One of the things we’ve always loved about Story—Rachel Shechtman’s ever-changing store in NYC’s Chelsea neighborhood—is that every iteration is a story in and of itself. Her latest venture is Art Story, a concept shop created with the help of Art.com and a group of eight masters students of…
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Beijing’s 798 Art District gets a design store
The Ullens Center for Contemporary Art (UCCA) is the most dynamic art center in Beijing’s 798 Art District, and since 2007 its UCCAstore has been a small temple for vanguard design within the gallery. The original store, now UCCA @ ART.BOOK, is still offering a glut of Chinese art…
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Pajama suits for modern dandies from an NYC atelier
Creative director Aaron Black offers the urban gent a truly bespoke, handmade tailoring experience that nods to the ideals of Savile Row with his new boutique in New York’s SoHo neighborhood. His brand White Chalk (the name a tribute to one of the key tools in the tailor’s arsenal)…
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Anatomical jewelry inspired by duckling bones in Beijing’s 798 Art District
Beijing’s 798 Art District has made a mainstream shift in recent years with coffee shops, souvenir stores, flocks of tourists and the usual weekend deploy of an arsenal of digital cameras. 798 has become the center of lighthearted art entertainment, but it still preserves some hidden pearls of…
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Minneapolis retail innovators Eric and Andrew Dayton talk about their one-stop shop
By Joan Erakit
Askov Finlayson owners and founders, brothers Eric and Andrew Dayton believe in a simple design philosophy: keep it fun. The lighthearted approach they took to their men’s retail store in Minneapolis’s North Loop neighborhood highlights their personal style and aesthetic while removing any pretense. Founded in October 2011 as the retail component to their space that also includes their Nordic-style restaurant, The Bachelor Farmer, and Marvel Bar, Askov Finlayson rounds out the offerings while reflecting their sense of entrepreneurial creativity.
The handsome space features wall-to-wall exposed brick, high ceilings and antique rugs, making for the prime setting to showcase a selection that can be hard to come by in Minnesota. Merchandised with the idea of creating a comfortable space reflective of the Daytons’ laid-back style, the arrangement of clothing and accessories among home goods and design objects makes the visitor feel at home while shopping.
We dropped by Askov Finlayson to chat with the brothers during their annual Krafstkiva festival, a traditional Nordic celebration in August boasting fresh crayfish, live bands and plenty of brews.
Eric: Well, this was a neighborhood we knew well. We both live nearby—just down the river from here—so we go to Moose and Sadies for coffee and we visit the small shops in the area. It was still pretty early on in the development, so it was a neighborhood we saw heading in a promising direction and would be something exciting to be a part of, and that was as far as our thinking had gone. We weren’t really actively looking, it was just something fun to think about. We were both away at different grad schools outside of Minnesota, and I heard from a friend about this particular building—this guy who owned it for 30 years or so and kind of tinkered around in here, and he would never entertain offers and wasn’t interested in selling. So it wasn’t an abandoned building, but it was a pretty closed-off building.
Andrew: There was a little sign on the front door—which is now the retail space—and he must have gotten a lot of inquiries because he had a little sign up on the door that more or less said, “Not for sale. Don’t even ask. Go away.”
Eric: It went from the “Don’t even bother asking, go away” building to finally there being a little “For Sale” sign in the window, and a friend called me. I was out in California at school, and my friend said that the building is now for sale and you should check it out. So it began with a phone call inquiry, and then I came home from California. I spent more and more time in the building, and because there was a lot of space—it was probably more space than we would want to do just a store or just a restaurant, or just a bar—it became this opportunity to combine a few different ideas and shared interest that Andrew and I had. We could just sort of see how it could fit well together. It was something that we’d seen in other places done well—maybe it was in the same building, maybe it wasn’t. For example, a hotel where you have a restaurant and a bar, and maybe there’s a retail component. We liked the idea of the three different pieces, each being separate, each having its own identity, but working well together and driving energy that would be shared between businesses.
You might come from dinner and stay for a drink, or come to shop and then meet and friend for dinner—whatever people want to do with it—but it could also be kind of a community hub and something of a clubhouse feel without the private membership aspect—a place where people could feel at home.
