Greenwich Letterpress
A girl will follow her love of stationery to the ends of the earth....or in this case to the streets of West Village...where I found the sweetest little stationery store that I could hardly bear leaving behind.
This is the kind of place where you could picture Zooey D. standing in front of the vintage cabinetry...pushing her thick rimmed glasses back up against her nose with one hand...holding holiday cards in the other...trying to decide which cardigan wearing friend will be the recipient of which witty letterpressed phrase...her brow furrowed.
With a vintage map wall, a letterpress invitation sample wall, and a mint and mustard mural wall...you can understand how overwhelmed with choice and eye candy I felt. Shelves and drawers overflowing with not only paper goods, but badges and stuffed toys...garlands and washi tape...I was basically in my version of heaven (had Ryan Gosling been the store assistant that is). Sisters Amy and Beth have created the perfect combination of a little shop from which to share their favourite products, and a custom letterpress invitation design business. I was hoping to hear the delicious clunk of the actual press itself somewhere nearby, but with space at a premium they probably print from a Design-Files-worthy studio offsite.
I so badly wanted to come home with a set of 90210 pencils...instead I bought a little letterpressed NYC notepad, a camera badge, and some wrapping paper with a repeating sketch of brownstones...bound to show up in Project Life at some point! And if anyone would like to set up some kind've Cities of the World Stationery Tours...I am so on board!
You can find them at 39 Christopher Street between 6th and 7th, or online here.
Left Photo by Caroline Frost Photography
Greenwich/West Village was where I felt most at home...and most in New York if those two opposites are possible in the same sentence. I wish we'd had more time to spend there...I loved all the brownstones and stoops...the gorgeous front doors that were all different and decorated for the holidays. There were little restaurants and cafes tucked under some of them...bikes chained to lamp posts....dogs strutting around in their winter woolies. It was kind've strange to see big name retailers in stores that were smaller and styled to match the streetscapes they were in. I knew I was smack bang in the middle of celebrity-ville (based on what I had read over coffee that morning) but I didn't see anyone I recognised. That being said, everyone was styled to the max with sunnies and oversized scarves/bags that the Olsen Twins could really have been any one of them :) Random story: I remembered at the last minute that I should Google Carrie's apartment and pay homage...I didn't realise I was Googling it whilst I was basically standing in front of it :) I didn't get to explore every borough of Manhattan, but based on the two afternoons we were here...this would definitely be where I would stay if I was ever lucky enough to return.
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