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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