Andrew: The store was…I don’t want to say the “least” planned-out, because we put a lot of work into it, but when we built out the restaurant, we worked with a contractor that had experience with projects of this magnitude and really helped us do a great layout in terms of what was best for the diners, what was best for the kitchen and everything else. That was a main focus of our dealings—same with the bar. But for the store, we decided that we were going to go a different route, and we worked with a local woodworker who helped us conceptualize the space and built the main point-of-sale stand, the moving racks and the bench on the window sill. Beyond that, it was just found tables, two chairs from my apartment and a rug from my apartment.
Andrew: Yeah, we wanted it to feel eclectic to a certain extent. The merchandise is a representation of items that we’ve found and fallen for over the years, and we wanted the components and fixtures of the store to feel the same way. As opposed to working with a contractor to build it out, we put it together ourselves. It was fun.
Eric: It’s the space that’s evolved the most since we opened. When I think of where it was when we opened and where it is now, it’s been fun to see it evolve as we’ve added more brands and expanded in new categories. Now with the help of Charlie Ward—who is the studio assistant for Alec Soth, the photographer whose work we have hanging in the main dinning room—we are putting together some really great art books. Now it’s like, “Where are we going to put all our art books?” We go out to the salvage shops out in Northeast, and we find an old baker’s rack, and now we’ve got that for books. With the restaurant and the bar we sort of knew what those needed to look like from the beginning, whereas with the store, we’ve kind of been learning or moving things around, and it’s not done even done yet.
Andrew: Yeah, we were in New York just two weeks ago for market week, and we’ve been out there about three times. We opened the store last October, and the restaurant last August, so the first time we went out there, we didn’t have a space, we had business cards. It was sort of interesting walking out there and trying to sell ourselves. We basically said, “We’re going to open this cool store. You can’t see it yet, it doesn’t exist, but sell us your stuff.” Fortunately folks were willing to take a leap of faith with us.
Eric: We really had to trick the first couple of brands into selling to us.
Eric: I can’t remember who we lined up first, but I think it helped that, in Minneapolis, we were going after brands that weren’t here and so they were excited for a new market. We also explained the whole project and they where excited by that, but we really had to bluff our way through those first couple of meetings.
Andrew: The whole project is personal to a certain extent. We put a lot of our time, energy and resources into getting this off the ground, but the store in general, I’d say, is the most personal. With the restaurant we’ve been able to manage thee vision and drive it forward, and really rely on our team and great management. We’re not cooking the food, and you wouldn’t want me serving your table. It’s still really a meaningful part of what we do every day, but it’s not personal at the level of the store, where we’re going to New York and making the final call in what we’re carrying. So in that sense, it’s sort of the most hands-on project.
Andrew: Yeah, I think there’s a lot of overlap between Eric’s and my personal taste. We’re not redundant, we have different perspectives to a certain extent and there’s enough that we disagree on where I think the selection process is paired down to what is usually the better result.
Eric: We want them to have a good time and to have fun. Something we had in mind with the restaurant and the bar—without going overboard or hamming it up—was how many different moments can we create to make someone smile, where there’s going to be a little unexpected detail. Maybe they’ll miss it, maybe they won’t care, but if they notice it and they do care, they will appreciate that we were thoughtful about whatever that is. There’s hopefully a sense of fun or whimsy and playfulness in the design, and it’s not meant to be too self-conscious or taken too seriously. There are a lot of colors and patterns, and it’s meant to have a good energy that way—I’d say downstairs especially with Marvel, but also in the store as well. There’s substance and quality in everything we carry, but it’s meant to be fun.
Andrew: I think people experience it in different ways too. Some people come into the restaurant and what wows them is the history of the building. It’s this great old space which was built in 1902, and the front portion where the store lives was built in 1881. There’s a lot of history here and I think some people come in and they’re excited by the historic setting of the meal or the historic setting of the shopping experience—and some people come in and they’re excited by the design, the colors and the patterns. In the store, people may come in and come across a great classic Barbour coat that has a real timeless feel to it, or someone might come in and be drawn to something a bit more ambitious with colors and whatnot. I think it’s been set up in a way where people can sort of take from it what they want.
