A Biscuitville near Greensboro, North Carolina.

The thing that makes homogenization work is that it makes people comfortable; you can go to Starbucks in Chicago or Dubai and it will basically be the same thing. While this can be soulless and depressing, it can also come in handy. A hungover breakfast in Tokyo for instance (#eggmcmuffintime). But I also love to discover the regional spots that have yet to fully conquer the landscape. In Ohio this manifests itself in the form of Bob Evans. This past weekend I was in North Carolina and couldn’t miss the always delicious and still privately held regional chain Biscuitville. To me, Biscuitville is the Southern breakfast equivalent of the West coast burger mecca In-N-Out. The biscuit making began in 1966 as a way for founder Maurice Jennings (who owned a Pizza chain called — wait for it — Pizzaville) to do a breakfast business. In 1975 the first full time biscuit operation opened in Danville, North Carolina and Biscuitville was born. The rest is history.

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The Billykirk offices are in a converted warehouse on Bay Street in Jersey City, NJ. The space is filled with all sorts of old industrial equipment (that actually gets used in making their products) and tons of Billykirk gear that is either on its way to the Amish folks that make the goods or to some of America’s best stores. Another thing you will notice in the office is all of the great looking artwork that Kirk Bray creates in his free time. If you go by the studio on a normal workday (much like I did yesterday), the brothers Chris and Kirk Bray will kindly welcome you and then proceed to talk your ear off. It is a good thing though, always interesting and inspiring and they will never let you leave empty handed. With its new video series The Scout shares some of the magic that makes the Billykirk guys great artisans and equally great people. The video is an enjoyable watch and it sets a high standard. Congrats to the Billykirk fellas and also to Tom Ran and the folks behind The Scout. Well played indeed.

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Growing up I spent many a fall Saturday delivering firewood for one of my father’s businesses. It was one of the best jobs I have ever had — my Dad still talks about how much I loved the work. Firewood season was in September, October, November, so I would only really work on the weekends because I was still in school. Most of the firewood would end up at homes on Cleveland’s affluent East side. Places like Pepper Pike, Beachwood, Shaker Heights, Waite Hill, Chagrin Falls, Orange and Russell Township. It was in these places that I mastered the art of stacking firewood and it was on those roads in which I cut my teeth driving a dump truck. I can still maneuver a truck in reverse down a curvy 200 yard driveway, loaded to the gills with firewood. Surprising that that doesn’t become more handy living in Manhattan. Anyway, people would inevitably want us to stack the wood as far away from the truck as possible. So we would hand carry a cord (About 10 pieces at a time and around 400 pieces of wood total. That would make a 4 x 4 x 8 foot stack.) or two across decks and yards and through garages. Past their Saabs and Range Rovers and Porsches, it was awesome.

All of the wood would have to be counted, twice. We would load the truck and count every piece, planning for however many deliveries we had. Many times we would have to come back to the yard and reload several times on a busy Saturday. Then, when back at the delivery spot we would have to count each piece again as we unloaded. This made it difficult to bullshit with your coworker, because you would lose count and that was a major pain in the ass. But the work was good and you were your own boss. Once the wood was all delivered you were done and it was easy to see the progress and gain a sense of accomplishment. That is the real beauty of manual labor — you have a job to do for the day and when it is done, so are you. Every fall I remember those firewood delivery days fondly.

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Not as omnipresent as Filson bags but just as authentic, J.W. Hulme has been making high quality leather and canvas in Minnesota for over 100 years. Te company is probably best known for selling its waspy wares to outdoorsy outfitter Orvis in the late 80s and 90s. Eventually, the relationship with Orvis came to an end, but J.W. Hulme continues to supply nice looking and well made goods in their unique style. It goes without saying that the goods don’t come cheap and that there are companies out there making similar products, but with J.W. Hulme you are paying for high end materials and fabrication. These bags require more of an investment up-front, but I have to think they will literally last a lifetime. If I were you I would start breaking one in now, your son will thank you.

American Heritage Leather Duffle

Canvas Briefcase

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Gadi Gelan’s antique lighting store B4 It Was Cool has been at 89 East Houston Street for over 20 years. When Gadi moved his collection of vintage American lighting and other industrial style furniture to the area, no one cared what was happening on Houston near the Bowery. “Back when I moved in none of these buildings even had addresses.” Gadi told me while the ACL Films crew staked out his shop. “You could just make up whatever address number you wanted. No one gave a shit about this street.” How times have changed. These days Gadi’s place is an easily missed shop between luxury condos and a soon to be completed multi-million dollar Keith McNally brick-oven pizza restaurant. The second in a three part series of films presented by Cole, Rood & Haan Co., ACL Films takes a trip through Gadi’s unrivaled offerings of American industrial lighting.

