Ruins opened on Thursday night to a swarming crowd of shoppers and music lovers, Little Girls having played a set in the dimly lit backyard.

Owned by Mikey Apples and Josh Reichmann, the shop (960 Queen West) offers unisex clothing – both vintage and new – as well as accessories, music, literature, and art.  Opening Ceremony, Assembly New York, and Patrik Ervell are but a few of the lines that will be carried in the black roofed boutique.

Having survived the uneven garden terrain in five-inch swede stilettos, a few of us headed to OddFellows for drinks with Briony and her dad from Vancouver.

I decided to celebrate my 24th birthday by inviting the crew over for party sandwiches and sangria. My girlfriends are all so helpful, including Claire and Mary who did a round of chopping for the bottomless punch bowl.

Heli and Maeve, both sporting vintage shoes from my collection.

I’ve been collecting vintage sewing patterns for years and recently started the hunt for corresponding vintage fabrics. It was fate that I found Stella Dallas Living in Williamsburg.

Having opened next to their main clothing boutique, the shop has more vintage fabric than I’ve ever seen. There are three main sections – curtains, bedding, and yardage – each of which is organized according to fabric type. It was so fun to sift through the shelves and daydream about my projects. I could have spent the whole day there, sketchbook in one hand and tape measure in the other.

Rocky

Rosie, buckled up

I can’t believe it took me so long to discover Junk in Williamsburg. The space is enormous and yet overcrowded with clothing, furnishings, and home accessories from all eras at great prices.

I unearthed some real gems, including a bronze birdcage and carved wood doll house, which made it so hard to exercise restraint. I guess I’ll just have to move to New York.

]]> http://cozette.ca/2010/08/a-hoarders-dream/feed/ 0 http://cozette.ca/2010/08/bargain-hunting-in-brooklyn/ http://cozette.ca/2010/08/bargain-hunting-in-brooklyn/#comments Mon, 09 Aug 2010 04:03:57 +0000 Sarah http://cozette.ca/?p=2643

Weekends in New york are all about fresh croissants and flea markets, like the weekly sale at One Hanson in Williamsburg.

I was so happy to find this vintage red lace dress.

Heading back to Bedford, we stumbled across a great pop-up sale on 6th.

My best discovery was a whimsical line of jewelry by Georgia Varidakis. She does beautiful work with cross-cut crystals as well as cast objects, like broken wishbones and coral clusters.

After braving the subway system for an hour and a half – construction having doubled an otherwise fast trip – we finally arrived at Rockaway Beach for an afternoon sunbath and surf lesson.

Neither Mike nor I had been surfing before, but we were both catching waves within the first fifteen minutes!

Once a ghetto Queens suburb, Rockaway is slowly developing a quaint artisan community. Rockaway Taco at 95-19 Rockaway Beach Blvd is by far the best place to eat and the adjoining local produce hut is adorable. The snack shack offers an array of tasty dishes and Italian sodas, all very well priced.

They’re especially well know for their fish tacos and the spiced cucumber/mango salad was also really delicious.

It’s amazing to think that such a vibrant beach culture exists so close to Manhattan. I can’t wait to go back!

Portrait of a Young Lady was done by Picasso in 1958. He had tacked a reproduction of a painting by Lucas Cranach to his studio wall and it became the basis of this linoleum cut.

Violet Obsession by Yayoi Kasama is one of a series called “Accumulations” that the artist has been making since the 1960s.

Biowall is a woven scaffold that becomes a partition when colonized by living plants.

One Hundred Lavish Months of Bushwhack by Wangechi Mutu

My Vows by Annette Messager

Walking House by Laurie Simmons

‘SUP Magazine held a debaucherous, wet, drunk party on the 18th floor of The Standard Hotel in the Meatpacking District on Thursday. The crowd was an interesting mix of music and fashion industry folk and then the friends of friends . . . like me!

Had I known that there would be a massive hot tub in the middle of the dance floor, I would have sported a more aqua-friendly outfit. Thank goodness that I happened to pick a matching pink/black set that night! Granny panties would not have sufficed.

Xavier

The tiling against her dress is so wonderful . . . a black hive and swarming white bees.

It was a bit of a struggle to balance on the water daybeds, but the rooftop breeze and view were refreshing.

The evening was so much fun, minus the highly annoying encounter I had early on with a fifty plus year old man. He had the nerve to confront me for not going topless, “Why are you wearing a bra? This place is nothing like Studio 54.”

No kidding, you weathered fossil!

A few stripped down later on, but by then I was ready for pizza.

Thanks to our friend Xave of The MuseBox, we headed to an early evening concert in the basement of Brooklyn Industries at Union Square. The vodka flowed freely to the beat of two local bands, Living Days and The Rassle.