We Are Relocating!

Dear Followers and Fans,

This blog has moved from Blogger to join the Aficionado blog network, so please keep following me at

http://aficionado.co.za/editoratlarge/

I look forward to hearing from you over there. And you'll find me on Twitter @editoratlrg

Let me know what you think!

Love,

Nadine

Rolling, Williamsburg-Style

You may be in Brooklyn once you cross the Williamsburg Bridge from Clinton and Delancey to South 4th and Bedford, but this isn't kid-obsessed Park Slope, at least when it comes to the transport. Yesterday I happened past this Mini Cooper with its Austin Powers roof and one of the most hilarious personalized plates I've seen: "Diet SUV." Oh yeah, baby.

Stars and Stripes

It's Independence Day in the United States and that means that Stars and Stripes abound on everything from flags to patriotic pedicures. Even this fire hydrant got some love of country love...




Happy 4th!

The Art of Appropriating Andy Warhol: Q & A with Mike Bidlo

Last Thursday I met the artist Mike Bidlo in the lobby of the Lever House to discuss the latest addition to the building's art collection: His stack of "Not Warhol Brillo Boxes." Instead of the provocateur I was expecting, Bidlo was a soft-spoken intellectual who is more interesting in teaching others about the masters than criticizing them. Read all about it on T Magazine's "The Moment."

World Cup Mania at Monkeybiz

I love this amazing beaded Bafana Bafana soccer player, made for Monkeybiz by women in the townships of Langa, Nyanga and Gugulethu.

The height of the doll is almost one meter high (about 3ft).

If you want it, you'll find it the Carrol Boyes Store in the Waterfront in Cape Town.

I'm not convinced, though, that Monkeybiz should part with this museum-worthy piece too quickly...

Sag Harbor's Sustainable Living Emporium

Donna Karan's Urban Zen has some serious competition: Down the road on Main Street in Sag Harbor is Well Nest, a serene haven for cold-pressed juices, super vitamins, delicious mood-enhancing chocolates, terrariums filled with orchid plants and even wooden ipod covers. Basically, all things sustainable, especially if they're also chic.
I especially loved the Japanese recyclable picnic gear which includes square paper plates (genius) and wooden flatware that looks Victorian in design.

For more info head to 125 Main Street, Sag Harbor or www.wellnest.us

Most Wanted (even during World Cup): Jenny Holzer Tees

My interview with Jenny Holzer about her t-shirt intervention in Johannesburg and Soweto was published on T Magazine's web site (T, for those outside of the U.S. is the New York Times Style Magazine).

Have a read here.

And learn more about the In Context project, curated by Liza Essers the owner and director of the Goodman Gallery, here.

Essers had the following to add: “The Goodman gallery is committed to social responsibility. Hundreds of millions have been spent on soccer stadiums and we wanted Jenny's truisms on t-shirts -- not LED screens -- to highlight the very real issues and abject poverty surrounding them.”


If you're in Johannesburg on Thursday, head to Melrose Arch to watch the 90 minute film Zidane: A 21st-Century Portrait, by artists Philippe Parreno and Douglas Gordon, also part of Incontext. And look out for Kara Walker's films at the Apartheid Museum and Hank Willis Thomas's work on show at the Goodman Gallery space at Arts on Main and in Parkwood.

Missing Marina

New York is just not the same without the knowledge that Marina Abramovic is sitting serenely up at MoMA while we rush around her like chickens who have lost our heads. It's been a week since she moved out of the museum and I'm not sure if, without her unwavering gaze, we exist at all.



I went to MoMA to bid my farewell just four days before her vigil ended. And although photography wasn't permitted I snapped these two cheeky pics with my iphone. Hey, Peter Magubane used a milk carton and a loaf of bread when he had to.

Love Your Hair? Let the World Know

Kissa Thompson, the founder and creative director of Buttaflyunltd has made a t-shirt that tells it like it is.

It certainly inspired me to start thinking about going back to my naturally curly hair instead of throwing hundreds of dollars away on straightening treatments. Kissa's next move is to make her t-shirt in girls sizes and give talks on the importance of learning to love the hair you were born with. Hair, hear.

Calling all Renegade Crafters

McCarren Park in Williamsburg is a live manifestation of Etsy.com this weekend. If you missed the first day (today), you've still got all of tomorrow to catch up on some crafty finds.

Here, some items that made me smile.

1. Onesies by neighborhood. Babes who hail from the Jersey Shore, don't need to wait until they can walk to get ripped.

While Williamsburg tots get instant hipster mustache-cred. Go to www.handsomehoward.com for more info.

