Last Day Strolling In Milan 2:34 AM (18 hours ago)
We began the day at Objects Are, a Secret Cafe, a company that we carry and are working with for the Nas drop this weekend! It was fun to talk shop, eat a cornetto, and sip on coffee.
The Dorian Show was next, where we saw up-and-coming brands and many that Gotham already carries. I particularly loved this wooden stool. It is simple and elegant.
The next installation is on the outskirts of Milan, called Villa Bagatti Valsecchi, and is set in an old compound. The weather was magical, so it was nice to walk through these old buildings and see interesting installations.
I loved these deconstructed candles.
Buttons stations
We walked down the street through town for about ten minutes to get to the other Alcova installation at Villa Borsani. These glass objects made me think of Jeff Koons.
A dressing table.
And this was the perfect thing to see before we made our way back to Milan.
Dinner was at Via Stampa. A bit different than everywhere else, this felt more farm to table. The toasted brioche with beef tartare topped with saffron creme was insanely good.
And the pastas, were richer than what we have had. Both are excellent, especially the roasted boar ragu.
Back to the hotel and left the next day, and that’s a wrap—an incredible trip. Getting back and seeing objects come in from abroad, being hit with 20% tariffs, is not pretty. I am not convinced that the customers, particularly as we more than likely slip into a recession, will be inclined to pay the prices needed to make a business’s margins. Many of these items will never see the light of day in the US. We will have to rethink our strategy on merchandise at Gotham so we can continue to create fresh concepts that our customers are drawn to. We will see what happens in the months ahead. It is a sad extremely sad for the design world.
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Milan Design, Day 2 15 Apr 2:53 AM (yesterday, 2:53 am)
I saw the line for the Saint Lauren Charlotte Perriand collaboration, so, just like the Loewe teapots, we got there thirty minutes before the exhibits opened, and despite a line, we got in on the first round. Otherwise, these lines could be hours. The space is tremendous, and in that area, there are several buildings like this one—old and still factories.
Anthony Vaccarello put together an exclusive collaboration between Saints Laurent and Charlotte Perriand, bringing to life four pieces that had never been realized. This bookcase has only been exhibited three times in the past 25 years.
We had to walk up four flights to get to the Package Design Showcase. The design threads between even packaging are everywhere.
The Thai Design showcase was extensive and definitely interesting but this is the quote that says it all.
We went to meet with Weed’d and lunched along the way. I don’t even remember the cafe’s name, but I do remember the dish. Simple spaghetti with fresh anchovies and sage. Perfect.
Weed’d had taken over a cafe; that was so clever. We love working with Weed’d. Their products are beautiful, practical, and chic. We partnered with Weed’d and Eckhaus Lauter to make a bong months ago.
The next stop was Galleria Rossana Orlandi is a gallerist and curator who transformed her space, a former factory showing cutting-edge design. It is brilliant.
There were speakers in several spots we saw. These are where art meets sound. Perhaps it is time for beautiful speakers?
The rubber bathtub is pretty incredible.
Also loved this painting box.
But the best was the power of tenderness. The designer grew up in a war torn city and found solace in books; her designs bring it all together.
The last stop, Romantic Brutalist, was near there but not as powerful.
I met Fred for dinner at Da Giacomo. We ordered too much! The warm seafood salad and oysters were exceptional, but one of the best things we had was blue lobster spaghetti, the Da Giacomo way. It was rich, layered, and creamy—a total wow.
I wish I had it in me to walk home, but after the day, I had to take the taxi back to bed.
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Milan Design Week 14 Apr 2:42 AM (2 days ago)
My friend texted me when we arrived in Milan and asked, “Do they hate us there?” and my answer was I think we hate ourselves more.
Design Week is inspiring, fun, educational, delish, and overwhelming. It packs a punch that reminds me of the inner core of Italy’s economy: design. Did tariffs cast a pallor over the events, no, but it is top of mind.
I am going to stick to the highlights. I made the rounds with Berks. Our first stop, and a highlight, was seeing the Loewe teapots at Palazzo Criterio. Loewe has been a champion of creative development, so having 25 artists create a teapot for Loewe is brilliant and on-brand.
There were too many to choose from, but this one was stunning. All of these pieces are for purchase, and a few cozies made exclusively for the Loewe teapot were sold as an edition. You could only buy it there. I got the last one in front.
Jill Sander furniture reinterpreting the Thonet chairs. It’s just proving that good design lasts forever. What’s old is new again.