Images by Taimoor Dar
The colorful eco-bag company opens in Brooklyn
Since opening Baggu‘s first-ever shop in Williamsburg last month, founder Emily Sugihara has enjoyed watching customers ponder over which of her stylishly functional eco-bags they want to take home. “They’ll be holding a bunch of them, and they’ll put one back and try another one, and look at them all together,” Sugihara says. “I think people feel more ownership of the bags because they’re making their own little set.”
Now based in Brooklyn, Baggu was born in San Diego in 2007, when Sugihara and her mother set out to make beautifully simple alternatives to plastic grocery bags that people would actually look forward to using. Releasing its first nylon bag in eight colors, the brand is now known for its vast array of colorful daypacks in everything from tie-dye to vibrant neons, over-the-shoulder canvas totes called “Duck Bags,” and various sizes of the original, all reasonably priced and manufactured with minimal waste. Most recently, Baggu released a line of leather handbags and small leather pouches, made from the fabric cut from the bags’ necklines.
Sugihara says the idea to open a Baggu retail store had been on the table for some time, but the company’s decision three months ago to take over their current space on Wythe Avenue, just steps away from Baggu’s offices, was mainly motivated by a need for meeting space. “If two people in the office wanted to talk,” she says, “there was no way to do that without distracting the other 11 people.”
Turning the meeting space into a summer shop seemed like a real possibility once the block began attracting more foot traffic, with the spring openings of nearby stores Pilgrim Surf + Supply and Mociun. Baggu’s shop then came together rather quickly, says Sugihara. Just days before the opening, she and creative director Ellen Van Der Lean came up with the clever idea to display the bags on rope ladders and swings made from dowel rope and climbing rope (Sugihara is an avid climber).
The summer shop marks the first time Baggu’s entire product line can be purchased in person from one location. New colors and styles become available at the shop before they appear on the web, simply because that’s where the bags are delivered. At the moment, a number of Baggu pieces—such as a line of neon keychains and the pony hair edition of newly released drawstring bucket purse—are only available in the shop.
As always, Baggu has a number of collaborations in the works. In July, they will release a sturdy vinyl version of the Duck Bag, made by Brooklyn’s weatherproof bag maker Mer Bags, which Sugihara says “makes a great beach bag.” Baggu is also working with design duo Fredericks and Mae, who will incorporate the designers’ horse hair tassels into a line of leather Baggu bags.
Already proving a successful addition to Williamsburg’s burgeoning waterside promenade, Sugihara plans to keep the shop open at least through the winter holiday season. She is also keeping an eye out for permanent retail space that can stay open seven days a week.
Baggu Summer Shop
242 Wythe Ave.
Williamsburg, Brooklyn
, NY
Friday-Sunday
12–8pm
Custom motorcycle brand Deus ex Machina takes on Venice, CA
by Mark Buche
“The Emporium of Postmodern Activities” is the US foothold of Sydney-based custom motorcycle maker Deus ex Machina. The Venice extension is a move to establish a beach presence where people are able to move through the space and experience the Australian brand firsthand. True to the company’s familial vibe, the beautifully designed building is full of art-covered walls, and the community of local surfers and riders are often found basking across the sunny patio.
Purity of purpose is the Deus way of life, and under this design philosophy the brand has become best-known for their simple and minimalistic custom motorcycles. While that industry is often full of frivolous decoration, Deus deliberately subtracts and boils down their bikes to performance essentials. Each of the hand-built bikes aims to achieve functionality as an art form.
“We originated this idea of combining elements and it came out of the era where surf culture defined that all you could do was surf and nothing else, motorcycle culture said you could only be a motorcyclist. We’ve pioneered and pushed this idea that you can fuse interests and make a fun, rich, and exciting culture,” says Dare Jennings, founder of Deus ex Machina.
A large pane of glass splitting a gallery wall looks into the workspace of head motorcycle designer Michael “Woolie” Woolaway, revealing the true brand ethos. From the Deus retail shop you can watch Woolaway’s continuous tinkering as he perfects the design and construction of their beautiful hand-built machines.