2. I have a serious soft spot for homemade dolls, especially when they come in all the same colors as real little girls.


4. Inknjoy's animated bracelets are so cute, I vote for an armful of friends who all look like they'd get on well with Daria.

A Not So Simple Salad

Caffe Falai on Lafayette Street in Soho is one of my favorite New York eateries. Today I tried a new salad there for the first time and fell head over heels for the presentation before I'd even tasted the delicious mix of trumpet, shitake and portobello mushrooms under that canopy of parmeggiano.

Street Boners: Having a laugh at your crazy get-ups

If you're a fan of The Sartorialist, you'll love Street Boners, a tongue-in-cheek version by Gavin McInnes, the former top dog at Vice. He has created an entire lexicon of looks from pocahipsters to the nerdy slut and rated them with a kitten rating system.
Read more about it here and here.

Jedis!

Last Saturday night, as we were walking home through the Lower East Side, we stumbled on a park filled with lightsaber wielding Jedis. I kid you not.
It was all the work of Newmindspace, the same masterminds behind International Pillow Fight Day. Read more about it here.

Summer Highs...and Lows

It's Memorial Day on Monday -- the official start of summer in America. And in New York, that means that more bikers will take advantage of the lovely warm weather and hit the streets and bike paths in the coming months.

There's one memento mori that always stops me in my tracks on the streets of Manhattan and Brooklyn. It looks like any other bicycle at first, tied to a street pole or bike rack, but on closer inspection one realizes that it has been crudely sprayed white and sometimes it has flowers on the handle bars and a note explaining that it stands there to mark the spot where a cyclist was killed.

They are called "Ghost Bikes" and described here as "quiet and somber memorials for bicyclists who are killed or hit on the street...They serve as reminders of the tragedy that took place on an otherwise anonymous street corner, and as quiet statements in support of cyclists' right to safe travel."

According to GhostBikes.org, these aren't a New York invention at all. "The first ghost bikes were created in St. Louis, Missouri in 2003, and they have since appeared in over 100 locations throughout the world. For those who create and install the memorials, the death of a fellow bicyclist hits home. We all travel the same unsafe streets and face the same risks; it could just as easily be any one of us." *Shiver*

Above, is a minimal ghost bike that I spotted just off the Williamsburg Bridge, a fantastic bike path between the Lower East Side and Williamsburg. It may not have a plaque or flowers, but it's a stark reminder, nonetheless.

Crying for Art's Sake

"Marina Abramović: The Artist Is Present" is on at MoMA only until May 31. If you need any further inspiration to get there and sit with the artist, take a look at this blog called "Marina Abramovic Made Me Cry" featuring sitters who became emotional in her gaze.

Cuba on Her Mind

Mexican born photographer, Alinka Echeverria's sensitive work in progress is titled Cuba 1959: The Second Front. Echeverria (above), an ICP graduate, is concerned with collective memory. Editor At Large spotted her work yesterday in the Latin American Pavilion at the New York Photo Festival in Dumbo. For these portraits of men in their homes, she encourages veterans of the Cuban Revolution to reminisce. "The process of being photographed wearing their military uniforms and medals provoked in many an emotional journey into their past and created a space for self-reflection of their identity as veterans of a war that changed their nation forever," she writes. See her work below and here.

South Africa at the NY Photo Festival

Editor at Large went over to Dumbo to listen to Jodi Bieber talk about her new book on Soweto. It is quite an honor to be asked to give a talk at the festival and Bieber's work is certainly strong, interesting and even groundbreaking (though some photos made me think of Zwelethu Mthethwa's shack portraits and also of Lolo Veleko's "Smarties"). But we think Bieber could have been more prepared for the talk and more conscious of the fact that she was talking to Americans who have only the scantest knowledge of what life in South Africa was like during apartheid and what it's like now. For example, showing a photograph of black South Africans swimming in a public pool and commenting: "Before black people didn't swim," is not really enough information. Same goes for the amazing photo of the women with the boa constrictor wrapped around her body and the photo of the gay couple. Most speakers suffer from TMI (too much info). Bieber made us yearn to understand the context better and to know more.

Meanwhile, at the Tobacco Warehouse, I spotted the work of one South African photographer and one Swiss/Lebanese photographer who did a documentary in South Africa:

1. I loved Market Photo Workshop student, Simangele Kalisa's "Clothed" project. Kalisa grew up in Soweto. She says that she's using the title "Clothed" for a number of reasons. I like this one: "In most traditionally black Christian churches and movements in South Africa -- with most having their own uniform and therefore a particular semiotic system associated with dress and identity -- uniforms are called Izambatho (Zulu) or diaparo (Sotho) which translates into English simply as 'clothes'. Looking at the history of colonialism, and in particular how Africans were referred to as 'the naked'and colonisers 'the clothed,' it becomes apparent how identity can literally be fashioned by dress."