The Byredo kiosk was a cool way to connect with customers, aka that means a free product for emails. That was a key factor everywhere; you have to register at each event to enter.
Trattoria del Ciumbia for lunch, aka when in Milan, eat like you are in Milan. Reservations are a must during Design Week. This toasted brioche with chicken liver and dabs of berry sauce with light rice crackers is one of the best things I ate the entire week. Insanely delicious.
House of Switzerland took over a two-story building section, each room highlighting “collaboration” featuring emerging designers and brands working together. Edgy, thoughtful items that reflect the times.
Hermes was next. It is inspiring to see what old, established design brands can create, showing 21 new objects next to archival pieces. Stunning.
We wandered over to two stores in the area, which is always inspiring. These stores are excellently curated, offering cutting-edge designers alongside classic designers like Prada. These stores do not exist in NYC anymore, and I am not sure why something has not replaced Barneys at a smaller level, perhaps because the brands are so hard to break into. We went to Slam Jam, edgy streetwear but also elevated streetwear, and of course their own brand, the other was Antonio.
I left and met Fred at the Prada Foundation, Fondazione Prada location in a former 1910 gin distillery where Rem Koolhaas and his firm OMA combined the old and new. There is a cinema, a restaurant (we went later), a “haunted house,” a large room where the walls are hung to show work with a chaotic methodology to the system, like the building.
Bar Luce, designed by Wes Anderson, was inspired by Italian 1950-60’s cinema.
Dinner was at the foundation, and although the views were stunning, the room was beautiful, and the food was just meh.
Time for bed.
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Back to Milan 13 Apr 2:30 AM (3 days ago)
We have not been in Milan since 2008, and like all bourgeoning urban cities, a lot has changed in fifteen years. The city is hopping, particularly during Design Week. It always makes me wonder why NYC can’t do this. There is an inspiring installation in every part of town. Also, everyone is chic; nobody wears sweatpants, and even the kids are dressed coolly. I love it.
Fred and I hit the town by ourselves the first day before pre-design hit the streets for Gotham. Reservations are needed everywhere, including lunch, so we got a panini instead of having a civilized meal.
Why don’t we have these on the streets of NYC?
We also visited Antonio Marras, who is soon opening a store on Wooster Street in Soho. The man is insanely talented, and the entire store is so inspiring that I returned later in the week.
He makes clothes, shoes, handbags, jewelry, men’s and women’s, ceramics, and furniture.
I was excited to return to Corso Como. They did have a store open for a hot second in NYC, but in the absolute worst location. I heard later in the week that they had made that mistake in several cities. Unfortunate because the curation and partnerships are inspiring.
Dinner that night was at Langosteria, an old-school spot with a great vibe. It was not my favorite, but as we are starting to wrap up and have eaten way too much food and pasta, I will share more later as I wrap up everything we have seen, eaten, and been insanely inspired about in the days to come. These are a bit late due to funky internet and picture uploading.
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Bucket List 10 Apr 8:54 AM (6 days ago)
When I decided to go to Milan for design week, I figured I would come in a little earlier and spend a few days with our daughter, who is currently living in Amsterdam. Fred jumped on the trip, and she chose Bologna because she has always wanted to go to Palazzo Schifanoia to see the frescoes in Ferrara. I am so glad we did. Before we got out of town, Fred and I went to Allegro, a coffee shop with insanely good coffee and pastries. These croissants were perfect and huge!
I love a good candle melt.
Palazzo Schifanoia is a Renaissance palace built for the Este family in 1385 as a retreat from “boredom.” Over time, the palace has added several wings. The room where the frescoes are housed took my breath away when we entered the room.
The frescoes were made in the late 1460s by Francesco del Cossa, Ercole de’ Roberti, and others. They were commissioned by Borso d’Este, Duke of Ferrara, who is in many of the frescoes noting that he was a wise ruler. The twelve represent each month of the year, where the top 1/3 represents Greek mythology, and the second 1/3 represents the Zodiac and the last 1/3 represents every day life.
Some of them have been restored, while others need to be. What I loved about them—and there are countless things—is that there was nothing pious about any of them. There was no religion at all, which is rare, and it makes me wonder whether the religious paintings were just the fashion of the times rather than the reality.
The room after the frescoes was where Este would greet visitors and the ceiling.
We had lunch in the town, at La Rachetta, for some pizza and then walked through the town.
The town is wonderful.