Deus has quickly become a hub for the laid-back coastal lifestyle in Venice. On any given day, the parking lot is filled with every type of motorcyclist and bicyclist, from surf bums to actors meeting for hours to talk shop or to start a morning ride after an espresso from Handsome Coffee Roasters.
Like their other locations, The House of Simple Pleasures in Sydney and Bali’s Temple of Enthusiasm, Deus’ new spot in Venice also holds all sorts of events and gatherings to help introduce and share their passions with both the newly curious and longtime fans of the brand.
Look for Deus to take on Milan next year, where they plan to open another hub of motorcycle culture with the help of former Ducati CEO, Federico Minoli.
Deus ex Machina
1001 Venice Boulevard
Venice Beach, CA 90291
Iconic British menswear label opens its first London flagship
Two hundred and fifty-seven years after launching, British menswear brand Wolsey opened the doors last night to their first flagship store in London. Located on Brewer Street in the heart of Soho, the store’s aesthetics mirrors the brand’s ethos: contemporary styling of iconic classics. Brushed steel beams, exposed brick walls, aged wooden tables and original draper’s cabinets combine to create the perfect backdrop for the range of quality menswear.
Drawing inspiration from Wolsey’s original Leicester factory (now the location of its brand operations), the store also features a wealth of salvaged, prismatic pendants, 1940s industrial light fixtures and Persian rugs. Down a small flight of stairs and located just outside the exposed brick changing rooms are two vintage leather armchairs separated by a reclaimed-wood table housing men’s fashion titles. Adorning the walls of both floors are framed prints of original Wolsey adverts, old and new campaigns, inscribed wooden boards telling its history and images of some of the explorers and pioneers who helped build its identity.
“We’re very proud of the heritage the brand has,” says Brand Director Stephen Reed. “While we are steering the brand in a new direction with the design of the latest collections, we’re making sure we keep the classic heritage and attention to detail
that has fueled Wolsey’s longevity.”
Attention to detail is key to the success Wolsey has achieved, and it’s a thread sewn throughout the latest collection. Classic woolen jumpers and cotton gilets are injected with modernity through wider necklines and narrower silhouettes. Double-breasted navy blazers—complete with nautical gold buttons at the cuff—and plaid cotton shirts transform a traditional tailored look into today’s casually refined aesthetic. Leather accessories have been designed with today’s technological devices in mind, and the classic urban hoodie has been tweaked with chunky herringbone draw cords, 320gm heavy cotton and ribbed cuffs.
“Our designs are modern and fresh while also being classic and iconic. It’s the choice of material or the details in a button that gives each piece its individuality,” says Reed. “The Wolsey guy is cool and subtly stylish. He takes the classic staples we create and puts his own twist on them.”
Wolsey
83a Brewer Street
London, W1F 9ZN
Thermochromic interactive grids invade Issey Miyake’s Tribeca location
A bright blue interactive installation has taken over the walls of Issey Miyake‘s Tribeca storefront. Composed of grids of hexagonal pads or “voxels”, Symbiosis0: Voxel responds to body heat or “artifacts” left by users who touch its textile surface. Accompanying the physical responsiveness of the piece is a mobile website that enables users to design a pattern that is displayed across the polygons upon submission. The display, a collaboration between artists Alex Dodge, Kärt Ojavee and Eszter Ozsvald had visitors pressing hands and faces against the shapes and delighting both fashionistas and children alike.
“Issey Miyake’s ability to take traditional designs and techniques and reinvent them through new materials and technology is something we all felt inspired by,” relates Alex Dodge. “When we first thought about possible colors for the installation, we found a nice relationship to a traditional Japanese textile dyeing technique known as “shibori”—it’s typically indigo blue with white lines. So we found a way of doing something similar with a totally new technology.”
Connected by a series of wires, the royal blue shapes turn bright white on contact, retaining the impression for a few minutes afterwards. As Kärt Ojavee explains, “Every pixel of the honeycomb-structured installation is individually constructed of several layers: covered with silk, the substrate material is felt, and in between are the warming elements. All voxels have two visual states—blue and a highlighted wire-frame of a cube. The silk is coated with thermochromic ink, reacting to body temperature or activated by the middle layer, which is controlled through a web-based interface.”