2. Mariella Furrer's hard-hitting black and white photographs document the realities of child sexual abuse beyond the headlines that are so hideous to read but also so easy to forget. "South Africa records one of the highest rates of child sexual abuse in the world," says her artist's statement. "Because the sexual abuse of children remains taboo, it is not spoken about openly and is, in a sense, invisible." This heartbreaking photo shows a child being examined for signs of abuse.

Pullino's Public Patio

Word on the Bowery is this: Pullino's, Keith McNally's new Nolita hotspot, opened its "patio" last night by placing chairs and tables on the sidewalk at the corner of Bowery and Houston. Thing is, that corner is extremely popular with hipsters, but also with the homeless. And, sure enough, a homeless man came around and began asking Pullino's patio patrons for donations. When a security guard asked him to move on, he became angry and began throwing his body against the nearby busstop. Needless to say, the two patrons he'd been plaguing decided against dessert and called for their check. Talk about a turf war!

Death for Dieters: Artisinal Ice Cream Truck

Van Leeuwen's artisinal ice cream truck is testing the willpower of New Yorkers from Williamsburg to the East Village. One source on the Lower East Side told Editor At Large: "Every night I come home and it's parked outside my apartment. It's ruining my diet!" Well, at least if said source does succumb, she should feel better about the fact that Van Leeuwen uses hormone-free milk in their flavors. Read more about them here.

Better than Magnolia: Butter Lane

Last night was a carb-fest: I cooked rigatoni with gorgonzola, artichoke hearts, asparagus and cream and my guests brought over organic cupcakes from Butter Lane in the East Village.

Seriously, if Carrie wasn't frozen in a certain New York minute, she'd dump Magnolia Bakery's overly sweet offerings in a heartbeat for these organic culinary orgasms.

Butter Lane owners Pam Nelson, Maria Baugh, and Linda Lea offer up frosting flavors like key lime, pumpkin, raspberry, or blueberry. We had popcorn flavor adorned with a couple of popped kernels, dark chocolate, chocolate with raspberry frosting (topped with a fresh raspberry), and vanilla with cherry frosting (crowned with a fresh cherry). I also hear that the banana cake with cream-cheese frosting and the grapefruit ginger is divine.

123 E. 7th St. (near Ave A)
Tel: 212-677-2880

Gourmet Doggy Treats

Spotted at the Hester Street Market (Saturday and Sunday on the Lower East Side), Naya and Mila's Gourmet treats, named after two pooches, of course. Plus, you can spoil your pooch with a handmade, leather personalized collar with their name on it.

Cart Smart

Editor at Large makes no attempt to hide her addiction to lemon curd ice cream, so it was with much excitement that she spotted this cart outside Cookshop in Chelsea.

Find refreshment on your way to the galleries on the corner of 10th Avenue and 20th Str.

Bloom-ing Marvelous

The South African author, Kevin Bloom, stopped over in New York on his way back from launching his memoir, Ways of Staying, in Toronto. Editor At Large caught up with him at a punk bar on Bedford Av in Williamsburg for a pint of locally brewed Brooklyn Lager and a conversation about how even if he wanted to leave South Africa (which he doesn't), he can't now that he's written a book called Ways of Staying , but he did concede that if he had to leave the country, Williamsburg wouldn't be a bad place to land up.

See what the Economist had to say about his book here

Lucky Fish

My latest crush: Lucky Fish's gorgeous screen printed South African-themed pillows. Bonus: They do T-shirts too, for kids and adults.

For more info e-mail: soluckyfish@gmail.com

Chocolate Secret

If you're as obsessed with Mast Brother's chocolate as I am -- especially the dark chocolate with almonds, sea salt and olive oil -- you'll be glad to know that you can get a slab for just $7 direct from the factory. Two blocks away, at the Bedford Cheese Shop on Bedford Avenue, they retail for $8. And at Wholefoods and Dean & Deluca you'll pay a whopping $9.

Mast Brother's Chocolate Factory
105 North 3rd Street
Brooklyn, NY 11211-3927, United States
(718) 388-2625

Israeli Food Find

Went past Israeli chef Einat Admony's new Nolita restaurant, Balaboosta (A Yiddish term meaning the perfect housewife, homemaker). Very swish compared with Taim, her much smaller joint in the West Village. Must-have appetizers include the fried olives with labne and the humus which is served guacamole-style with mortar and pestle for DIY chickpea crushing. Delicious.

