When I was in L.A. a few weeks ago I stopped by to see the gents from Baxter of California at their then unfinished barber shop on LaCienega. Well today the veil has been lifted, and the new spot dubbed Baxter Finley, Barber & Shop, looks even better than I had anticipated. It is opening officially tomorrow, if you want to stop in for L.A.’s newest (and possibly best?) wet shave.
Baxter Finley, Barber & Shop | 515 N. LaCienega Blvd. Los Angeles, CA.
You may recognize his name from his work here or from one of the many other publications David writes for, but maybe you have never met him and experienced his sense of humor and perspective. Well, now is your chance. I met David through friends of friends years ago. Actually, I might have met David via ACL, I’m not really sure. Either way I can think of no better person to drink whiskey with or to watch sports or take in a good meal or attend a music festival. Mr. Coggins’s knowledge of things both important and trivial is unrivaled. You can see the video Sean Sullivan made with David for Thirty Days NY project below. The funny thing is, I actually saw this while it was being edited, but then was reminded by Valet’s post today. Thanks fellas — good looking out. And well played Mr. Coggins.
In my mind, the guys from Columbus, O. based Homage do tee shirts better than anyone. The physical shirts are super nice (not to mention made in America), plus the designs are old school classic and insidery. Homage has succeeded in elevating the often sad graphic tee to higher levels. My appreciation for the company and their shirts is of course heightened by our shared allegiance to the Buckeye state. The thing is, I’m not really a tee shirt guy, but I keep finding myself going back for more. This morning I picked up this wine & gold “Cleveland is the City” number to rep my city through the NBA playoffs. More cities after the jump.
The folks at GANT brought their Rugger range downtown to 353 Bleecker Street with their new industrial inspired shop. This new store is one of only two places (in the U.S.) where you can shop the entire collection of Rugger gear (something we showed you a while back). The collection —which I really like — was put together by GANT designer (who is a Swede by birth, but an American patriot in my mind) Christopher Bastin. The new downtown store is all inspired by GANT’s industrial past, with all sorts of factory like decor and a fitting room fashioned as a foreman’s office complete with archival order forms and historical press clippings. Good stuff.
One block east of the Diamond District on 47th Street. One half block west of J. Press and Madison Avenue. Do yourself a favor and approach via Madison and save yourself the punishment that is 47th Street between 5th and 6th Avenues. I remember someone once said that “real” New Yorkers say “Sixth Ave” and not Avenue of the Americas. I definitely say Sixth avenue, but I don’t consider myself a “real” New Yorker, and don’t think I ever will.
Anyway, the guys running Phil’s Stationery are definitely real New Yorkers. Walking into the shop took me back to 1970, yeah 1970 after what must have been some sort of riot, because Phil’s is a goddamn mess. The place is an amazing clusterfuck of boxes and dusty office supplies — some that clearly have been sitting there for years. It seems to stay afloat by supplying the diamond district with all sorts of specialty office supplies. The “office” in the back (if you can call it an office) is even more messy and completely old-school charming. There are boxes and boxes askew and four or five Windows ’95 era computers stacked on top of other stacks of old boxes. The place is just begging for one of those hoarding shows to come in and clean it up and get the owners checked into some sort of therapy. If you have any sort of spacial anxieties, you will definitely need to stop by the bodega for a Klonopin and a Coke before heading over.
The amazing footage above of Apollo 11 was shot on 16mm and then converted digitally to HD. Plus, more film from the famed lunar landing below. These things were just too good for me not to post.
