Stuff to Read Over Coffee (003)
Like what makes a good bar?
Hopefully you’re sitting down to this newsletter last with a piping hot cup of coffee and a free mind, free enough to consider the important things in life, like what makes a great bar?
If not, you might find other suitable tidbits in this entry, like 40 pearls of wisdom (not mine), or some good old fashioned real estate envy to wrap up the year.
What Makes a Good Bar?
I have thoughts: light level, volume, the selection beers on draught, smell might also be a consideration…David Coggins (aka The Contender) says it more eloquently: “A good bar is usually dim—but doesn’t suggest that the darkness is obscuring something. In the end, a good bar is a refuge, a respite from a world moving too fast. Humphrey Bogart famously said the world is three drinks behind. A good bar gives you a chance to catch up, and the strength to venture forth.”
Matchbook Collecting Has Become a New Yorker’s Way of Knowing the City
Be honest. How big is your collection? Probably one of my favorite lines from this ByLine piece: “‘It’s exhilarating to walk into fancy restaurants not to spend a single dime on steak frites but just to steal a matchbook from the maitre’d stand and flee the scene.’”
Creative Review’s Record Sleeves of the Year
There’s nothing better than hours spent in a record shop, sometimes for the music, but more often (for me) it’s the inspiration found on all the vintage record sleeves. This year’s Creative Review roundup is a fun dose of morning inspiration, but if you’re looking for more, I highly recommend an afternoon with some vintage (seen above).
Alexa Chung Shares 40 Pearls of Wisdom with Vogue
It’s not new, but newish. Alexa Chung turned 40 recently and shared her bits of wisdom with Vogue. Usually I stay clear of things like this. How many times can you read a lead-in about your 20-year-old self without expelling a big. Ol. Sigh. But this one was actually fun. Not that I ever doubted her.
I’ll Leave You with this $4.5M Peruvian Penthouse
Nothing says new year inspiration like a little bit of design envy.
Until next time…