Copyright 2008 The New York Sun Wed, 18 Jun 2008 16:33:40 -0400 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Chris Schmidt :: Stories from The New York Sun http://www.nysun.com/authors/Chris+Schmidt istoll@nysun.com (Ira Stoll) webmaster@nysun.com en-us CHRIS SCHMIDT http://www.nysun.com/food-drink/cutting-edge/18376/ Wed, 10 Aug 2005 00:00:00 EST When Sur La Table opened its first New York store in SoHo last week, efficient cooking became easier for celebrity chefs, rabid foodies, and neighborhood mac-and-cheese lovers alike. The Seattle-based purveyor's culinary esoterica such as truffle peelers, wasabi grinders, and laser thermometers had previously been available to New Yorkers only via the Internet (www.surlatable.com). Sur La Table's new, 5,000-square-foot space at the crossroads of Spring and Crosby streets takes over from custom... CHRIS SCHMIDT http://www.nysun.com/style/jean-cool/17217/ Tue, 19 Jul 2005 00:00:00 EST For downtown nightlife and even casual Fridays, stiff, dark, high-end jeans are something of a uniform - if an expensive one, with designer cuts running at least $100 and up to $600. For further proof that the luxury retail business has embraced garb that was once the province of cowboys and pioneers, look no further than Prada, which this month introduced a line of denim, with prices ranging (for men) from $295 to $695. This most ubiquitous and American of garments has one disadvantage... CHRIS SCHMIDT http://www.nysun.com/home/public-appeal/15977/ Thu, 23 Jun 2005 00:00:00 EST In recent years, dozens of design Web sites carrying pricey contemporary reissues of iconic mid-century Eames chairs, Castiglioni lamps, and Jacobsen tables have sprung up on the Internet: Mies van der Rohe's 1929 "Barcelona" chair alone generates 19,000 hits on Google. The founders of Design Public, a San Francisco-based Web site selling furniture and home wares by contemporary designers, wanted to create something different. Co-owners Sina Djafari and Drew Sanocki, both 33, launched the site... CHRIS SCHMIDT http://www.nysun.com/style/made-in-america/15799/ Tue, 21 Jun 2005 00:00:00 EST Can something as rarified as haute couture be political? Or, more to the point, can something as innocuous as a fashion exhibit do double duty as propaganda? After seeing a small but potent collection of dresses from the 1940s at the Fashion Institute of Technology - an exhibit that originated at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C.- you may be tempted to answer both questions with an emphatic "yes." "Fabulous! Fashions of the 1940s," the misleading title of this show... CHRIS SCHMIDT http://www.nysun.com/home/walls-of-wonder/15199/ Thu, 9 Jun 2005 00:00:00 EST When painter Sam Simon was young, he was fascinated by a porcelain deer figurine in his grandfather's foyer, the type of kitsch object that now commands inflated prices in the antique shops lining East 9th Street. That same deer currently resides on a bookshelf in Mr. Simon's Chelsea home, "next to a sculpture of Gizmo," and lives a kind of third life as a subject in the clever children's murals that Mr. Simon has been painting since 1996 in residences from Boston to suburban New Jersey to the... CHRIS SCHMIDT http://www.nysun.com/home/downtown-gets-leaner-meaner/14113/ Thu, 19 May 2005 00:00:00 EST This year's "Downtown" exhibition - the alternative design exposition complementing the International Contemporary Furniture Fair's more commercial displays - moved this year from the Chelsea Hotel to new digs at Drive-In Studios, a former parking garage in West Chelsea that has been converted into a white-walled photography studio and party space. The move inaugurates a leaner and meaner "Downtown." A few quirky amenities, such as Krispy Kreme doughnuts and a fully stocked bar, made the... CHRIS SCHMIDT http://www.nysun.com/style/catfight/13244/ Tue, 3 May 2005 00:00:00 EST Visitors to the new Chanel exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art might be forgiven for thinking that they are ringside at a catfight between two prickly, preening fashion personalities rather than browsing a museum show. In one corner is the modernist Gabrielle Chanel, better known by her nickname Coco, who liberated women from constrictive corsets, ruffles, and frills, launching them instead in little black dresses of silk crepe, tulle, and even jersey, a fabric that had been previously... Chris Schmidt http://www.nysun.com/style/workout-wear-for-the-well-dressed-man/12492/ Tue, 19 Apr 2005 00:00:00 EST Just in time for spring, Adidas has launched a line of athletic clothing and shoes for men, called Equipment, that is to the average man what Prada Sport was to design-conscious swells. In other words, clothing designed to "bridge the gap" between the gym and brunch. It's workout gear that looks equally good in the boxing ring and on the street - though we'd still like to suggest throwing a shower in there at some point. The line offers slim-cut polos, long- and short-sleeved T-shirts, hoodies... CHRIS SCHMIDT http://www.nysun.com/home/mid-century-master/12264/ Thu, 14 Apr 2005 00:00:00 EST Mark Naylon's sleek mid-century design showroom, Modern Living Supplies, is a novelty in its surroundings near the Manhattan Bridge, at the outer reaches of the Lower East Side and Chinatown. In the course of my interview with Mr. Naylon, several curious neighborhood residents wandered over to the store's windows and cupped their hands against the plate glass to gander at the 1950s-era high-end sofas, cabinets, and coffee tables on display. "I wanted a space where the store's design would... CHRIS SCHMIDT http://www.nysun.com/style/budget-dandies/11717/ Tue, 5 Apr 2005 00:00:00 EST It took me a few stabs before I successfully located Oak, a new men's store tucked away in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. This may be just as the store's owners, Jeff Madalena, 28, and Louis Terline, 26, want it. Messrs. Madalena and Terline, both Brooklyn residents, have avoided the busy Bedford Avenue strip familiar to most Manhattanites, instead pitching camp two blocks away from the Lorimer Street subway stop on sleepy Ainslie Street. Oak's discreet location matches the owners' understated... CHRIS SCHMIDT http://www.nysun.com/home/everything-is-illuminated/11478/ Thu, 31 Mar 2005 00:00:00 EST Neon lighting surely wasn't what Tennyson had in mind when he wrote "The Charge of the Light Brigade." Yet it seems an apt description of Lite Brite Neon, the Brooklyn-based studio invading the home-lighting market with a line of witty neon light fixtures. Matthew Diller, the studio's affable and unpretentious founder, has at 26 assumed a key role in the neon renaissance gripping the city. New York has always been keen on window-shopping and display, and some of our chicest hotspots such as... CHRIS SCHMIDT http://www.nysun.com/home/where-art-meets-design/10756/ Thu, 17 Mar 2005 00:00:00 EST Moss, that elite purveyor of downtown design chic, just got a little artier. Owners Murray Moss and Franklin Getchell have thrown open the doors to a Moss Gallery annex in the newly constructed Soho 25 building - next door to their original shop on Greene Street. If you're familiar with Moss, you know that the SoHo emporium sells everything from minimalist objects (a gold Philippe Starck lemon juicer resembling an arachnoid Brancusi sculpture) to outre one-offs (a dresser made of... CHRIS SCHMIDT http://www.nysun.com/home/michelangelos-to-go/10047/ Thu, 3 Mar 2005 00:00:00 EST Imagine, just for a second, that you are a hip-hop mogul with an enormous new home movie theater. You need to decorate it. But how? With the room's finest moments occurring in the dark, shelling out for blue-chip art would be a waste. But when the lights come up, naked walls just won't do - minimalism, however expensive, won't wow your guests. Richard Solomon, a longtime artist representative and head of the newly formed company Art on a Grand Scale, envisions the perfect solution: Have one of... CHRIS SCHMIDT http://www.nysun.com/style/resplendent-artifacts/9907/ Tue, 1 Mar 2005 00:00:00 EST Star Jones, Kathy Griffin, and Joan and Melissa Rivers may have already handed down their verdicts on Oscar red carpet fashions. But here on the East Coast, the season for glitz is just revving up. Those still unsure of what to wear to the season's social events, like the Met Costume Institute gala on May 2, may want to pick up some pointers at two related museum shows celebrating the history of glamour: "Glamour, New York Style," at the Museum of the City of New York, and "Glamour: Fashion... Chris Schmidt http://www.nysun.com/home/cream-of-the-crop/8709/ Thu, 3 Feb 2005 00:00:00 EST With about 2,800 exhibitors sprawled across not only the entire Javits Center but also Piers 90, 92, and 94, the New York International Gift Market can overwhelm. So we visited the fair this week with a mission to root out a sampling of the best home items. Here's what we found. Designer Ross Meneuz has created a new line of pillows called Fauna, adorned with retro wildlife images silk-screened in modern colors such as cyan and magenta. Mr. Meneuz culls the animal photographs from old Dutch and... Chris Schmidt http://www.nysun.com/home/feeling-groovy/8710/ Thu, 3 Feb 2005 00:00:00 EST Chandeliers made from clear plastic hangers, installations by Dutch design students using only objects salvaged from New York City streets, pink bar stools inspired by candy - these are just some of the pieces shown during the past two years at Design Downtown, the furniture and accessories show held at the Chelsea Hotel each May as an alternative to that commercial behemoth, the International Contemporary Furniture Fair. In other words, Downtown's organizers, Abe Gurko, Susan Schultz, and Tim... Chris Schmidt http://www.nysun.com/arts/winner-for-best-performance-by-an-actress-in/6494/ Fri, 17 Dec 2004 00:00:00 EST Perhaps the most surprising name to pop up on this year's Oscar shortlists is - drumroll - Katharine Hepburn. Only this time the actress, who died in 2003 after going 4-for-4 in Best Actress nominations, is not being