Williamsburg, Brooklyn’s first “urban resort boutique hotel” is opening next month and, while it’s poised to be a hit among tourists, it’s doubtful that the neighborhood’s core demo will be shelling out for the private poolside cabanas. Rather, they’ll likely be heading to Queens’ more egalitarian Rockaways, where a spate of new cultural happenings is positioning the beach community as a sort of hipster Hamptons.
Rock Beach: For the past six summers, creative agency JellyNYC’s Pool Parties have served up Sunday bacchanalias of free concerts. Last year’s swan song, in Williamsburg’s East River State Park, marked the end of an era, but the spirit will live on this summer at the inaugural Rock Beach series. The six-week concert event is moving into Floyd Bennett Field, former site of New York City’s first municipal airport. Though details remain vague, artists expected include Odd Future, Fleet Foxes, and Hercules and the Love Affair. Attendees may not need to even worry about being too buzzed to bike home: if enough sponsorship dollars come through, they’ll be able to camp at the site overnight.
The eerie Victorian aesthetic that was once the subject of a niche cult following is now a widely evolving obsession. As evidenced by interiors laden heavily with taxidermy and wunderkammer oddities, designers have become increasingly drawn to objects that bear an aura of mystery, and now the fright that such curiosities elicit is becoming the main event in a diverse spectrum of environs.
Design Panoptikum: Cheeky residents of Berlin would argue that many of their city’s dwellings are living time capsules. Now, one of those time warp apartments is open to the public. The Crypt of Civilization is not slated to open until 8113, but in the meantime, Berlin’s Design Panoptikum is meant to be a microcosm of the vast project. Preserving some of history’s most prodigious design oddities, Design Panoptikum’s collection includes kitschy collectibles from the GDR and earlier, as well as freakish medical tools, prosthetic limbs and machines that require expert consultation. While the front rooms are a design shop of sorts, the back rooms contain a curated museum of past rarities.
There are many reasons to celebrate Chaul Chnam Thmey, Cambodia’s New Year, which was this past weekend. Politically, the country is finally putting the masterminds of the Khmer Rouge on trial, hoping that justice helps it move forward. But culturally, it’s already done that, with a spate of new brands, galleries, hotels and boutiques that reflect the kingdom’s roots while looking firmly ahead to the year 2555 and beyond.
Push Pull: In the 19th century, Cambodia made what was considered some of the finest ikat in the world. Today, Push Pull is reviving that textile superiority by teaming with Khmer weaving artisans and opening up their handmade ikat fabrics to the international market through a range of “It Bag”-worthy accessories. It helps that the team includes former employees of LeSportsac and Bluefly, but the strongest selling point of these stylish tote bags, wallets and pillows is the fabric itself. Although Push Pull isn’t launching its full collection until September, it’s already caught the attention of rising chain Madewell, which carried one of their sarongs last spring. Those who can’t wait until fall can choose from one of the three pieces available online now.
An influx of crowdsourced online lodging marketplaces reflects increasing demand for renting everything from couches to tree houses to manor homes. Users value not only the money they save by renting an apartment rather than a hotel room—or, on the flip side, the money they earn by moonlighting as B&B proprietors—but also the “local” experience of staying in a residential neighborhood while traveling.
Airbnb: In 2007, roommates Joe Gebbia and Brian Chesky conceived the idea of creating a temporary bed & breakfast as a way to subsidize the rent on their beautiful San Francisco apartment. Fast forward three and a half years and their idea is now a rapidly growing online platform—it saw nearly 800% growth in 2010—with listings in more than 9,000 global cities. Travelers can choose from a variety of lodging options (e.g., an entire house, a bedroom or even a couch), ranging in duration from one night to a couple of months. Demonstrating the community spirit the site strives to promote, Chesky spent nearly half of 2010 residing solely in the homes of San Francisco Airbnb users.
Jamie Oliver is outselling Harry Potter, grocery stores are opening up their own book boutiques and consumers are turning to novelists to help them decide what to eat. Indeed, food-inspired tomes have become a main course, as cookbooks continue to fuel peoples’ growing love affair with food culture. Now, recipe writers and publishers are pushing the edges of innovation in distribution by featuring cookbooks in some unexpected places.
Hotels: While room service food conjures images of overpriced fare that’s often soggy and cold, hotels are starting to change perceptions of their meal offerings. The European Boscolo Hotel Group has created a room service menu that details what goes into creating each meal before it’s wheeled to your room. As with any typical cookbook, the menu includes ingredient measurements, cooking tips and preparation time. It also includes tantalizing pictures to inspire your order. The recipes are even graded according to difficulty. For example, the Bruschetta appetizer, which takes only eight minutes to make and is rated “easy,” drives home the point that simple food can also be high-quality and delicious. Wouldn’t it be great if airlines would follow suit?
