Free Yeasayer? Yes please. Just kidding… this was one of the biggest hassles I’ve experienced due to the dark, cumulonimbus shadow of “free.” I mean, I’m all for free concerts. It’s really great to be able to see one of your favorite bands play without paying any money. But, once you throw in a ferry-only accessible venue, thousands of sweaty hipsters with the false hope for food and drinks, I don’t think I would have enjoyed myself if my love for Yeasayer wasn’t eternal. The island reached capacity early, leaving hundreds of tribal pattern and American Apparel-wearing kids disappointed and cranky. Sorry guys, you should’ve spent the day at the beach with me. Just kidding again, because all the food they promised? Midget-portion-control police were all over that ish.  BRING YOUR OWN FOOD!!!!! If you do this, you will have a significantly better experience on the island, which would be a fun visit on a non-event day.

The island only welcomes visitors during the summer, and there’s some cool history behind the abandoned buildings. Most of them are from the 18th century, and used mainly for the military and families.  In ‘96, the Coast Guard left the island to save money. In 2003 the federal gov. sold it to the city for $1. What did you buy for $1 today? I bought 1/3 of a coffee. I think NYC wins. They haven’t really done much with the island since then, so creating a venue out of it was a good idea IMO. Mo’ music, mo’ fun. I went there in the morning and there weren’t too many people there yet. For the most part, that’s how it is at Governor’s Island. Absolutely no tourism, which we can thank Lady Liberty and Long Island (why do people go there?) for. It’s not going to be a fun party like Fire Island, but hey, if you like adventures and exploring random stuff, you’d like it here.

Let’s get back to the concert. Here’s the setlist. Opening acts were KeepAway and DELICATE STEVE. I enjoy saying DS as a command. Maybe because I had a doorman named Steve help me move into an apartment once, maybe not, maybe he dropped my mirror and shattered it into a million pieces. I can’t be sure, I’m not a doctor. Yeasayer hit it big back in ‘07 at SXSW, and their songs are catchy as hell. Here’s a quick vid of Yeasayer playing my favorite song (after Strange Reunions and Love Me Girl) off of their latest album Odd Blood.

Gone to Governor’s – Yeasayer from The Big Secret on Vimeo.

There’s not much more I want to say, except that they looked kind of bored during some songs-whatever. They are so good live, if you can get tickets to see them during their summer-fall tour, do it up. If you are going to be joining me for the rest of the concert series at The Beach on Governor’s Island come earlier in the day, and have a picnic.

Stay naked and ahoy!

Back to the decor which tends to the unusual and somewhat industrial.  I loved the two chairs below salvaged from a mental institution. It was like sitting on Styrofoam. The ‘one flew over the cuckoos nest’ school of interior design! They came from a store called Junk in Williamsburg so next stop will have to be Brooklyn to check it out.

The other slightly sinister  standout were these hair installations, originally created for a Surface to Air event back in May when StA launched their newest line.  Its okay the hair is synthetic.  Interesting, but probably not an idea to try at home in the ‘Great Room’

OAK carries  the usual suspects Rick Owens, Comme des Garcons (to die for), and Surface to Air among others.  Along with a selection of hard to find newbies such as Andrew Harmon, LD Tuttle, Chronicles of Never, Black Sheep and Prodigal Sons.

They have a  very clear point of view so if you share a love of tailored grunge, you will appreciate OAK’s distinct take on city fashion. Even if you don’t think you would buy anything in the store, it is certainly worth stopping by to experience the atmosphere. Talk up the staff, appreciate the individuals stopping by to pick up a redonk series of asymmetrical swag, and then trot along for something to eat at The Smile next door.

Get naked in OAK’s dressing rooms.

This street is the eclectic shopper’s dream come true. Every door leads to something cool, unusual and ‘one-of-a-kind’.  Does “Ian Schrager’s 40 Bond Street” mean anything to you?

This condominium shares the block with the very cool OAK, Daryl K, and Rogan nearby on the Bowery.  Smile Café, Il Buco, and Think Coffee are some of your eating options. There’s also the famous Bond St. Sushi on the other side of Lafayette. I think anyone would become obsessed with Dashwood, the only independent bookstore in NYC selling photography books, I spent hours looking through a book that had pictures of 300 different pairs of hands.

Crossing the Bowery, you can hang out at The Bowery Hotel. After you walk through the Morrocan-Spanish-Indian meets decrepit English country estate vibe going on in the Lobby, there’s a terrace outside for drinks and parties.  Seven rooms have private terraces and outdoor showers.  With guests the favorite rooms are the ones overlooking the east and west village rooftops.

Because I love Bond Street so much, I’m going to have to dedicate multiple posts to this block.  The great Real Estate of course,  As well as the shopping which is truly excellent.  So check back for posts regarding animal head rings, store decor that includes vintage chairs from a mental institution, a shop girl who is starting a new pop band with the Junior half of Junior Senior and whatever else is cool in the picture gallery.

Stay naked and shower outside when possible.

Recently a much lighter trend has emerged  in the use of animal heads that is fun and a lot more palatable to most of us.  The following designers challenge even the most tame city-dweller to refuse the urge to hunt one of these pieces down.

Well-known handstitch artist Tamar Mogendorff comes from Israel, and makes the above fabric sculptures. She uses old linen, vintage embroidery, tweed and old newspaper. The stitching is rough and imperfect, making each piece one-of-a-kind and particularly stunning.

Designer Merikay MacKenna’s motto is “How to get a Head without Hunting.” She was the subject of the critically acclaimed “San Fransisco Safari” show in 2005, and she makes these artificial animal head sculptures using man-made furs.

