WILLIAMSBURG NYC

BROOKLYN NYC

NEW IN!!! Hottest New Restaurants to Visit in Brooklyn...go to: http://ny.eater.com/archives/2013/05/the_brooklyn_heatmap_where_to_eat_right_now

The last time I visited BROOKLYN was twenty years ago when I was asked to dinner on my first date with my now husband to 
THE RIVER CAFE. 

river cafe

On a recent trip to NYC, I made my way over to Brooklyn hearing it was a mecca for upcoming artisans, in the hope I would find a ceramicist for our ELK&MAPLE housewares range SYRUP. What an adventure! In the three or so years I lived in NYC, Brooklyn was not somewhere I frequented. I lived in NYC pre-Giuliani when the Meatpacking District was a complete no go zone (unless there was a promoter hosting some ultra cool New york party and then you had no choice!) littered with working girls and drugs, and Brooklyn was a step further than that!

Brooklyn is vast. It is one of the five Boroughs of NY but the largest in population, Actually, if Brooklyn was still an independent city, it would be the fourth largest city in all of the US, over Manhattan. 

Williamsburg, Brooklyn is literally only a ten minute cab ride from downtown Manhattan but feels like another world when you arrive. The pockets of stores carrying bespoke items, antiques, and organic food and the likes are scattered within abandoned sites and streets filled with building after building displaying graffiti art.

blocks and blocks of abandoned buildings

I was expecting the area to have a more village like atmosphere comparable to The West Village in Manhattan but I was totally wrong. Even though the area has been well established for many years, it feels like a developing community. Williamsburg is emerging as a trend and it houses many artisans and cool restaurants, but still seems very disjointed and widespread. It's probably not somewhere you would feel totally comfortable on your own in parts just yet. (Actually a few of my girlfriends joined me on my expedition and spent most of the time locked inside the car!)


When passing by the famous PETER LUGERS steak house I wandered about the earlier years of Mafia Crime Brooklyn is also remembered for. In the early 1900's a Neapolitan family called The Camorra's claimed the area as theirs. Their opposing crime family, the Morello's claimed parts of Harlem and the Lower parts of Manhattan such as Mulberry Street. The two families went about their business amicably until rivalry occurred over greed for trades such as gambling, drugs and artichokes! By the mid 1930's the Camorra family had been wiped out as the opposing family helped them turn on each other eventually. 
I wandered if they had all sat with the walls of the famous steak house at some point. I remember my first time to Peter Lugers and even then it was an epic adventure to travel to Brooklyn and eat there.

Peter Lugers established in the late 1800's
A NY institution

As I set about ticking off my 'must see' list, one of the places I really wanted to visit was a tea store called 

Bellocq Tea Atellier.  The store, like many in Williamsburg, was extremely difficult to find and situated behind a door marked with a simple "B" amidst graffiti buildings. Actually when I asked a local for directions, he said "you aren't actually going over there are you?" He explained not even the locals step that way. It was only two blocks away from where we were. Off I went anyway and I am so glad I did. 

Bellocq Tea Atellier has been written up in Vogue Living and such and I can see why. What a little gem of a store. 

Bellocq tea Atellier
www.bellocq.com

When I was waiting for my tea, I met a young man who had ventured over from Manhattan for the day. He has lived in NYC all his life and that was the very first time he had ever been to Brooklyn! 
Give you an indication of the great divide?

The way Brooklyn is emerging no (particularly Williamsburg) is appealing to lovers of organic produce, markets, rare finds and artisan products. (I was tres happy) I could sense a future though of many  many outlets and restaurants that could possibly be contending with waiting lists in the future. Anyone who is excited by Haute Couture or big brand names would find the area confusing. A lost cause really on anyone who does not value a beautiful hand crafted jewel, beer, chocolate or tea etc. The list of curiosities is endless. 

Mast Brothers Chocolate
www.mastbrothers.com

Brooklyn Flea is a treat. Loved it. The architecture of the building they host the weekend markets in is spectacular and houses a wealth of history in itself. The original bank was intended to impress the community with visions of wealth and security. Built in 1929, the clock tower was the tallest building in Brooklyn and the 27 foot clock was the largest in the world. The masonry, ironwork, mosaic tiling and artistry could not be replicated in our modern times. The original vault is still in tact, even after the War. As you wander through the markets you actually step through the vault to enter another room filled with market stands. It's incredible. 

Brooklyn Flea Venue for Winter

Brooklyn has enticed me and I cannot wait to spend more time exploring her charms. The architecture, history and now artisan product available, has put Brooklyn on the top of my list for places to visit when in NYC. My time there filled every molecule of my soul. I adore its hipster culture. 

Having just popped my head in, I will most definitely be making my way over to Brooklyn on my next NYC visit, without a doubt. I am also happy to have taken away with me my own little piece of Brooklyn in the form of our new ELK&MAPLE ceramicist, Susannah. Cannot wait to show you what my visions and Susannah's craftsmanship united bring to the new SYRUP range launching soon. 

