Found Around NYC...

Spring Blooms and The Apple...

What a gorgeous day in Manhattan!!!  Everything bloomed all at once and we went from winter to spring in one week.

I had to stop and take this shot on my way to the apple store, which you can see as the 32-foot glass cube on GM Plaza right behind the red tulips.

The new Apple Box, which demarks the huge space down under ground, accessible via a circular stairway and elevator right on the Fifth Avenue side of the box, is redefining NYC.  It is open 24/7/365, just like our lives online are defined by being always on and available.  What I like best about the exterior design is its metaphor of our lives lived transparently and no longer bound by concrete and it is a doorway into another interior space.

A third Apple store is being planned in Manhattan in the Meatpacking District.  The Fifth Avenue Flagship store which opened a year ago May 18, followed the 2002 SoHo store. Apple is now the highest volume-per-square-foot retailer in the US.  In the second quarter of FY 2007, Apple's sales grew by 36%, outpacing the rest of the industry by three times, according to May 7th Resident magazine's cover story.

And the i-Phone isn't even for sale yet.  Apple's out of the box.

My other photos of the Apple Box are here.

The Fishmonger...

There are so many little specialty food shops in NYC.  This art is from the display window of a fishmonger shop in Midtown, one of the favorite little specialty shops that my friend enjoys in her  neighborhood.

Oh, They Are So Cute...

So said the girl to the guy, watching these little puppies play in the window of the pet shop.  We were right behind them.  My son was with me.  The son who wants a puppy.

He never said a word.

He knows the answer.

No.  Always no.

 

The Butcher...

A Midtown butcher shop near 52nd and 1st had this sign in the window.  Veal and Dill Meatballs.  Yummers.

One of the best things in NYC is having local specialized food shops so conveniently located. 

The Butcher, the baker, the candlestick maker...

Well, all but the last one help make each little neighborhood charming.

The Wreaths are a Little Off...

Most people are looking at the stupendous store displays, carrying shopping bags, stopping to gawk at the windows at street level. But I was looking up at the Bergdorf Goodman building and admiring the wreaths.

I wonder if the designer thought much about the various sets of window groupings and how to stagger the wreaths.  How do they hang them?  The holiday is a season of wonderment, commercially speaking.

Chicos...

Chicos is a growing retail outlet. Many of the clothes are good for travel and although the market appeal is for older women (they market it to "grown up women") because of the comfort quality and smart marketing of sizes, this chain continues to grow as the population ages.  They have a pretty savvy marketing program.  You can go online and find stores in or around New York City or anywhere.  New stores are popping up everywhere.

Chicos has been on Fortune magazine's list of the fastest growing companies for four years.  Last year it was ranked 51 and this year it is 100. 

This store is styled to appeal to the young and hip.  It is on 3rd Avenue at 75th. Will it work, this appeal to the young?  I wonder.  When my mother comes to town, this is on my list of things to do, shopping around.  The dog is a nice touch.  She'll like that. 

Audrey Hepburn, Gap and Brands....

The new Gap promotions feature Audrey Hepburn, building on a celebrity brand image and remixing it all to create a new postmodern brand strategy, reframing the past and placing it in a new context for a fresh marketing campaign.

Photo, left, is at the Gap Store in mid-town on Lexington, featuring Audrey Hepburn in black.  The new tv ads feature her morphing from the silver screen to a modern i-Pod dance mode using digital techniques to alter, duplicate, remix and reform the image into a completely new rendering full of new meanings.  Nostalgia is a strong marketing tool, especially for those girls yearning for times when the culture seemed to be more simple. 

Scripts... for Tourists?

Scripts are for sale in the theatre district and elsewhere.  These were for sale on the streets of Mid-Town.

What are the best sellers?

Starbucks, Caffeine and Powder Rooms...

Drinking coffee this morning while reading the news, it is nice to know that coffee is healthy and prevents diabetes and heart disease. Starbucks is all over the place in Manhattan. 

It is a nice place to stop and rest your feet and renew your energy level.  Be careful, though.  I have heard several stories about possessions getting stolen from people in Starbucks.  My daughter's cell phone was stolen from her pocket one morning before school.

The most important thing about having so many Starbucks stores around is that it is a good place to go if you need a bathroom.  Manhattan was notoriously low on public restrooms in the very  recent past.  Starbucks has most likely helped to reduce that problem.

Here is a handy listing of NYC Starbucks locations with a map, courtesy of Starbucks.  It might help to be aware of these shops, just in case you have a small bladder.

The history of coffee, as told by Starbucks, includes the legend that a goat-herder noticed that his goats were frisky and discovered that coffee was the culprit so he tried some and started dancing.  Most likely he just needed to go to the loo!

Wonderful Mannequins...

These mannequins (there are two) are so eye-catching that you almost miss the wonderful apparel they carry.

Koos, the retail establishment, is worth a look-see.  It is located on Madison Avenue between 91st and 90th.

The distinctive window makes a unique statement that makes you curious as to the originality of the store and the clothes they carry...