you ask me, it is a bit of an unnatural addiction.

These pink and blue piggy banks are currently on sale at The Container Store for $3.99. I could imagine buying a lot of them, filling them with candy, and giving them away as favors. Wouldn't peanut M&Ms look nice in these pink piggies? (They even show them filled with chocolate coins on The Container Store Website. Funny, my mind went right to chocolate-filled piggies too, before I even saw the photo on the Website. Because who would put mere money in such a cute piggy?)

Anyway, I didn't invest in the banks. But I might, if I can think of a good use for them. Maybe I could just buy one to display with my giant beckoning cat? Can I justify bringing home yet another shiny plastic object...? Maybe I should consult the Magic Eight Ball.


***
Update:
Asked and answered. How can I argue?
The electronic MEB's answer is so definitive. TCS, here I come.