April '03
From smokin' menswear to marijuana-print wallpaper, Hint pays attention to retail.

In the 80s, avant-garde retailer Maxfield received more press than a hungry starlet. Today, the store continues to generate buzz by mixing an offbeat assortment of hipster labels and stalwarts—Libertine and Dsquared meets Yamamoto and Margiela—as well as one-of-a-kind objets d'art. A stack of Hermès cases are the store's centerpiece, housing a bank-breaking collection of vintage handbags, jewelry and accessories. Maxfield, 8825 Melrose Avenue, 310-274-8800.

Make yourself at home in Apartment 3, L.A.'s new fashion pad. Owner Kristin Knauff has shacked up with local designers like Brian Lichtenberg and Cornichiwa to showcase talented young names who have yet to receive much attention. The store is housed on the second floor of a former apartment building and neighbors hotspots like Undefeated and American Rag. With an enclosed porch, roof garden and reasonably priced designer amenities, you'll want to move in. Apartment 3, 134 S. La Brea Avenue, #3, 323-939-3853.
  What would L.A. be without a cheap Hilton? For their West Coast show last month, Heatherette's Richie Rich and Traver Rains enlisted Paris "Tammy Faye" Hilton to be their not-so-blushing bride in a ruffled mini-gown barely covering her tanned tatas. Dripping with rainbow-colored ribbons, stuffed toys and other drag queen ephemera, it's the perfect wedding mess, er...dress, to scare off the in-laws. Add it to your bridal registry at Blest, 1634 N. Cahuenga Blvd., 323-467-0191.

Another newcomer to 14th Street this May will be New York's second outpost for Design Within Reach, the catalog for reproduction modern furniture. Shoppers who have already checked out the company's Soho location at 142 Wooster St. (pictured here), will notice that the meatpacking outpost is larger and more industrial-looking. Designed by Dax Studio, an L.A-based firm, the new store will have a pebble floor and the staple D.W.R. "chair wall." Design Within Reach, 408 W. 14th Street.
New York's Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum, located in the old Carnegie Mansion on Fifth Avenue, has recently swung open its doors to welcome the design faithful to its National Design Triennial. Nest editor Joseph Holtzman has designed a library room in the mansion, showcasing some of his eccentric patterns for fabric and wallpaper which include a marijuana leaf print that is sold through nestmagazine.com. (Design Triennial, April 22, 2003 to January 25, 2004; ndm.si.edu)
A D V E R T I S E M E N T
 
Stephen Burks' all-plastic furniture designs may be the most party-friendly furniture in the high-design market. His "Not So Soft" collection for Mogu, a Japanese company, is an assortment of indestructible injection-molded plastic pieces. Customers buy several "slices" which assemble to make a chair (four slices) or a table (18 slices), for example. When the party's over, and the furniture is deconstructed, you can just hose it down and rebuild. Burks will show his wares at the International Contemporary Furniture Fair in New York from Saturday, May 17 to Tuesday, May 20, 2003. But unlike the other 400 designers showing at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center, Burks' work will be on view at the Bronwyn Keenan Gallery, 3 Crosby Street, 2nd floor, 212-431-5083.


With bars and restaurants killing our buzz, there's no better place to spark up than at home. Relive the good old days with a graphic, 1970s ashtray by Italian design legend Anna Castelli Ferrieri. In 1979, a Castelli Ferrieri ashtray won the prestigious Compasso d'Oro design award. This red melamine plastic reproduction is available at Moss, 146 Greene Street, 866-888-6677.

Home electronics are often painfully ugly looking. The designers at Boston Acoustics considered the clock radio—that junky, plastic box many of us spend our lives staring at—and decided they could do better. And they have. The result, the Receptor Radio, has a pared-down look with high-tech guts that interior decorators are saying is a dream come true. $159, Boston Acoustics, 800 397-7837.

Big pimpin' is about to get a lot bigger, given what we saw at the New York International Auto Show this April. The ultimate rappermobile is coming down the pike courtesy of the folks at Chevrolet. Currently just a concept vehicle, Chevy's four-door pick-up bad-ass has a ferocious-looking grill and a supercharged V-8. Rappers will delight at the tinted glass and the spacious cargo bed (with room for a Jacuzzi) but it's the Cheyenne's obscenely giant shoes that will make mouths water: 22-inch wheels that take a 35-inch tire.
By Jonathan S. Paul page 1 2



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