You’ll probably walk into Aksel Paris at 311 West Broadway thinking that it’s just another Soho fashion store, but a pleasant surprise awaits those who enter—this high-end shirt shop doubles up as an art gallery as well. Be it the Gregory Okshteyn-designed bright orange, 3D-printed, wave-like rack displaying the store’s fine garments, or British artist Saroj Patel’s intricate mural crawling over the store’s walls, one can easily tell that this is not just another Soho shop.
When I was a child growing up in the United Arab Emirates, the local souk (Arabic for marketplace) was one of the places we frequented as a family—not only was it a great shopping destination, the souk was where we could see the best of Arabian culture and hospitality. So when I learnt that the French Institute Alliance Francaise in New York was setting up a Tunisian souk as part of their World Nomads Tunisia initiative, I was more than a little excited to see what they had to offer.
Yes, folks, it has happened: the Dark Knight has descended on Gotham. Or at least his mask has!
Batman and his compatriots from the world of comic books are being celebrated in the “Heroes & Villains” Exhibition being conducted at the Fashion Institute of Technology campus at 227 West 27th Street in Midtown Manhattan. The exhibition, which has been curated by the fourth semester students of FIT’s visual presentation and exhibition design department, is a colorful, fantastical celebration of the comic book characters that have fascinated us for so many years.
We have already had a duct tape store pop up in New York City—so maybe we shouldn’t be too surprised with the life-size dollhouse that has sprung up in Vanderbilt Hall at Grand Central Terminal.
The seven-room dollhouse, complete with interior decor and furniture, is a marketing ploy by Target to promote the launch of their “Threshold” line of home products. Open for just two days (it closes today at 6.30 pm), this dollhouse is free to visit, and provides an impressive way to check out Target’s products in a true-to-home setting—albeit a home that is located within Grand Central Terminal.
Chris Perry’s studio at 55 Washington Street is located at a particularly picturesque location in DUMBO.
While books have always been known to contain art, they are hardly thought of as being works of art by themselves. But the making of a book is very much an artistic process—sure, it may be hard to see in the commercial book bindings that we have become used to seeing these days, but a look at the traditional and historic methods used to craft a book is enough to understand that making a book remains a complex, painstaking and beautiful endeavor.
Rolls of duct tape at The Duck Tape Experience Store in Midtown Manhattan.
While I have always considered duct tape to be a remarkable invention, used to do everything from holding diapers together to fixing space stations, I never really thought this versatile tool could be used as an artistic device as well. But my notion was miles away from the truth—a visit to the Duck Tape Experience store in the Garment District opened my eyes to the cool quotient of duct tape.
