#ARTBASELHK13: Notes From The Art Basel Vernissage
Loud thunder and the sound of a heavy downpour woke all of Hong Kong up in the early morning. That sound of heavy rain which began around 4am and lasted until about 11am was the sound of a Hong Kong “Black Rainstorm”… a non-typhoon based kind of inclement weather bad enough for the government to urge people to stay at home. ie. not go to work.
Uh oh. I thought. Today was the first day of Art Basel.
But as it turned out, by the afternoon it was all bright sunny and clear skies all through dusk and eventually a rain-free evening. That said I consider a rare Black Rainstorm in the morning actually a good omen. It was a very loud welcome for the fair, and all the bad juju got pushed out of the way just in time.
Pictured above via my Instagram, is a special work of Venetian Blinds in the “Encounters” program by Korean Artist, Haegue Yang. For “Encounters”, expect large scale site specific works new and old all throughout the floor from the likes of Liam Gillick, Laurent Grasso, Zhen Chen, and many more curated by Yuko Hasegawa.
My advice… for discovery start at Level 3 and move your way down. That said the most important rule is to just enjoy. The best way to do it is to just get lost in all of it. This is my advice to you and the 59,999 other visitors expected at the fair this year. Well that and wear comfortable shoes.
(For more of my Art Basel recommendations you can check out my interview here via the Electricsekki Blog.)
VISIT Art Basel Hong Kong, Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre HKCEC, Wanchai. 23 - 26 MAY. Opens 12pm closes 7pm. Closes 5pm on Sunday.
JJ.
This Thursday 032C Magazine will be making its Hong Kong debut via a block beer party during Art Basel week… at where else… but Kapok on Sun Street of course. This seemingly low kew shindig is a pretty big debut considering 032C is currently one of the most sought after “Style” magazines around. We’re talking Fashion, Art, Design, and Architecture turned upside down and inside out. In the last issue alone (and there are only two issues a year) we find a conversation between Wolfgang Tillmans and Neil Tennant, Cory Arcangel and Paul Chan, sculptor Thomas Houseago interviewed by Cornelius Tettel, photographed by Hedi Slimane, and a report on the Dutch countryside by Rem Koolhaas.
Although publisher/managing director, Sandra von Mayer-Myrtenhain, will be in town to meet and greet guests and followers of the magazine, my real connection is with a pal and ex-university colleague, Carson Chan, who is currently the magazine’s Editor-at-Large, and who has had his eye on Asia for awhile, not just because of China’s cultural and consumerist power, but Hong Kong is where his family is from. Last month, Carson tapped my shoulders earlier to brainstorm a Hong Kong debut for the latest issue, a tell-all by Nicolas Ghesquiere and Cate Blanchett in bondage.
Carson Chan (left). Courtesy of Biennial of the Americas.
On top of being Editor, Carson ran a multi-disciplinary artist-in-residence non-profit gallery, PROGRAM. He also just completed his work curating the Marrakech Biennale, and now is on to make a mark at the Biennial of the Americas in Denver.
We sit with the busy boy and discuss our lives at Architecture school and the paths he took since with 032C Magazine.
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theW+: Hi Carson, so we’ve been classmates since the first year of Cornell Architecture, and at Cornell we’ve always dabbled beyond the confines of the Architectural program, for example remember the year we both worked on bringing in Fashion Designers from New York City, AsFour, Diva Pittala, Adrian Cowen and Benjamin Cho, whose works we thought had a more architectural/formalist edge. As well as worked with artists and other architects whose works had a fashion edge like John Demas and Sarah Morhaim, tell me did these University Projects influence the way you chose your path after you and I graduated the program?
Carson Chan at the’Emerging Fashions’ Architecture show at Cornell University School of Architecture in Ithaca in 2002. Exhibition curated by Carson Chan and JJ.Acuna.
CC: Definitely, there’s no question in my mind that the intellectual freedom and seemingly limitless opportunities at Cornell Architecture led me down the path I have taken since. I remember that one of the first things we were told was that the we were in school to learn how to see the world through architecture, not necessarily to learn how to build buildings. The sensibility towards space, form, function, context and history that was ingrained in me at Cornell has been key to my work as a writer, editor, and curator.
Julian Charriere and Andreas Greiner at Carson Chan’s PROGRAM Berlin, 2011.
theW+: Your role as Editor-at-Large at the very influential “Style” magazine 032c reflects your earlier interests in Fashion, Art, and Architecture. How did you get to this point and what about 032c excites you?