The castle even has a moat.
We came back to Bologna and walked around. I never took art history or architecture classes, so everything I have ever learned is from reading. Our daughter’s fiancee noted the work of the architect Gavina. It was a store he did in the 1960s. I love this work.
The details
The dressing room
The water. Fantastic.
Dinner was not great, but the lasagna was almost made up for the entire meal. Tomorrow, Milan.
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Bologna, Parm and Balsamic 8 Apr 4:47 AM (8 days ago)
Thanks to our son and his girlfriend, we spent most of the day learning how parmigiana cheese and balsamic vinegar are made. The experience gave us all a new appreciation for both.
Cheese, like wine, is highly regulated. Technology makes the process better for the producers, who only lose 1% of each batch compared to a much higher number years ago. Each vat is watched over by a person who stirs the cheese with a long whisk-like instrument until the cheese is ready to harden. What is left becomes ricotta.
Afterward, the cheese is poured into round containers lined with a hard plastic shell, with the information noting that Italy approves it. That is what you see on the rind. These round hunks, called babies, are put in these containers with heavy tops to settle down and then divided into two; they are called twins and moved with a pulley, which they refer to as the stork, to the aging area.
The next stop is the aging room. The place we went to was a mid-sized shop. There are 309 manufacturers in the area; this is the only area where parma is made. In this room, there are 33,500 cheeses. The scent is incredible.
Of course, a tasting is at the end. There is 9, 12, 18 and 24 month aged parm. We all leaned towards the 12 month, although depending on how you want to use the cheese, they are all pretty damn good.
Our next stop was for balsamic vinegar. The spot is absolutely gorgeous, and they make wine, too, although the wine is nothing to write home about.
The smell in this room is intoxicating. Supposedly, it is so overwhelming in the summer that you can barely stay in the room for a few minutes. The grapes are boiled down by 17%, and nothing is added to get the authentic balsamic vinegar. Check your bottles! The process involves heating, cooling, and exchanging the liquid from the barrels. In this region, each family’s barrel is a dowry for their children to bring with them when they get married, men and women.
Another dinner back in Bologna at Aqua Pazza for a bit of crudo.
And, of course, pasta. Quite the day.
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Italy 7 Apr 7:46 AM (9 days ago)
Gotham has been coming to Milan, Copenhagen, and Paris for design weeks since we opened. Rachel Berks, Gotham VP of Creative and Merchandising, has made found amazing products and created great relationships. I have not been back to Milan since 2008 and what a joy to be back.
We spent one night and had dinner at Langosteria before going to Bologna for a bucket list art journey for our oldest daughter and fiancee. More on that later. Everything at Langosteria was delicious and if you find yourself in Milan, definitely add it to your list.
The oldest college in the world resides in Bologna; it started in 1088. Besides the college, the Renaissance and Baroque architecture, including the covered walkways and porticoes, is a walk back in time. This is the first thing I saw when we started our day in Bologna. Weed is legal here but with multiple caveats.
The buildings
The statues
The churches
Through our daughter’s eyes, I have a new found appreciation for Renaissance art.
Of course, going to the food markets is one of my favorite things to do.
We snagged a late lunch at I Panini di Miró, which was hopping. This fantastic place operates out of an open shack and offers countless panini options.
After a little rest, we went into the palazzo for a drink.
As we walked over to the restaurant All’Osteria Bottega, an old-school family restaurant, I noticed this beautiful tree. I wonder what this tree has seen in a city thousands of years old.
Bologna is known for pasta and slow cooking. Starting with prosciutto and poached artichoke in olive oil was the call.
We split the pasta with, of course, the Bologna sauce and tortellini, which is everywhere in this town.
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Chicken and Herb Salad With Nuoc Cham 2 Apr 3:13 AM (14 days ago)
I make lunch for the executive team every Wednesday. It feels good to share, and it creates another connection for the team. This was last week’s meal which I loved so much that I had to post it because I want to make it again.
- 2 tbsps sugar
- 1/4 cup fresh lime
- 3 tbsps fish sauce
- 12 ounces pulled chicken (I roasted a bunch of whole chickens for this)
- 2 cups of sliced cabbage (I did 1 cup red, and 1 cup green)
- 1 small English cucumber thinly sliced (1 1/2 cups)
- 1 red pepper thinly sliced
- 1 1/2 cups arugula
- 1 cup basil leaves (Thai leaves if you can find them)
- 1 cup mint leaves
- 1/2 cup fried shallots of onions (store bought is easiest)
Combine the sugar with the lime juice and fish sauce. I tossed in a couple pinches of dried red peppers, and if it is too much for your palette then put in a bit of water, and whisk.