Last and least (just kidding), is James de Givenchy’s deer brooch. Designed for Taffin, this sucker is rhodium-plated and made of 18-karat gold, diamond, spinel and meerschaum. I don’t know what spinel or meerschaum is, but I don’t care. This deer is hotter than Bambi’s mom.

Stay naked and start hunting.

More than 600 exhibitors from 31 countries filled the 145,000 square feet of exhibition They predicted something like 40,000 attendees, ranging from interior designers to architects, retailers, developers, and members of the general public.

Take a look at my highlights, and stay naked.

On Thursday May 20th, SPIN magazine held an intimate Bear Hands show in Times Square. It was the first in a series of four summer concerts put together by SPIN with American Eagle. Bear Hands played downstairs at the Times Square AE store. They impressed me a few weeks ago when I saw them live in Cambridge,  where they opened for As Tall As Lions. Earlier, they were touring with popular label-mates Passion Pit.

I’ve been familiar with Bear Hands for about a year now, but it was only after I saw them live did I realize how good they are. I’m not sure how they ended up at American Eagle in Times Square, but I know they were wondering the same thing. My thoughts were confirmed after lead singer Dylan Rau suggested the audience get some lobster at Olive Garden post-show. Besides this hilarious comment and their performance, the other redeeming occurrence was a chill, glassy-eyed dude standing next to me. I found out he went to school with the guys in the band, and I liked his dance moves. I also met Jonathan Hoho from Click Clack Boom, who was another breath of fresh air in crowd full of stand-arounds.

Look forward to seeing these dudes play at a cool venue where they belong, as they have already played at Cake Shop, Glasslands and Mercury Lounge. They are an up-and-coming indie band repped by a record label that discovered MGMT’s talents before anyone felt electric. Bear Hands play crazy-good dance rock that has already generated mucho buzz. They’ll be spending the majority of the summer in Brooklyn, recording new material and playing some gigs. Their first full-length album comes out Fall 2010. Go check them out. I’m serious.

Without further dilly dally, here’s the set list:

Slow One

Blood and Treasure

Frank/So Close (right?)

Vietnam

Sickly Brunette

Bad Blood

Can’t Stick ‘em

Tablasaurus

Camel Convention

Golden

What a Drag

Check them out at http://www.myspace.com/bearhandsband

Stay naked, lovers of relevant buzzbands.

Balenciaga and Gehry’s IAC building

Givenchy and Gehry’s Walt Disney Concert Hall

Victor and Rolf and The Pierre

What do you think?

Tuesday night, Naked Real Estate hosted a trunk show for the Spring 2010 line from Falls Designs. The event took place at a sexy Chelsea loft—which also happens to be looking for a new owner. Guests hung out with designers Philip Leeming and Leong Ong of Falls Designs,  and received styling sessions from our friends Monica and Barbara of Sorelle Firenze.

Artist Fiona Sheeran showed up with her rad necklaces, which are handmade leather barbed wire, roped, and chain links. I was tempted and had to buy one of her pieces.

Falls Designs is romantic, sensual and kind of rustic too. My favorite piece was a pair of cream-colored silk shorts, which are very see-through. They’d be cool with black lace lingerie… sort of an updated Madonna look.

It was a fun party. We caught up with friends, played dress up with the stylists, and gave tours of the loft for interested buyers.

It wasn’t just private sale and cocktail party.  It was a chance  to hang out in the loft before the official open house. Did I mention the exposed bricks, beams, high ceilings, and massive windows? A very cool space.

Come find me at the International Contemporary Furniture Fair this Sunday.

Stay naked.

Hi everyone

Last week when the market reports came out for the first quarter of 2010, the message was ‘ Market returns to normal’.

It got me thinking, what does that mean?  In this case it refers to the fact that transactions have returned to historical levels.  I am curious to know the collective dollar value of those sales, perhaps not so good.

Even the reports themselves seem outdated and from a different era; tracking property like a stock. That was the ‘normal’ market we were all used to.

So in the world of the new ‘normal’ where people are buying homes, and banks want equity before they give a loan, there are some consistent and positive trends. In the last six months of 2009 sales below $2 million were strong and prices stable. That trend has continued and is now moving up through the market.

Here are the highlights that stood out to us in the recent reports.

Corcoran

• Dramatic reductions we saw in 2009 have stopped and prices are stable.
• The median price of lofts up 25% year over year.
• Sale transactions could be up as much as 70%

Brown Harris Steven

• Demand for high priced and large co-op apartments strong and rising.
• Downtown 3 bedroom apartment had an average price increase of 6% year over year

Prudential Douglas Elliman

• Median sales prices for 3 bedroom apartments up 11% and 4 bedrooms up 28% year over year.
• Increased inventory as sellers come back to market.
• Warn of shadow inventory of development apartments not yet on the market. They estimate this could be as much as 6500 units.

Amanda and Sheena

• If you are selling your apartment in the high end market over $5 million dollars, understanding your competing inventory is key. With stratedy and some patience you can achieve a price closer to the top of the market than you might think.
• Downtown the demand for $2 million dollar two bedroom condos in SoHo, The Village and TriBeCa is intense with multiple bids becoming frequent..
• If you are looking to buy, you missed the bottom of the 1 bed market, may have missed the bottom of 2 bed there are still opportunities in the larger loft market.

To conclude the fire sales are at an end and there are fewer opportunities for a steal. Prices are stable and desirable market price apartments attract wide interest and multiple bids. If a home is special it can still fetch a premium price.

Amanda and Sheena