CC: For me, 032c is first and foremost a physicalization of our chief editor Joerg Koch’s imagination. His eclectic worldview is what has driven the magazine for the past 13 years, from the first issue on; it’s an almanac of his various obsessions. I think the quality that people appreciate most about it is its intellectual freedom and generosity. Few so-called style or fashion magazines would have embarked on some of the things we’ve done. Issue 19 (Summer 2010) featured almost 50 pages on American novelist William T. Vollmann; Issue 23 (Winter 2012/2013) featured a cover dossier on contemporary farm machinery along with an essay on re-thinking the countryside by Rem Koolhaas. We publish interviews with historian Eric Hobsbawm the same way we would with the elusive fashion photographer Steven Meisel.
Barkow Leibinger “Loom Hyperbolic” at the Marrakech Biennale, curated by Carson Chan 2012.
theW+: What do you feel about Asia at the moment? Magazines like Monocle, Surface, and Wallpaper* have made big in roads here in the last few years. What do you think 032c can contribute to the market and do you think readers here will understand where you guys are coming from?
CC: It’s an interesting question because it’s not the type of thing we discuss much in our editorial meetings, perhaps at our own disadvantage. We have a large following in Europe and in North America, and a growing one in Japan - but in general, as a platform for communication, we’re definitely interested in reaching out to new audiences. Our publisher, Sandra von Mayer-Myrtenhain is currently visiting Beijing and Hong Kong to learn more about the current cultural climate, and learn how we can participate. Issue 5 (Summer 2003) was called the Shanghai issue; it featured original photography from Wing Shya, Oliver Helbig, Heiji Shin; Joerg and Sandra spent time there to develop it, but where in 2003 the attitude was very much one of observation, today we see ourselves as viable contributor to contemporary Asia. The magazine’s byline is “Manual for Freedom, Research and Creativity,” a mantra that people in Asia are embracing in all aspects of their lives.
Elin Hansdottir “Mud Brick Spiral”, curated by Carson Chan for the Marrakech Biennale 2012.
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It’s that time of year again. Art Basel Hong Kong (ABHK) arrives for the first time in our great city with tons of buzz. For those who are new to all this, all you need to know that this art fair in Hong Kong is the 3rd largest art fair in the world, third only to Art Basel in Basel and Art Basel in Miami. Before the Art Basel brand took over this year, the fair was dubbed ART HK (see all my ART HK posts here). The fair grew so successful since its inception in 2007 that ART BASEL officially became the major stakeholder of the fair in 2011.
This year there wil be 245 galleries from the around the world with over 50 percent coming from Asia and Asia-Pacific. Of the 245, 48 galleries will mark their first appearance at a fair in Hong Kong. The show will be presented in four sectors: “Galleries” for general work, “Insights” for Asia based works made for the HK Show, “Discoveries” for works by emerging contemporary artists globally, and “Encounters” for site specific works exhibited beyond the booth around the floor and curated by Yuko Hasegawa, chief curator at the Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo.
Before we get further into the fair, so much is happening around the city with “OFF-Basel” (Official and Unofficial) Activities in the build up to opening night this Wednesday for VIP Members and Thursday for the General Public.
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Here is our TOP 5 ‘OFF-Basel’ Guide to (Official and Unofficial) Events and Exhibitions Outside Art Basel Hong Kong:
+ ‘PAPER RAIN’ A Public Parade by Arto Lindsay
This multi-media parade built around the idea of cinema, unspools along the Victoria Harbourfront and on the Star Ferry. Contributions from Nadim Abbas, Haegue Yang, Angela Su, João Vasco Paiva, Korakrit Arunanodchai, Alice Ma, Enoch Cheng, Otomo Yoshihide, Cedric Maridet, Kung Chi Shing and Shane Aspegren, as well as more special guests to be announced.
Art Basel Hong Kong is eager to invite the public to take part and participate in this public event commemorating the first day of Art Basel in Hong Kong. The parade begins with a choir performance at the HKCEC Expo Drive Entrance. Then officially commences from Central Pier No. 10 (ferry will take public from Wanchai to Central). Parade will take artists and public to the Victoria Harbourfront and will end with an electro-acoustic performance by Otomo Yoshihide.