Add the chicken, cabbage, cucumbers, and red pepper to a bowl and toss with the dressing. Add the arugula leaves, basil, and mint and toss again. I tossed the onions in last for that crisp. Serve immediately with roti if you can find it.
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Bright Spots 1 Apr 3:50 AM (15 days ago)
Just when I thought the world was going to shit, I had some wonderful bright moments last week where I smiled and thought, “damn do I love NY.”
I made the rounds of the Gotham stores this week. I loved seeing the store photos in the back.
On Friday evening, Gotham was the sole sponsor of Performance Space New York. Founded in 1980 in an abandoned school in the East Village, this organization has supported all artists’ experimentation. It was one of the best gala’s I have ever been to, and I am thrilled to support their work. We had a Gotham cannabar at the event, which was a true hit.
Martin Scorcese spoke about Fran Lebowitz before presenting her with an award. One of his favorite quotes is, “Think before you speak, read before you think.” Good advice.
Debbie Harry was a surprise guest. She’s a goddess.
Saturday morning we went to the MOMA, to see the Jack Whitten show. I did not know of Whitten’s work until this retrospective. An incredibly prolific artist, and a wonderfully curated show.
Definitely work getting up there before it closes on August 2nd.
The weather was perfect, so we walked through Central Park from the east side to the west side. People were out in force.
Relaxing and fun.
Saturday evening, we went to Kabawa for dinner. What is lovely is most of the seats are around the kitchen so you can see what is coming out, and what you want to eat. I noticed a few women in the kitchen, which is always a bonus and makes me happy.
Paul Carmichael, who hails from Australia, has worked for David Chang for years. He took over the old Ko spot as the head chef and cooked his vision of Caribbean food. It is delicious. They start you off with roti and condiments I could eat all night.
The fried chicken is cooked to perfection with just enough kick from the Scotch Bonnet in the crust. What is lovely is most of the seats are around the kitchen so you can see what is coming out, and what you want to eat.
The flan is rich, dense, and intense.
Over the weekend, I received a few texts from people about events happening in other locations in NYC. Spring has arrived in NYC.
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Is Any Media Trustworthy? 31 Mar 3:15 AM (16 days ago)
The amount of information coming at me these days is confusing. Do I believe the article I just read in the NY Times? Or how do I decipher the letter, attempting to read between the lines to find a nugget of what is happening? Maybe I should turn it all off because politics has become like weather; if you wait, it might change.
Then I talk to people who have a hand in the industries that have caved to Trump. The few people that I know at Columbia University are distraught, as they should be. I mean, WTF? Doesn’t Columbia have $400m in its coffers from years of alumni fundraising? The entire board should be ousted, they obviously do not know how to manage free thinking, aka one of our rights as Americans, at least we thought so. How about calling all the other universities and colleges across the country and join together. Where is our unity against the supposed king? We are a democracy. Our education is the best in the world, or maybe it isn’t.
Then there is the slaughter of the countless departments and more to come. Years ago, Sears brought in a new leader, and he slashed and burned the company to prepare for the next generation. He failed to tell the board that the company’s stock would probably go down 70% before it returned with a new generation Sears. Needless to say, it did not go well for him, or Sears.
The dismantling of the Government is head-spinning. Change is needed, but it would be nice if this White House crew knew a bit about how the Government runs. Not sure they know how to run private or public companies either. As someone who has been getting a first-hand education on how NYCHA is run, I firmly believe the Government should not be running programs and more. There should be boundaries and laws so non-profit organizations and private companies could oversee education, health (that should be non-profit and free), public housing, etc. The question the Democrats should be talking about is, how do we rebuild when the whole thing goes down in flames, including our friends who now hate us.
I believe in the law of the land because there is room for debate. The law should save us all. We need to unite and say no; we will not sit back and let Trump run for a third term or corrupt the system for himself. Put nothing past this guy.
Stopping this is impossible because they do not care what we say. They firmly believe that everything should be privatized, and of course, I should toss in that small part of being run by an authoritarian. I am saddened by Columbia, the law firms, and the companies who have caved on DEI, and I will not do business with them but I am not going to believe much of what I read, because in the end, we will have to rebuild America, and what is that going to look like?
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