Last Saturday I ventured to kind of the crossroads of the world, Crown Heights, Brooklyn.
The subway was a mess and the rain unceasing but I was excited to get to sit in on my first photo-shoot as ReadyMade’s editor. Our creative director, Stephen Perfetto, was already hard at work by the time I arrived at the home of designer Nilea Alexander, the creative director of Underground Love Story and the subject of an upcoming story in our August/September (re) fashion issue.
Stephen and Nilea (along with photographer, Jonny Valiant and assistant Pete) were holed up in Nilea’s home/workspace trying to capture exactly how she lives and works.
Though the day was a dull, heavy gray, there is something otherworldly about the Eastern Parkway (where Nilea lives), despite its uber-utilitarian name, that never fails to pique my interest. There is a grandness about it and its tree-lined pedestrian walkway lends it a very civil air, which is always welcome, particularly on rain-soaked afternoons.
After a run through the downpour I got to Nilea’s and was (obviously) not disappointed. Her home from the outside is kind of a classic Brooklyn abode replete with stoop (which I’m always a sucker for—seriously, please consider this a call to all ReadyMakers out there for the “Interior Stoop Challenge”). This has always been a dream of mine and have been working on some designs for a while but would love to hear—and see—your thoughts as well).
Inside, I was getting a bit more of a San Francisco vibe. Nilea is a designer with a refined sense of style that carries through from her eclectic furniture mix that ties her living room together, to her bedroom with envy-inducing vintage finds, to her workspace downstairs that showcases the clothing she has designed and made for her line.
Getting the chance to peak into people’s living and working environments has always been one of my favorite parts of the job. It’s an unending fascination that I obviously share with many others (if you haven’t already, be sure to check out Design Sponge’s weekly “Sneak Peaks,” the relatively new Spanish interiors magazine Apartamento and Etsy’s new video series “There’s No Place Like Here,” an awesome compliment to their “Handmade Life” videos). It’s kind of like each person is their own country. Not to get all preachy or righteous sounding—and obviously this is a sentiment that has been stated time and time again so nothing original here—but when so many of our towns and cities have been slowly evolving to banal sameness having the opportunity to check out people’s personal spaces (in person or through photography) remains a great reminder that we are all still so unique, no matter how uniform we can sometimes appear.
Now, enough of the mush! Be sure to keep an eye out for Nilea’s place in our August/September issue and don’t hesitate to let us know if there is someplace (a house, a workspace, a city or town) or someone we should be training our lenses on. In fact, we are on the lookout right now for a small town or city (population 60,000 or less) with an amazing making scene. We’ve got some ideas but want to hear yours so leave a comment or drop me a line!
You should definitely check out Portland, Maine. It is just a smidge over your population cap (we’re 64,000). Portland has a plethora of cool artisans.
Check out Peculiar, Missouri. The population is much less than 60,000. But this little town has an active organization – The Downtown Peculiar Arts and Culture District.
Each spring, school students decorate large eggs that are displayed around the town, turning the city into a large Easter basket.
Different artists have work on display in gallery space donated by a local bank.
A large mosiac sculpture was recently installed on the grounds of the elementary school.
The group’s board of directors recently held a festival. There is more information on the website: http://www.downtownpeculiar.com.
Burlington, VT – cool and funky and outdoorsy
I’ve been wanting to get up to Burlington for a while. Anything special you’d recommend checking out?
[...] See the rest here: Rainy Days in Brooklyn, Interior Stoops and Tiny Towns | ReadyMade … [...]
I was born in Brooklyn, and while my life has taken me many other places, including the nihilistic San Francisco and the much more down-to-earth Southern California, as well as states north and south, Brooklyn remains the real deal. Thanks for this–loved it!
[...] about sharing ideas and having fun. And allowing your brilliant idea for a modular balcony or an interior stoop to finally see the light of [...]
[...] Love It” and you know what, they are absolutely right. I love this idea and in fact have been obsessing over it for many years. My one quip with Owens would be that there are plenty of stoops outside but frankly [...]