soulcycle chronicles

Here is the piece in it’s entirety… we are going to build a frame for it as well, but I’m not patient enough to wait for that to be done before I start showing this thing to the world. It took days to put up, as each image is affixed individually to the supporting board, but it is sooo worth it. I am really happy with the way it turned out.

What is it, you ask? I was commissioned by soulcycle, an indoor cycling studio (yep, spinning) to make a piece that celebrated the community of incredibly happy (and in-shape) people they have built up over the past three years. As they grow from a single sweaty room on the upper west side to a 5 studio empire, it is still the extended family vibe that takes center stage. So when you walk into the newest, biggest studio at 103 Warren Street in Tribeca, you are greeted by hundreds of smiling faces which is only the beginning of what will most likely be an incredibly positive, if exhausting, experience.

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It was fun, hanging around and getting to know this world and then documenting it in my favorite format (the instant photo) I’ll be shooting more details in the next week or so, as I’ll be down there shooting a professional style photo of the piece in it’s entirety (not to diss the iphone shots, but…) For now, here’s a detail above and a view of the wall before we added the official signage.

I also want to officially thank Julie Rice and Elizabeth Cutler (SC’s founders) for sponsoring the project, the almighty Amy Peck for hooking us up, and Josh Liberson, Leslie Unruh, Ed Messikian, Phil Danza, Jill Selsman and Sofia Rower, without whose very concrete assistance I would not have been able to pull this off.

More photos to come!

the soulcycle piece lives

I am sorry to have been so MIA lately but I have been finishing this HUGE installation of what we like to call polaroids (but are actually Fuji instax film photos) for the brand new flagship, opening tomorrow, indoor cycling studio called soulcycle.

I am so tired that I cannot even go into detail now, other than the fact that I am thrilled to have been able to orchestrate the piece and that it looks f*cking awesome.

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More details, photos of the piece installed, etc etc to come. Most likely over the weekend. In the meantime, it’s nice to be back with you all.

goodbye deliciousness

So with all good new things (2010! Woo hoo!) must come some sadness… My favorite neighborhood restaurant, Silent h, a brilliant delectable casual inventive take on traditional Vietnamese home cooking has closed it’s doors for good. So local that we could pretend it was an extension of our living room, so mellow that the brilliant chef/owner, Vihn Nguyan, gave my daughter the run of the place, so wonderfully delicious that nary a week went by without a lunch and/or dinner there. Revered by the grownups in the local press (and by local, I mean the NY Times, among others)…. and yet, the evil evil economic meltdown was too much for it, and a truly great eatery is no more.

All is not lost, however. Vihn is hard at work with a couple of partners on a new place that will open, like a phoenix, in the same, albeit renovated, space. The type of cuisine is a closely held secret, but one who’s revelation  I am eagerly anticipating.

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I’ll keep you all posted… The new spot is due to open in the early spring. My mouth is waterning just thinking about it.

Here’s to new ventures in the new decade!

Bye bye 2009!

Don’t let the door hit you on the way out! Not that we all didn’t have all sorts of wonderful moments during this stressful and eventful year, but man I must admit to being very excited for the better times that I am sure lie directly ahead in the form of a rosy 2010.

So here’s to less stupidity, more peace and creativity, and above all more time to enjoy the people and incredible moments that make life on this earth worth all of the struggle (and the overcrowded subways…)

A champagne toast to you all. I’m looking forward to showering you with all kinds of great ideas in the next year. Keep in touch!

And Happy New Year!

peace on earth

A highly qualified holiday wish for you all:

May your days be merry and bright (and prosperous and fulfilling and memorable and fun and enlightening) and may all your Christmases (and Hanukahs and Kwanzaas and Ramadan and whatever other holidays there are around years end) be white (and by white, I mean clean and clear and full of possibilities.)

Thanks for hanging out with me.

Here’s to more in 2010.

somebody else’s gift guide

So I was trolling around the Soul Cycle website and I came across this gift guide on their blog. And it’s great. Like it features the above beautiful object that is, believe it or not, a humidifier. Go figure! And then go check this list out. Stephen Mack, the brains behind the goods, is clearly far more than just a technology consultant.