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Boom…we’re back. After a successful summer event, my partner-in-crime Randy “Freedom” Goldberg (of UrbanDaddy fame) and I knew what we had to do, bring this baby back for another round of Pop Up Flea goodness. Expect a killer line-up of new and vintage goods from all of your favorite brands, plus a few surprises thrown in for good measure. Mark your calender, November 20th – 22nd at 201 Mulberry Street in NoLita. Get Handsome. Pop Up Flea Official Site

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Last night the gentlemen from Odin and Duckie Brown held a small cocktail party to toast their new collaborative men’s line Edward. The capsule collection, which was on display at the gathering, is a desirable mix of goods that would fit any modern man’s wardrobe. From the fatigue green waxed M-65 jacket to the woven shirts with their micro-collars (as Eddy Chai described them), Edward is firing on all cylinders. And the best part about the modest 17 piece collection is the value for money. Nothing in the Edward range retails for over 500 bucks and all of it is made in America. So tell me, who can’t use a new pea coat for fall, or a nice tweed sport coat? And anything military inspired in waxed canvas just goes without saying. The good news is you won’t have to wait five months to get this stuff, actually you won’t even have to wait until the announced November 1st drop. Our sources tell us the line will be in Odin stores this coming weekend. If you head by look for us, we’ll be in line.

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Ahhh the urge to escape. It has crossed every New Yorker’s mind at least once…in the past week. The daydream of finding a little place upstate where you can live out your days watching the dogs run around the freshly mowed front yard. The Volvo doesn’t have to be moved before 9am and the neighbors all know your name, first and last. Well now you can not only have those two dogs and permanent suspension of alternate side parking, but could probably house every one of your friends while you’re at it. BDDW, a New York based furniture company, is packing up their Hudson River Valley headquarters and heading down to good ol’ Philadelphia, Pa. A move that leaves 147 acres of wooded relaxation up on the auction block. The property includes a 1500 square foot house, two gigantic stone horse barns and the aforementioned acreage. The asking price for the dream? A cool $1.9m. Having access to that clock tower alone is worth the price of admission in my mind. Bed & breakfast anyone? I already have the plans drawn up. —SEAN SULLIVAN

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ACL dispatched Mister Mort to Paris to report on Anatomica, one of the city’s best men’s shops. Actually Mort was not dispatched, he went under the guise of a holiday, but we all know he just went to hit the flea markets and take street style photos. Anatomica is nestled on a quiet street right off of the famed Rue de Rivoli and sells an eclectic selection of French, Japanese and American goods, including goods under its own label.

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The third Rag & Bone store on Mercer Street is an airy space with high ceilings and a refined industrial feel. At first glance it looks like the other shops on the retail-friendly cobblestone block, but when you get in there and really look closely you will notice well thought out detailing that makes the space special. The lighting looks like something that came out of an old GM factory (or old New York workspace), the rolling racks were treated with acid to give them a nice patina and all of the furniture in the entire space was custom made for Rag & Bone. One specific piece, a massive floor to ceiling mirror framed in welded steel, serves to boggle your clothing focused mind. One other favorite detail was the Rag & Bone embossed buttons that dot the beautiful gray Chesterfield ottoman that is positioned in the rear of the store under slanted metal and glass windows, a light source that are functional hold overs from the building’s days as a dim warehouse. With the new Mercer space the Rag & Bone folks have walked a fine line between having a functional, beautiful and well branded space — something you don’t see everyday.

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The Brooklyn shop Epaulet recently took a trip up to Middleborough, Mass. to visit the factory of the venerable American shoemaker Alden to finalize the details on the shop’s new special edition Brixton boot. In addition to coming back with a great looking pair of boots, Epaulet owner Mike Kuhle and filmmaker Tom Eaton put together an interesting look at the Alden operation including the video below and a nice photo gallery. American boots and a factory tour? Sounds like a perfect Thursday to me.

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It is obvious that David Neville and Marcus Wainwright — the guys behind Rag & Bone — have great taste. Practically all of the clothing the brand turns out ends up on my wish list and with the opening of the company’s new SoHo store, you can add art to that list. The Mercer Street shop is currently featuring an installation of photos titled “Workspace,” from photographer Joseph Holmes. The beautiful images center around — you guessed it — people’s desks, which often end up being cluttered workbenches and messy industrial nooks around New York City. Holmes (pictured here at the Rag & Bone party this past week with actress Sienna Miller and Messers Wainwright and Neville) grew up in a factory town in Pennsylvania and has a talent for showing the beauty in industrial aesthetics. The full Workspace exhibit can be seen online here, or take a walk over to Rag & Bone at 119 Mercer Street in New York.

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