23 MAY 2013, Thur 16:30 - 19:00 / Public Parade Begins at HKCEC Expo Drive Entrance and Ends at the Viewing Platforms at the Victoria Harbourfront / Free and Open To The Public / Weblink
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+ The Saamlung Three: Nadim Abbas @ CL3, Joao Vasco Pavia @ Goethe-Institute, Adrian Wong x Absolut Art Bureau @ Fringe Club
The highly celebrated Saamlung may have ceased operations as a commercial gallery in January 2013, but its space-less expansive projects and works are going the non-commercial route with new shows for the week of Art Basel Hong Kong curated by founder, Robin Peckham.
Expect new works by its core group of artists, Nadim Abbas, Joao Vasco Paiva, and Adrian Wong (under the Absolut Art Bureau curation)…in three spaces. Abbas’ animated GIFs and molecular structures will be exhibited in an architect’s studios at CL3. One floor below, Paiva continues his formal studies at the Goethe-Institut spaces, and supported by Edouard Malingue Gallery. Wong will have a very interesting “art bar” installation at the Fringe Club with animatronic jazz bands, geriatric lounge singers, Asian porn soundtracks, and surly waiters from a soy sauce steak joint.
Nadim Abbas at CL3 Architects 20-25 MAY 2013, 15F Hong Kong Arts Centre 2 Harbour Road Wanchai / Joao Vaco Paiva at Goethe-Institut Hong Kong 20 MAY - 8 JUN 2013, 14F Hong Kong Arts Centre 2 Harbour Road Wanchai / Adrian Wong Wun Dun Art Bar with Absolut Art Bureau 22-25 MAY 2013, BF Fringe Club 2 Lower Albert Road Central / Free and Open to The Public / Weblink
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+ MOBILES by Xavier Veilhan
Word on the street is that Xavier Veilhan may erect site specific MOBILES at Galerie Perrotin’s 50 Connaught Road home. This week expect a group of recent and never-before scene mobiles of varying shapes and dimensions. Veilhan is known for his site-specific interventions in cities, parks, and living environments (most recently iconic Lautner homes in Los Angeles.)
Veilhan, as a multidisciplinary artist, is “possessed by a highly personal artistic universe inhabited by a heterodox range of characters, objects and animals. Through these devices, the playful component emerges as a fundamental element in evoking a reality populated with symbols, metaphors and other semantic ambiguities.” These timeless studies a transformed into iconic objects that aim to communicate via a “POP” language.
Xavier Veilhan’s Mobiles / 21 MAY - 6 JUL 2013, Galerie Perrotin 50 Connaught Road Central HK / Free and Open To The Public / Weblink
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+ The Gift Shop by TANGRAM
For the second year in a row, Tangram will make Hong Kong’s best independent art, design, and fashion available for all Art Basel guests to take a little something back from Hong Kong with them as gifts for themselves or their loved ones in the world. Yes, it’s the long awaited annual, The Gift Shop, a 2 day pop-up concept shop to be located in Tangram’s studios in Chai Wan Mei (the art and design spaces within Chai Wan’s industrial district.)
Tangram’s newest collections will be on sale, but so will the rest of these amazing independent brands:
Stars & Tart (silk scarves) / Ferse Verse (paper products) / Hammer & Needle ( Leather Goods for Men) / Harlex (leather goods that can be personalized) / Gemma Hayden Blest (pressed plant collages) / 15SquareStreet (Men’s accessories) / TheYesterdaySkin (vintage and repurposed womenswear collection) / Or-Play (thoughtful children’s toys) / La Petite Mort Preserves and Jams (by Ashton Winkler, ex-Heirloom) / Teahka / MatterMatters (women’s accessories) / Tangram Loves Jaycow (bespoke headpieces with Jaycow Milliner) / Driftwood x Grafter by Michael Leung / Signed Prints By HK Illustrators Kitty Wong, Emilie Sarnel, Emilie Eldridge
Although Tangram’s founder Paola Sinisterra is perfectly happy with the “Off-Basel” annual shop to stay in Chai Wan, something tells me that this initiative should be closer to the fair next year because it is a treat for guests from out of town to go to a one-stop-shop for all the “CURATED” independent and design goods from our city. And I say curated because that HKTDC Design Store at the Convention Center and Hong Kong Airport just DOESNT Cut it. NO Offense to Anyone.