suggested as a potential nominee, but as a character. In "The Aviator" the silver-screen legend is portrayed by one of our own era's best actresses, Australian Cate Blanchett. Some will declare Ms. Blanchett's portrayal sacrilege - which is silly, since the only person whose... CHRIS SCHMIDT http://www.nysun.com/arts/bon-vivants-banter/3949/ Thu, 28 Oct 2004 00:00:00 EST For Ivan Moffat, like so many other Brits who made their way to Los Angeles after World War II, movies were less a calling than merely a ticket to living well. The writer, who died recently at the age of 83, had his greatest professional successes decades earlier, with "A Place in the Sun," "Shane," and "Giant." By no means masterpieces, these works did capture a certain 1950s moral seriousness - and were enough of a calling card for Moffat to putter along in Hollywood for decades, supporting... CHRIS SCHMIDT http://www.nysun.com/sports/center-courtship/1652/ Mon, 13 Sep 2004 00:00:00 EST Does love off-court help eliminate loves on-court? Or is it, like endorsement deals and outrageous court apparel, just another distraction from the game? Those are some of the questions asked by the new movie, "Wimbledon," which opens Friday. (If you watched the Open on television, you already know this, since advertisements for the movie aired virtually every commercial break.) In the film, Paul Bettany plays Peter Colt, a once-promising British tennis player (he used to be 11th in the world)... CHRIS SCHMIDT http://www.nysun.com/sports/return-of-the-tennis-diva/1444/ Wed, 8 Sep 2004 00:00:00 EST This year's U.S Open has witnessed the return of the tennis diva - the skimpy outfits, the temper tantrums, the Hollywood-style book signings. After years of Sampras doldrums and Agassi-zen, the tennis world was jonesing for some McEnroe-style fire again. But who has emerged as the leader of the pack? Is it Nicolas Massu, the Chilean double gold medalist, who trashed two rackets in his second-round loss to Sargis Sargsian last week? So upset was Massu with the chair umpire - who penalized Massu... CHRIS SCHMIDT http://www.nysun.com/sports/players-compete-on-sets-appeal-too/1371/ Tue, 7 Sep 2004 00:00:00 EST Their forehands may be flawless, their serves formidable. But there's one area where even the most decorated U.S. Open players are vulnerable: their sex appeal. But the tour's hottest players are untouchable. It doesn't matter if Andy Roddick's abs are still covered in a layer of baby fat. When he took off his shirt to practice with his coach, Brad Gilbert, on Thursday afternoon, a swooning crowd of teenaged girls immediately assembled. "Oh my god, he's too cute," gushed Tammy Gleeson, 14, a... CHRIS SCHMIDT http://www.nysun.com/sports/usta-honors-althea-gibson-first-black-us-open/1374/ Tue, 7 Sep 2004 00:00:00 EST The USTA will honor Althea Gibson with a special tribute tonight. Gibson, who died last year, was a forerunner of African-American players like Arthur Ashe, Zina Garrison, and the Williams sisters. She was the first African-American to win a U.S. Open championship, in 1957, and went on to collect 11 Grand Slam titles By comparison, Serena Williams has won six. Gibson won her second U.S. championship in 1958, and Tuesday's ceremony marks the 46th anniversary of that date. But this year's... CHRIS SCHMIDT http://www.nysun.com/arts/real-bright-young-things/449/ Wed, 18 Aug 2004 00:00:00 EST When a woman comes along and captures the eye of an artist, we call her a muse. There were nine muses, and there were nine Garman siblings - seven sisters plus two brothers - who together set European avant-garde circles spinning in the middle of the 20th century. Nearly all the Garmans, and certainly the four siblings - Mary, the eldest, Kathleen, Lorna, and Douglas - that writer Cressida Connolly focuses on in "The Rare and the Beautiful: The Art, Loves, and Lives of the Garman Sisters,"... CHRIS SCHMIDT http://www.nysun.com/style/wrap-artist/139/ Tue, 20 Jul 2004 00:00:00 EST People assumed felt could never get this thin, and so they never tried," said designer Hope Newman. Ms. Newman, 34, is the creator of Yomo, a line of jewel-colored scarves, wraps, purses, and hair accessories all made from a chiffon-thin, yet remarkably warm felt blend of wool and silk that she is in the process of patenting. Before starting Yomo a little more than two years ago, Ms. Newman was an art director and graphic designer, and her foray into fashion was something of a fluke. Dared by a... CHRIS SCHMIDT http://www.nysun.com/arts/gay-ground-zero/27/ Tue, 13 Jul 2004 12:41:21 EST Stonewall's role in gay and lesbian identity has become so monumental, its very importance oppresses. There's no sliding scale, only pre-Stonewall and post-Stonewall. The short version of the story goes something like this. Gay men and women were long oppressed until, one steamy June night in 1969, the fed-up denizens of a gay club on Christopher Street revolted against a police raid. Suddenly, unexpectedly, the gay-rights movement began. The reality is a bit more complicated. The battle for...