Find it at 214 Mulberry St. near Spring.

Best $5 Dollars You'll Ever Spend....

Imagine paying just $5 for an hour of Burlesque set to live music in New York City. Sounds impossible, right? It isn't. The Slipper Room on Orchard Street is a Lower East Side gem if flirty girls in corsets and fishnets are what you're after. And remember, this is where Lady Gaga used to perform (well, she was Stephanie Germanotta then), so you never know if you might be watching the Next Big Thing for under the price of a glass of wine.

167 Orchard Street
New York, NY 10002-2214, United States
(212) 253-7246

Funky Chairs

I stumbled on a literal treasure chest of reupholstered furniture in Williamsburg this afternoon. Funkiture by Caitlin Conlow has beautiful second hand and antique chairs covered in Congolese fabric, starting at around $100. Also on offer, an apple green Art Deco writing desk, peacock feathers for $2.95 each, and fabulous striped scatter cushions.

Funkiture
94 South 1st Street
Williamsburg, Brooklyn
347.400.3172

Ricotta Star

My new favorite brunch: The Sheep's milk ricotta served with burnt orange toast at Locanda Verde in Tribeca.

locandaverdenyc.com
377 Greenwich Street
New York, NY 10013
(212) 925-3797

High Five

Best brunch in Williamsburg/Greenpoint: Five Leaves.

Try the house made Bircher muesli with poached pears, sugar plums and spiced creme fraiche or the Ricotta pancakes with honeycomb butter, sliced banana, blueberries, strawberries and maple syrup. Even the house cured gravelax is scrumptious, right down to the sourdough roll it is served on. And we haven't even sampled the lunch offerings yet, but we hear that the BLAT sandwich with bacon, kettuce, avocado, tomato and cumin/lime mayo is a winner as is the radicchio and watercress salad with roasted acorn squash, feta and red onion. For gorgeous pics of the place by Will Femia, go to www.fiveleavesny.com and click on gallery.

18 Bedford Avenue
Greenpoint, Brooklyn, NY 11222
(718) 383-5345

Shag-adelic Shopping

On a corner on Roebling Street in Williamsburg you'll find a quirky erotica store called Shag Brooklyn. No, it's not owned by Austin Powers (as far as we know), but it is our new number one place to purchase "French Titties" -- glittering nipple caps usually worn by Burlesque dancers. Shag also has a large and equally titillating selection of adult toys and a fabulous collection of funny, sexy $4 cards. Take a look at it all at www.weloveshag.com or head to 108 Roebling Street.

Wolf At The Door

I interviewed Vicente Wolf today, voted one of America's 10 most influential designers. He has been working as an interior designer in New York for the past 37 years. Unlike many Americans, Wolf travels constantly, the more remote the location the better. He says things like: "My friend told me he was off to Bhutan. I mean I went to Bhutan ten years ago." And he says: "Travel keep me young. It pushes me out of my comfort zone."

Just Swell

Williamsburg may seem like an odd location for a surf shop, but when you think of all the headquarters for other subcultures (like Earwax which is packed with young folk obsessed with vinyls), it starts to make sense.
So...if you're looking for a long board or a pair of cute board shorts, some surfer-art photography or DVDs of the best places to catch waves, Mollusk Surf Shop is the spot. Plus it offers excellent people watching. Just don't think you'll be able to grab your board and a tin of sex wax and hit the water.


210 Kent Avenue
Brooklyn
New York 11211
718) 218-7456

Chocolate Worth Traveling For...

It may seem unreasonable to suggest going all the way from Manhattan to Westport, Connecticut for a chocolate fix, but Cocoa Michelle is worth the trip. Situated across the street from the train station on Main Street, the tiny store with one or two cafe tables serves up hand made chocolates and delicious hot chocolate topped with milk froth.

Salivate at www.cocoamichelle.com

Eloquent Eleanor

Who knew former first lady Eleanor Roosevelt had such a sharp wit...

She once said:
"Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people." But then again, you wouldn't really expect less from a woman who knew that: "Happiness is not a goal; it is a by-product."

Nora's Choice

These are Nora Ephron's top 11 romantic films:
It Happened One Night
The Lady Vanishes
His Girl Friday
The Palm Beach Story
The Thin Man
Charade
The Apartment
Splash
Hannah and Her Sisters
Casablanca
Sense & Sensibility

Read the full story, including her explanation for her choices and clips of each film at
http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2010-02-11/nora-ephrons-top-11-romantic-comedies/

Then add them all to your Netflix list.