The Gift Shop / 24 - 25 MAY 2013, Tangram Studio, Unit 1701 Chai Wan Industrial City Phase 2 70 Wing Tai Road Chai Wan / Free and Open To The Public / Facebook Page and Instructions for Transportation
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+ Wong Chuk Hang Art Night
With the Chai Wan Mei galleries and design space unveiling open studio programs for Friday and Saturday, I’d like to highlight another new Art District on Hong Kong Island… the Wong Chuk Hang Art District composed of a group of gallery spaces with include Spring Workshop, Blindspot (annex), Rossi & Rossi, Pekin Fine Arts, Gallery EXIT, and Alisan Fine Arts.
This Thursday night will be their “Art Night” with exhibits by Qui Zhijie, Fang Lu, David Adamo, Christopher Orr, Yang Xinguang, and photographs by Ai Wei Wei, Gu Zheng, Han Lei, Zhao Liang, Qiu Zhijie, and RongRong to name a few. Should be fun. Plus the SPRING space is amazing. (See previous post.)
Wong Chuk Hang Art Night / 23 MAY 2013 Thur 17:00-23:00, 3F Remex Centre 42 Wong Chuk Hang Road (entrance Heung Yip Road) Aberdeen / Free and Open To The Public / Shuttle Bus Available at Art Basel Hong Kong Expo Drive Entrance Starting 18:00 / Weblink
I will see you at all these things… well me or my clones.
JJ.
Last Saturday brought a balmy and drizzly Spring evening to Hong Kong, but at the Wong Chuk Hang Industrial District, it was all smiles and pleasant conversations as the arts community rallied around Spring Workshop’s latest artist-in-residence, Qiu Zhijie, one of the mainland’s most celebrated artist and thinkers of his generation.
Inspired by Spring Workshops’ delightfully expansive and flexible space, Qiu began making full use of the large areas of of wall and floor for a very specific mapping exercise which only can be accomplished in such a site.
The neutralness of the walls and the beige floors allowed Qiu to think of them as a blank canvas, a datum in which ready-made objects, “found, made, free, and confined”, can be categorized and mapped, with a help of students from all of Hong Kong’s schools and universities, namely the University of Hong Kong, City University, Baptist University, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Arts School, HKICC/Jockey Club Ti-ICollege, Diocesan Girls’ School, Hong Kong Academy and Po Leung Kuk Laws Foundation College.
And when we went there last Saturday… he was close to completion…
But more was left to do. The exhibit officially starts on May 23rd.
Also a work in progress, but in a completely different scale, is the work of Eric Shuldenfrei and Marisa Yiu of Eskyiu in the back garden area, titled, Industrial Forest.
Below, Marisa sits within her work as she takes photos of me taking photos of the landscape. Behind her stands Laurent Gutierrez of map office, another celebrated mult-disciplinary architectural studio doing great work in / for the city.
The Industrial Forest is a forest composed of metal “bamboo” rods securely placed on artificial topography. This synthetic nature comes alive, the rods swaying back and forth, with the affect of use and natural weather conditions. Imagine a typhoon!
You can find the scale model of the project in the office.
… As well as the architectural drawings.
So many friends and supporters were there that night to rally around the artists as well as founder, Mimi Brown’s non-profit arts initiative. Also spotted were Art Basel Hong Kong’s Director Asia, Magnus Renfrew (Check out our interview with him last year), art patron and writer Alex Seno, restauranteur and creative Alan Lo, art muse Xue Tan, Art Basel Hong Kong’s VIP coordinator Deborah Erlich, creative consultant Louise Wong, write and curator Christina Li, artist/educator Leung Chi Wo, and my pals Katrina, Jason S, Jason R, and Susan.
Dinner was served on the beautiful lawn and deck area outside.
There’s a map on the table…
Balls on the floor can be kicked around to create new word structures, concepts, ideas… the purpose of which to create a more dynamic version of mapping which involves the user and the space, via the propositions of the artist.
Can’t wait to see more from Spring Workshop? Go take a look for yourself. The doors are now open.
VISIT Qiu Zhijie and Eskiyiu’s Industrial Forest @ Spring Workshop, 3F Remix Centre, 42 Wong Chuk Hang Road, Aberdeen, HK
JJ.
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JOYCE Gallery, located inside JOYCE, one of Hong Kong’s premier fashion boutiques, kicked-off the Art Basel fair season with their in-store exhibition of JM Rizzi (JMR), a highly celebrated Brooklyn-based street artist whose unique works reflect a neo-abstract expressionist influence but with a twist of pop art.