The installation was imagined as an interactive piece that would engage shoppers in a way that traditional art cannot. “People are usually not supposed to touch artworks nor create their own content on the medium,” says Eszter Ozsvald. “Suddenly, from a passive listener you become an important part of the installation and your displayed image becomes a part of the interior. I like the fact that you not only take something from the store but you leave a trace, a unique touch behind.”
SymbiosisO: Voxel will be on display at Issey Miyake in Tribeca through 28 April 2012. Check out the installation in action by watching our rough cut.
Tribeca Issey Miyake
119 Hudson Street
New York, NY 10013
By Greg Stefano and James Thorne.
Seven memorable stops on a recent trip to Dublin
On our recent visit to Dublin we encountered a hospitable community recovering from the economic downturn with a resurgence of fashion, food and boutique hotels. Here, we share seven of the most memorable stops we made along the way.
When asking around for shops carrying the best independent fashion in Dublin, the name Indigo & Cloth came up more than once. Tucked into a subterranean space on South William Street, the modern, minimalist boutique carries menswear and accessories by Our Legacy, Oliver Spencer and S.N.S. Herning, as well as a smaller selection of womenswear. Owner Garrett Pitcher flexes his creativity on various other projects about town, collaborating on the original label design for Kilbeggan Whiskey and working with the editorial team at the Dublin fashion magazine, Thread. Pitcher is currently working with the other merchants on the street and surrounding blocks to name their shopping district South William Quarter.
Employing traditional techniques, Paula Rowan makes her hand-stitched gloves from the finest quality lambskin, deerskin and suede with silk and cashmere linings and embellishments like buttons, zippers and fur. Rowan’s Dublin boutique is located in the quaint Westbury Mall just steps from the bustle of Grafton Street. In addition to the local flagship, she currently operates the “Glove Pod” pop-up in the Westfield Shopping Centre in London.
In the sunlit atrium of the Powerscourt Centre, Wendy Crawford, Margaret O’Rourke and Ellis Boyle stock Bow with a diverse range of Irish designers. In-store finds include cashmere and silk arm warmers, bows and loop scarves by Eilis Boyle, gold vermeil jewelry with lace, pearl and semi precious stones from Momuse, hats from Electronic Sheep hats and a prime vintage selection.
Located in a building that was once a nurse’s home in a quiet neighborhood in Dublin 4, this family-owned boutique hotel is walking distance from some of the best shopping and restaurants in the city. Each room is uniquely and playfully decorated, and the downstairs lounge features a custom library in which every volume, from the classics to David Beckham’s autobiography, has been bound in pearly green covers. Dubliners go to the Dylan for cocktails, romantic meals and celebratory overnights, and the property marks the city’s only boutique hotel included in the Mr. & Mrs. Smith collection.
These two coffee bars from three-time Irish Barista Champion Colin Harmon provide Dublin with expertly prepared pour-over coffees and espresso drinks in a low-key atmosphere. Serving single origin coffee from Has Bean, the tasting menu reads like an exploration of flavors, with coffee, espresso and cappuccino brewed side by side with the same beans. 3FE started as a small set-up on the front porch of the Twisted Pepper building and has since taken over the pub space and also opened a shop on Lower Grand Canal Street.
In this tiny shop on South William Street, their signature sleek black tins of loose-leaf teas, herbs and tisanes line the far wall. In the store, they serve tea and hand-poured single origin coffees with a selection of light pastries. Part of the new South William Quarter community, Clement & Pekoe is frequented by the local merchants and shoppers in the know.
A self-described eating and drinking emporium on Stoneybatter—a street once considered pretty desolate for a modern locavore pub—L. Mulligan Grocer uses locally sourced ingredients to update classic Irish dishes. The extensive, familiar menu includes organic blood pudding, bangers and mash, scotch eggs and fish ‘n chips, as well as vegetable stews, fresh salads and seafood. The “Libations” list features more than 100 whiskies, Irish craft and imported beers. Also know for their popular quiz nights and beer tastings, it’s often hard to get a table but always worth the wait.
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