Just another example of why this particular excersize studio is attracting so much attention!

a new sweater?

Ok grandparents and other secret and not so secret admirers, let us all take a moment out and think about how cute our favorite little scorpio would look in this sweater. That is currently being sold at my favorite neighborhood kids’ store, Sweet William. Probably the most brilliant curation of singular, often handmade (but NEVER hokey) and always tasteful clothing for kids from zero to six, this store is always a pleasure to check out. And I’m going to have to say that I wouldn’t mind owning  just about every single thing in the place.

My daughter has a crush on Bronagh Staley, the wizard behind the cutain at this place, and who could blame her? This native of Ireland has brought a wonderous world of beautiful things to Williamsburg and doesn’t seem to mind near daily visits (and shop redecoration) by the various children of the neighborhood. Future shoppers in training, I suppose.

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And if the exquisite clothes aren’t enough– there is a great selection of the kind of toys even the most particular of parents can embrace. At reasonable prices, too.

Oh if only we had space for a life sized stuffed deer…

a green christmas

My friend Ria Browne, who was most recently the business mind behind the timeless and damned near perfect fashion line Mayle, has decided to pour her eye for design into a flower delivery service that carries only potted plants and flowers, as they last longer and are far more environmentally friendly. Called Tiny Park Flowers, this little company has exploded and she is now most likely going to continue the fun throughout the year. Oh happy day for us NYC dwellers!

Prices start at a very reasonable $25 and she’s got orchids, paperwhites, amaryllis and all sorts of other seasonal flora– she’ll also take requests, as long as the plant in question is available. The arrangements are simple and beautiful– the perfect thing for the person who already has the latest everything else. E mail her at ria@tinypark.net for more information or to place an order.

And click below to see a few more arrangements– just to get your mouths watering!

For example, a simple orchid in a julip cup. Understated, yet festive. (sheesh, I sound like some kind of wedding dress salesperson or something…)

And here are some begonias, all dressed up and ready to go!

instant gratification

Back in the good old days, when Domino magazine was still pumping out issues, I wrote a profile about Tessa Edick, co-founder of a brilliant company called Sauces ‘n Love. She and her business partner Paolo Volpati-Kedra turned their love of Italian cooking and entertaining into 2 mouth watering lines of pasta sauces, one of which (sauces ‘n love) lives in the fridge and the other (scarpetta) keeps in the cupboard. And best of all, they both seriously (and I am NOT exaggerating here) taste like you went out to your garden and picked the ingredients yourself before slaving for hours in the kitchen. I was SHOCKED the first time I tasted their tuscan vodka sauce. SHOCKED. Even my gourmet-calibre-chef husband likes this stuff.

And they have gift sets that you can buy for all of the people you really like but don’t know what to get for the holidays. No pantry should be without, and I’m telling you, your friends will thank you when they get home late on a Sunday night after a flight that was delayed for 4 hours and they realize that they can have a sumptuous meal in minutes with minimal effort.

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I know I sound like an evangelist, but getting to share great products like this is why I have this blog in the first place. They use only the finest quality ingredients, hand picked for freshness and then slow-cooked in small batches to preserve the integrity of the flavors. The sauces are all 100% gluten free. And on top of all of that, the jars are made out of BPA free plastic, so they keep the food pure and can be reused for all sorts of fun things once the sauce is devoured.

So buy some to give away, but don’t forget to keep a few jars for yourselves. You won’t be sorry.

HUGE shoe sale

For the next 20 hours or so, the very very talented shoe designer Eileen Shields is slashing the prices on whatever stock she has left in her online store. This includes these amazing show-stopping sandals she designed for Zero + Maria Cornejo. And many other, equally incredible styles. Seriously, you will not find a more beautifully made shoe anywhere. The construction and materials are out of this world, and best of all, you can actually walk in them!

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We have until midnight on Monday the 14th of December to take advantage of these incredible prices (everything is $110!) Though if you’ve missed the super sale, you should still check out the site as the shoes are incredible and the prices are always super reasonable considering the high calibre of the product.