While a selection of JMR’s works are available at the gallery for sale, the artist was also able to collaborate with the shop to create unique site-specific works which are based on the theme of “escape”.
According to the gallery, “JMR views painting as a medium through which he can escape the frustrations and the monotony of daily life”… and for most of us city dwellers, these black and white graphic lines may reflect exactly that kind of urban angst.
Other works on display plus a mural specifically for the On Pedder bags and accessories shop upstairs utilize bold colors as an added layer to the “scribbles”. The whole expression feels musical.
A little color IS fun… and a little fun doesn’t hurt anyone. The crowd was sold on Thursday night, with a few pieces already purchased by opening day.
I met up with a few pals in the crowd including, Marika of Lane Crawford, stylist Laura Li, bag designer Michelle Lai of MISCHA, W Hong Kong’s DJ Angus Wong, DJ Miss Yellow, The Armoury’s Alan See, Fashion Blogger Cindy Ko of Cindiddy, Artist Simon Birch, Disney’s Katrina Tran, and bag designer, Grace Chan editor of LUSHGAZINE.
Also met up for the first time with artist, DJ, and director, Mischa Hollenbach, the creator of Perks and Mini, an iconic Australian street fashion label.
One champagne is not enough.
Hood Rats.
AND also met up with street artist and graphic designer, Mark Goss from the UK. Like all things in my life these days, Mark and I met on Twitter/Tumblr/Instagram. And now we collaborate via his blog Curious Fiend, part of Fiend Projects. You’ll see some of my posts on there, and his posts will pop up on my website as well. Together we’ll do our best to cover the region’s art + design shows and exhibits.
We’ll both try to keep it fun and non-pretentious. Exactly like these crazy glasses we’re trying on at On Pedder.
On the way out I saw that JMR painted on these iconic bags, one from Proenza Schouler and the other from Pucci.
Prices upon request.
Of Coz.
VISIT JMR at JOYCE Gallery, G/F New World Tower, Central HK, Opens Daily 10:30am - 7:30pm, +852-28101120, Until 13 JUN 06
JJ.
Last Sunday a friend of mine, stylist and fashion blogger Veronica Li of the Vnikali Blog, and I finally got together for a life update and a chat with friends, Priscilla and Angus. The tea/coffee get together amongst us was long overdue, and it didn’t hurt that cakes at Woobar in W Hong Kong was part of the equation.
The last time I saw Veronica was at the Black Fleece Flagship launch in town, and it was then that she and I decided that it was time to really schedule a meet up.
Veronica has been working hard with her clients as well as religiously updating her wildly successful blog. Just two months ago, she flew to Vienna for her website’s coverage of the watch brand Omega. She had an opportunity to blog from the Garden Palace Liechtenstein while meeting up with actress, Nicole Kidman.
W Hong Kong pastry chef, Andrea Bonnafini, from Turin, served us an amazing Tea Set just for this month and in collaboration with Le French May, an annual citywide initiative by the Alliance Francaise to spread French culture in Hong Kong via art, entertainment, and F&B channels.
Andrea is like a kid in a candy shop… except his kitchen IS his candy shop, and he invents everything inside it. If you’re lucky you can get dueling edible chocolate robots…
Or potted Tiramisu plants.
After tea, we all headed up to the Pool Wet Deck upstairs to check out the view and take a few shots for the denim brand 7 For All Mankind as part of their Spring/Summer 2013 Social Media campaign.
It was a tad bit cold and windy then… but everyone found a way to warm up. Like Priscilla and Angus below.
Thanks so much 7 For All Mankind and W Hong Kong for a great Sunday get together. I can’t wait until the summer when it gets sunny and hot and the hotel’s famous Sunday DJ pool sessions are in full effect.
WEAR 7 For All Mankind / EAT WOOBAR at W Hong Kong / CULTURE Le French May
JJ.
Unless you’ve been living under a rock lately, you already know that while Asia and Hong Kong maybe rolling out the red carpet for High Street consumerism from brands like GAP, Zara, Topshop, and H&M, unfortunate accidents like the garment factory disaster in Bangladesh are starting to happen more and more frequently, and producers just can’t keep up with consumer demand for Fast Fashion. I’m as much to blame as anyone else. The lure of a trend or a certain look at an unbeatable price just cant be beat sometimes. That said who knows if even the luxury items we purchase at Lane Crawford or NET-A-PORTER come from a sustainable ecosystem… even if it is a high price? Maybe it just means a high return on investment. There are no guarantees that one item comes from a different factory from another in this day and age.
