CB2, C&B, and L.

I just returned from my second visit to the CB2 store in SoHo on my lunch break, and it was next on my link list, so I figured I'd start to jot some things down.

This store is just really, really fun and cool! I registered at Crate and Barrel for my wedding, and we have bought sale furniture from there, but CB2 has great gifts, is cheaper, and will definitely be a huge temptation once I move and can see how everything fits into the new place. It is a nice mix of high-end Ikea and lower-end C&B merch and, while there are only three stores in the country right now, the only one outside of Chicago is a half-mile walk from my office. The employees are your typical SoHo types - but a lot more fun and cheerful than the hipsters working at some of their neighboring stores; the displays are laid out really well; and - so far - it hasn't been totally mobbed inside.

I went to CB2 today to buy a gift for L., my co-worker who is the person who has everything and can afford anything she could ever want. A side-note about her, because she is the most interesting person I've met this year, and a design inspiration herself.

L. is in her late 60s and has been a player in the art world for years: as gallery owner, museum curator, and board member of several museums. She also has the most interesting apartment I've ever seen, with mind-blowing art and furniture. I was lucky enough to attend a party of hers, and saw pieces by Dada artists, given to her by the artists themselves late in their careers, in addition to interesting sculpture, mirrors, and a billiard dining room table. And a crazy fun red chaise lounge! I didn't know apartments like hers really existed in Manhattan. It isn't a typical 'luxury' building, but is very old-New-York: grand (it is a duplex with a two-floor living room), but cozy (elevator operator instead of a doorman; fireplace) in a neighborhood that was probably a little too far north and west when she bought it, but now is about as upper-crusty as it gets.

L. was kind enough to do a favor for me recently, so I wanted to get her something in thanks. I know that I can't play in her financial/jewelry/art league, but I think she'll appreciate the appetizer servers and plates - view them here and here; as well as an abaca ball (who knew it had a name?) for all the entertaining she does.

Okay - I'm updating this post because L. just opened her gifts, LOVED them, and generously called the appetizer plates "Franco-Japanese" (I mean, these were $2.50 each!), said they were her style exactly, and she didn't want to wait to use them for entertaining, but wants to use them immediately. She also told me that the abaca balls are so named because of the fiber. We then went on to discuss chaise lounges (as you'll see, an odd fixation of mine) and some decorating ideas for the new apartment.