ELK and MAPLE by Danni Murray: a little slice of country life in the city

ELK and MAPLE by Danni Murray: a little slice of country life in the city: wahroonga ...the gorgeous leafy Upper North suburb, is an aboriginal word meaning "OUR HOME" which fits beautifully with its suburb brim...

a little slice of country life in the city

wahroonga ...the gorgeous leafy Upper North suburb, is an aboriginal word meaning "OUR HOME" which fits beautifully with its suburb brimming with residents prioritising family life as Nos. 1 on their list.  

Just the way it's meant to be. 

ROCKIN' THE RHINESTONE

ROCKIN' THE RHINESTONE

NOVEMBER 24 2012

A SUPER COOL EVENT 

TO ASSIST

STEPPING STONE HOUSE

http://www.jdkaustralia.com.au/email/rockingtherhinestone/

Not my usual line of work, but more than happy to help just the same. XX

(And of course, LOVING the design process!)

STEPPING STONE HOUSE approached me to design an event to raise awareness and funds for their AMAZING organisation. 

www.steppingstonehouse.com.au

I had very little knowledge of the work STEPPING STONE HOUSE did for these homeless teens until I came on board to create ROCKIN'THE RHINESTONE.

Since working with the committee I have found a deep respect for the small but ridiculously effective group and the positive impact they have had on over 300 teens, and their ongoing programs and support. 

Quite a accomplishment.

We all have our heartstrings pulled by various charities and it would be impossible to support them all but STEPPING STONE HOUSE could really use a little support. 

I have designed an ultra cool event on NOVEMBER 24 in Sydney which would be a great way for you to help them out! 

It is a community based registered charity with no connection to any church or political organisation.  We receive no government funding, and rely on the generosity of community members and volunteers for funding and assistance in the day to day running of the facility and organisation. 

(from the Stepping Stone House website)

The  staff at stepping stone house are very friendly & the make an effort to get to know you and that made me feel like I was not just a case file from Docs.  Stepping stone house always feels like it’s a family environment, I have never called it a refuge I always called it home. Stepping Stone House  had really good living skills to teach  - we even had working bees where we would mow the lawns picked the weeds and do any work that needed to be done outside.

Since I went in to care of the minster at 13 years of age to when I came to Stepping Stone House I hardly spent a week at school but in the two and a half years I was at Stepping Stone House I had finished my year ten certificate and then enrolled at TAFE to do a childcare course. And this to me was a very big thing. I also was assessed and moved in to the Independent living unit which made me feel like I had achieved something from being in Stepping Stone House.

As of January 2011 I will be 20 years of age and I now live in a private rental accommodation with my partner and our beautiful son. I still call Stepping Stone House “home” and I continue to call  to say hi and pop in from time to time.  I really hope that Stepping Stone House stays open for many many years to come because its a one of kind place to live.

(from one of the kids)

http://www.architectureanddesign.com.au/Article/PROFILE-Danni-Murray-sets-up-an-interiors-store/534468.aspx

THE AMERICAN LOG CABIN

Rustic homes are undergoing a dramatic evolution these days. Some traditional homes offer just a few hickory rockers on their front porches. Many homeowners are adding an Adirondack room to their settings. Others are adding just a few high-end pieces placed alongside their traditional furniture. And others still, are building extraordinary rustic homes and filling them with quintessential traditional or rustic furniture.

Log cabins were the preferred homes of the pioneers for several reasons. Once, they were easy to build. Trees were everywhere and the new tools allowed for easy and affordable access to building materials. (The record for three men constructing a single room log cabin complete with chimney and fireplace is presently three days!)

Initially cabins were constructed without windows, mainly because glass was hard to get and easily broken. Often, however, window openings were covered with animal skins to keep out the insects.

The fireplace was the heart of the home. winters were often long and brutal and fireplaces brought families together by providing both warmth and light.

Stones for the fireplaces were almost always dug from the ground immediately surrounding the home.

The earliest log homes always had notched corners. Nails were not available in the wilderness and builders quickly became skilled at cutting notches on the ends of logs that allowed the logs to be "locked" together.

from "The Rustic Home." 

Ralph Kylloe

http://www.ralphkylloe.com/

THE ELEGANCE OF THE HEDGEHOG by MURIEL BARBERY

Most amazing book (I know I know...a little slow on discovery...BUT...had to share. xx)

an exert

....From the very first film I saw, Flavour of Green Tea over Rice, I was fascinated by the way Japanese use their space in their lives, and by these doors that slide and move quietly along invisible rails, refusing to offend a space. for when we push open a door, we transform a place in a very insidous way. We offend its full extension, and introduces disruptive and poorly proportioned obstacle. If you think about it carefully, there is nothing uglier than an open door. An open door introduces a break in the room, a sort of provincial interference, destroying the unity of space....


www.complete-review.com/reviews/propfr/barbery.htm