This is exactly why organizations, such as our friends at REDRESS and the new online shop, A BOY NAMED SUE, are seeking to help consumers re-think their options and what they wear. Every purchase we make goes directly into some eco-system. You can either feed more of the exploitation of human and ecological resources or the fostering of one. REDRESS seek to help us re-use and re-cycle our clothes, and A BOY NAMED SUE goes all over the world to source the best in sustainable fashion products. And what’s best… all these initiatives are based in Hong Kong.
Samantha Wong: I think the ASOS event was more like a test on event management and gathering food sponsors and creating a video to match. So it was more like a one-off thing to test our own skills and taste.
theW+: What are the brands to watch out for and will you carry some of them on your online store?
SW: Understand the root of your passion because down the road when the challenges start coming, remember why you first started.
SHOP A Boy Named Sue Online / VISIT A Green Home Shop. A Sustainable Pop-Up Store. May 5-12th, 2013, Fuk Sau Lane off Third Street in Sai Ying Pun. Open Daily from 12PM - 7:30PM
Based on the weather in Hong Kong lately, it seems like the city is not yet ready to give up on Spring (ie. rainy and chilly). So therefore, while it is still Spring out in the city, take your umbrella and go to some of these shops I checked out with friends, MacArthur and Peter (as in SOM, one of the US’s hottest designers today.)
Peter and Mac getting along just fine!
Not knowing how to spend the Sunday, I decided to meet up with Peter and Mac post-brunch for coffee. Soon after some gossip updates, we all decided that it was best to do some exercise .. and by exercise we mean a walking tour of one of my most favorite neighborhoods… the Sun Street / St. Francis Yard / Sau Wa Fong (triangle?) in Wanchai Admiralty.
+ CARVEN / Moon Street
Our first stop of the tour, straight to Moon Street to check out the latest Spring looks at the newly opened CARVEN boutique.
For those who do not know, CARVEN was founded in 1945 at Rond Point des Champs-Elysees by Madame Carven to house her collection of Haute Couture. The shop has had a few transformations since the 90’s when Mardame CARVEN retired from the label, and since then the brand has been building a collection inspired by CARVEN’s very clean, elegant, and youthfully romantic approach to the “CARVEN” aesthetic.
In 2010 Guillaume Henry joins the CARVEN house as its newest Art Director. His biggest change? Adding the brand’s first men’s collection for the Summer 2012 line.
And by the looks of what’s on offer at the Moon Street CARVEN, this season it’s all about neon tangerines, electric greens, and florals. (A different interpretation of Spring than what we’re all stuck with in HK.)
Im loving the collaborative pieces with PORTER Bags and Zespa Shoes.
The friendly neighborhood CARVEN guy said “Hi”.
+ KAPOK / Sun Street
Next stop, we wanted to show Peter the original KAPOK shops. I know these days there are other locations… but I still think the Sun Street and St. Francis Street shops are the best. KAPOK is where you can go to find labels and goods before they they show up anywhere else in Hong Kong. They’re the true purveyors of fine goods in the city.
This time around we checked out sunglasses by Smith & Norby, the latest wallets by Jack Spade, and card cases by MAKR Carry Goods.
That said, i’m a big fan of these easy to carry Wm.J.Mills&CO. Sailmakers Bags from Greenport NY. (According to the label).
They have KINFOLK!
+ THE MEN’S SHOP by CLUB MONACO / St. Francis Yard
I’m a Club Monaco addict. There I said yet. I think my friend, Whitney and I buy at least one thing from this store every week.
Men in Hong Kong get an an extra special treat with The Men’s Shop concept on St. Francis street because they do ship in some extra special items only found in this store from some independent labels in the states. I’m loving the “needlepoint belts” from Smathers & Branson above.
We we all loved these great pair of loafers from Mark McNairy.
I was also tempted to get this umbrella from London Undercover.
Meanwhile I wore my new Club Monaco blazer for this season. It’s got green and yellow flowers printed all over it like wallpaper… but that’s exactly why I love it. It’s quite quirky.
+ WDSG Art & Craft Department / St. Francis Street
Around the corner we we went to check out the newest goods at the WDSG Shop… which looked more like a General Store from the wild west… That… or Williamsburg today.
