The New York Times’ City Room Blog wrote an interesting article on Barbara Mensch’s book South Street and the photography exhibit that is currently being held at the South Street Seaport Museum. The show is centered around pictures of the gritty Fulton Fish Market and the people that worked there in the late 1970s and early 1980s.
Filed under New York City
From the Desk of… is a window into the world and workspace of some of ACL’s most stylish friends.
In addition to being a talented filmmaker, designer, artist and bespoke clipboard maker, Alexander Olch is the subject of this week’s From the Desk of… column.
This is the first studio I ever rented – and have been working here now for seven years. It was proudly furnished at low-budget: Desk – 1 inch thick MDF board on 2 steel sawhorses, chair from the old Chelsea flea market, long pine wood shelves with two coats of Red Devil glossy white enamel paint, Steel shelves at right from B & Z Steel Shelving in SoHo, with the same paint. Computer is still the same – Mac OS 9.2.2. Electronics all old and borrowed – Pioneer SX-737 tuner, Panasonic Easa-Phone, pro VHS deck, and speakers all from 1990. Black framed photograph (center top) is the first I ever took – in 1983 of the waves in Ogunquit, Maine.
Filed under Design, From the Desk of..., Style
Flickr Find is a weekly column of interesting things found on the amazing and inspiring photo sharing website Flickr.
Is there a better character than the Ampersand? The elegant symbol is my Flickr obsession for the week. The complete set of images can be found here.
Filed under Flickr Find, Style
I’m dumb. Why didn’t I go to Coachella? The Indie rock festival was this past weekend near Palm Springs and I am getting all sorts of reports of amazingness — which is prompting me to resentment, jealously and loathing. My biz partner Ali was lucky enough smart enough to go and she said the festival was stellar per usual. She also said that The National was “one of the best performances at Coachella.” She sure does love those guys from The National. A Medium Format was also out there and took some great pictures.
UPDATE: The people at Anthem tipped me off to pictures from their Coachella party, aptly dubbed La Fiesta de Fiestas.
Filed under Los Angeles, Music
Is there a more ubiquitous bag in New York than the canvas duffels that the bankers carry? I noticed the bags frequently around the city and would always try to find a store that stocks them. I was sure that I would be able to get one on the Upper East Side, but alas no luck. At that point I started doing research and eventually found out that the bags are made by the New Canaan, CT. based Warden-Brooks, Ltd. Around the same time as this duffel quest was going on — I was trying to come up with an idea for a holiday gift for my then client J. Press. So I decided to kill two birds with one stone and commission my very own banker bag. Working with the J. Press creative director and the people at Warden-Brooks, we designed the beige canvas bag around some great deadstock navy and red wool webbing that we found on eBay. The result is a classic J. Press bag for all occasions.
Filed under Men's wear, New York City, Preppy, Random, Style
The BBC recently aired a facinating program where Stephen Fry painstakingly recreates the Gutenberg Press. You can find the complete series of videos after the jump.
Part One
Filed under Video
This past week J. Crew Group C.E.O. Mr. Millard Drexler was a guest on Charlie Rose. He provided great insight into the retail world, specifically that of The Gap and J. Crew Group. I was mesmerized by the interview and it made me feel as if I was friends with Mickey — or in someway connected to his inner circle. The story of how Mr. Drexler had purchased the defunct New Bedford, Mass. based workwear manufacturing company Madewell, relaunched the name as a contemporary women’s brand and then leased it to J. Crew for one dollar was particularly intriguing.
Filed under Video
We have been having beautiful weather here in New York City, the type of weather you hear about from your friends that moved to LA. The difference is, we only get a few days of it every year. So I say, get away from your computer and do some people watching and day drinking. I made a little map of some of my favorite places to go to enjoy the spring weather.
Filed under Drinking, New York City
Every so often you discover a brand that fits perfectly with your style for a certain time or a certain place. The Japanese company WHEREABOUTS does that for me. The pleasantly disheveled collection screams relaxed summer and the line makes perfect sense for a place like Los Angeles. WHEREABOUTS would totally be my look should I ever choose to relocate to Southern California. Well, everything except the hats. I don’t think I could pull that look off. The styling of the looks below is well done and adds to the relaxed feel. The pants are too long and frumpy and the bow tie is twisted off to one side. I love it. It all makes for a terrific collection, which is fittingly only available in the U.S. at H. Lorenzo Men in LA. Seems like something Steven Alan would like as well, especially considering all of the other Japanese brands that he is stocking. More looks after the jump.
I have been thinking for a long time about getting a place upstate. Maybe something in a sleepy town in Sullivan County. I’ll get myself a nice old pickup truck to haul stuff around. I know just what I want the place to look like — a classic Saltbox. My mother grew up in one in Ledyard, Conn. It was this amazing old house in the woods that has since become a historic site called the Nathan Lester House. I was always enchanted when my mom would tell me stories about the “Indian room” which was a secret windowless room in the house that the original inhabitants had installed (around 1795) to protect themselves from the Native Americans in the area. Obviously, the concept of an “Indian room” is a derogatory holdover from a bygone era, but as a kid the idea of a secret room is beyond amazing. Some great Saltbox homes and farms are pictured below.
Filed under Design, Obsessions, Random
From the Desk of… is a window into the world and workspace of some of ACL’s most stylish friends.
In addition to being a really nice guy, Men’s Vogue Fashion Director Stephen Watson is one of the most stylish and tasteful gentlemen in the business. Pictured and described below is Mr. Watson’s desk – from high atop the Condé Nast tower.
Filed under From the Desk of...
Flickr Find is a weekly column of interesting things found on the amazing and inspiring photo sharing website Flickr.
I stumbled across this photo set of Ephemera from the guys at We Made This. Lots of good old type and texture. The full set of images can be seen here.
Filed under Flickr Find, Style
A Continuous Lean. 