Into Woodstock

If you go down to Woodstock today, you're in for a big surprise (sorry, couldn't resist):

On Albert Street, don't miss Saturdays and Sundays at the Old Biscuit Mill, an organic food market cum flea market filled with delicious nibbles and great finds. Lunch, every week day, at Superette. We recommend the mushrooms on toast and the berry, seed and Belgian chocolate muffins. Pop into What If The World Gallery for an art fix and to David West for a fashion fix.
On Darling Street don't miss the Goodman Gallery and Michael Stevenson Gallery.

PS: That's Woodstock in Cape Town, not you know....

Vintage Fintz

Cape Town ceramic artist, Shirley Fintz is finally sharing her excellent taste. Fintz, a long time lover of vintage dresses, is now buying frocks in bus loads and selling them to friends and clients from the ceramic studio that shares a building with her sister Ilana's yoga studio. They retail for around R500 and are seriously addictive. You've been warned. For more info: +27 82 424 5927.

Main Attraction

Downtown Johannesburg has been very slowly gentrifying. Now, the art community has gotten behind inner city development. At Arts on Main, on Main Street, you'll find the brand new studios of William Kentridge and Mikhael Subotzky, as well as a project space for the Goodman Gallery and for David Krut Projects, the publishers of Taxi Art Books.

Steenberg Wine Estate

Steenberg's new Bistro 1682, named after the year the wine estate was first established, is a fantastic brunch and lunch venue. And the best part is the complimentary wine tasting in the Wine Tasting Bar (notice the glass chandelier mimicking red and green grapes) and Tasting Lounge before the meal, just so you can be sure of what bottle you'll order. I had the rose which was very dry and very good R34/ carafe (about $5).
I ordered the very good smoked trout sandwich and my lunch mate tried the more complicated steak, grilled to perfection. The only complaint: If you're offered a dessert wine by the owner, ask the price before accepting. Ours was R125/ glass (about $17).

After your meal, step outside to marvel at the foothills of the Steenberg Mountain (Stone Mountain) and the spectacular views across the vineyards.

+27 21 713-2211
www.steenberg-vineyards.co.za

Soccer for Poster-ity

David Krut, owner of David Krut Projects and Bookstores, is betting that there is such a thing as a football-hooligan-cum-art-lover. He's convinced some of South Africa's top artists living inside and outside of the country -- William Kentridge, Marlene Dumas, Kendell Geers, and more -- to design posters for the FIFA World Cup 2010, to be hosted in South Africa from 11th June to 11th July 2010. Each poster comes in an edition of 2010 and is priced under R5000 (about $714). If you're interested, find more details at www.davidkrut.com

This Just in: More on Hokey Pokey...

Food technologist and author Jennifer Yee Collinson, who also happens to be a born and bred Kiwi, sent Editor at Large this missive:

"Hokey Pokey Ice Cream is as iconic as Whittaker's Chocolate Peanut Slabs and Buzzy Bee's in NZ." [You might recall images of Prince William playing with said Buzzy Bee when he visited New Zealand as a child with his mother and father].

"Hokey Pokey is what kiwi's call honeycomb - made by cooking sugar and golden syrup to a toffee and stirring through bicarbonate of soda so that the mixture bubbles and foams up. The resulting hokey pokey or honeycomb is light, airy and crispy with slight burnt caramel notes. Hokey Pokey Ice cream does not contain nuts but nuggets of this honeycomb blended into vanilla ice cream."

Groucho's Rule

"Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read." -- Groucho Marx

Kiwi Chic

If you're shopping in Auckland, don't miss:

Ponsonby Road, New Market and downtown around Queen Street and look out for local style at Karen Walker, Kate Sylvester, World, Zambesi.

NZ Nibbles

1. Vogel's bread -- the recipe hasn't changed since the '50s and who knew they knew about healthy stuff back then?
2. Manuka honey -- thick, delicious, creamy and good for you.
3. Flat white -- not as milky as a latte, not as frothy as a cappucino. Perfect.
4. Hokey Pokey ice cream -- vanilla ice cream filled with crunchy toffee and nut bits. Yum.

Forget Your New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc....

Word on the beach in Waiwera, New Zealand is that Sauvignon Blanc is old news. Instead, Kiwis recommend their Pinot Noir. Try Mt. Difficulty or Saddleback, both from Central Otago in the South Island, or the delicious Cloudy Bay.

Village Style

Head to St. Heliers in Auckland, New Zealand for some of the most inspired ice cream around. You'll find it at Village 88 ice cream, a father and son business in a tiny building, that serves up sensational flavors like Lemon Curd and Bourbon and Brown Sugar. Grab a cone or, even better, take a tub or two home.