Freedom Tower

It’s nice to finally see construction of the Freedom Tower and the World Trade Center moving forward. Ever since post-911 I’ve been obsessed with its reconstruction. I often drive to lower Manhattan from Brooklyn via the West Side Highway to sell furniture. Sometimes I take pictures of the site when I’m stopped at a red light. I am amazed at how long it took to even start construction. It’s such a bittersweet feeling when I drive by, I think of all the stories and all the tragedies that occurred. This city is full of wonderful sights, I look forward to having this added to the collection. Anyway, that’s it for now.

Mustang or BMW?

His Mustang?...

Last fall I was driving around Columbia County in Upstate New York, and I came across this gas station on Rte. 82 with vintage cars for sale. A client of mine said he was looking for a red Mustang convertible. Boom! There it was. I had suddenly come across someone else’s mid-life wish. Not knowing exactly how serious he was, I thought, is he going to go for it? I took a few pictures for him, but he never followed through. As the old saying goes, you snooze, you lose.

...Or my BMW, bitches?!

Personally, if I came across my vintage dream car, I would have sealed the deal. But my car wouldn’t be a Mustang. It would be a BMW like this sweet 1967 Bavaria!

Warm Your Winter Guests with Freshness and Style (and Booze)

From my assistant, Blaise:

Recently, I invited a few friends over for dinner on what turned out to be one of the most frigid nights of the month thus far. They bundled up and braved the cold, trudging to my place knowing that a free home cooked meal was waiting for them. To help everyone feel nice and toasty I decided to make a special after-dinner apéritif. It’s called a Hot Killer, and it is so easy to make and so delicious. Here’s how:

All you need. Plus a juicer. And some booze.

All you need is a juicer, lemon, fresh ginger, and a bunch of green apples. About 4-5 green apples will fill an 8-10 ounce glass or mug, but don’t hold me to this because I’m really bad at measurements. There were 4 of us and I bought 16 organic green apples and that was enough for one Hot Killer per person.

1. Peel a big hunk of ginger (bigger than what’s shown here, especially if you like a bit more of a warm kick) and cut up all of the apples, leaving them unpeeled.

Slice it all up.

2. Shove the apples and the ginger in the juicer. After everything is juiced, squeeze one whole lemon into the mix.

3. Heat it up on low to medium, stirring occasionally. When it’s boiled it’s basically done…

This looks weird, I know, but trust me.

4.  …Now add a shot of whiskey. (Or two, depending on what you’re going for.) You can also add a drop of natural sweetener like Agave syrup orhoney, or top it off with a few cloves. (In my household, as you can tell from the photo below, we tend to use up the whiskey faster than the honeyor the Agave.) Also, if you want to get fancy and go for a nice presentation, add an apple slice to the side of the glass.

Three optional ingredients. But you'll want something sweet like the agave or the honey. Clearly, we enjoy the bourbon.

With a warm, rich spice and the perfect blend of sweet and tart, Hot Killers are so rejuvenating and perfect for winter, your guests won’t care how they look (did I mention they’re green?) …especially when they’ve had a few rounds.

PS. Clean up’s no fun, but it’s worth it. Maybe in gratitude for your generous hospitality, your guests will do the dishes.

Surf's Up

Last Thursday evening I went to the Faculty Visual Arts Exhibition at The Packer Collegiate Institute from where my firstborn, Axel, is graduating from this June. (So proud.) Two of the faculty members in the show are Axel’s teachers this semester — you guys better give him A’s (just kidding… not really) — and two of them are artists I happen to represent: Mike Miller and Risa Glickman.

Michael Miller

Miller is currently working on a project for the MTA at the Beach 90 Station in Far Rockaway, New York, an area known for its surfing. Five of his gem like paintings have been transformed into faceted glass and will be installed as windows at Beach 90 sometime in the late summer of 2011. Miller’s psychedelic images of surfing and waves is a perfect match for this project, not to mention he is an avid surfer. Go figure!

Glickman is another one of my artists whose landscape drawings have been evolving over the years into a more painterly, looser feel. The introduction of color may have been what freed her. She is looking forward to attending a drawing workshop which she organized next week at Packer.

Ken Rush

I also got a chance to meet and speak with Ken Rush to whom I introduced myself as Axel’s mom. We immediately went to look at his work and I discovered a print that I fell in love with — a beautiful “Solarplate” etching. The process was explained to me but naturally I can’t remember it exactly. It’s basically like intaglio etching without the acid, and with ultraviolet light. (I hope I didn’t butcher that.) Rush said he teaches the process to his students. I wish I could sit in. It sounds so romantic.

If you want to go see this show it’s at The Carol Shen Gallery at Packer Collegiate, 170 Joralemon Street in Brooklyn. The hours are Monday – Friday, 8am – 4pm. The show is up through April 8th.

Making it Out Alive: All in a Day's Work

Sometimes I just can’t believe the journey I go on just to get some furniture refinished. I’ve been to several industrial parks in this city before (all business trips, of course) like the ones in East Williamsburg, Greenpoint, Long Island City and somewhere in The Bronx. But these days, about twice a week, I find myself in Sunset Park at the Brooklyn Army Terminal paying a visit to my refinisher and upholsterer.

When I’m driving south down 1st Avenue from 39th Street to 58th Street towards the entrance of the terminal it’s like I’m trapped in a Mad Max movie. No driving rules apply on that 20 block stretch. Not only is the surface of the street a minefield of potholes, train tracks, and cobblestones mixed with black top, but semi’s are always parked along the streets–on the wrong side. Some truck drivers are trying to back up into loading docks with only 2″ clearance. There is usually a sanitation truck convention at all times with vehicles lined up for 3 blocks waiting to take off. As my picker friend Frank Daley would say, “Every time I go down there I lose a year off of my life. It’s a war zone!”

One day when I finally arrived at the gate of the Army Terminal to drop off a Knoll credenza I met a new challenge: a battle with a freight train. Was I really in New York City? Were my other women friends having this same type of encounter getting to work? Was anyone ever going to believe this?

Good thing I had my  trusty camera with me that day. Watch the video. You can’t make this shit up.