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Czech These Out
Malia Valchar’s new collection of bags, called Dobre Goods, was inspired by piles of kitschy vintage fabrics she picked up from a factory outside Prague. There are makeup bags, diaper bags, gym bags, beach bags, even huge carry-ons, all made from water-resistant cotton-polyester with plastic backing. Prices range from about $12 to $80; patterns include fruits, florals, and stripes.
EXIT 9
64 Avenue A
212-228-0145
BIRD
430 Seventh Avenue, Brooklyn
718-768-4940
E.A.T. GIFTS
1062 Madison Avenue
212-861-2544
China Girl
The folks at Greenbeads must feel there’s no use crying over a broken plate – they set shards of smashed antique ones from the nineteenth century in sterling silver, and give them new life as pendants. The pendants come in various sizes and hang on either single or triple strands of various semiprecious stones – this one is green peridot ($198).
HENRI BENDEL
712 Fifth Avenue, at 56th Street
212-247-1100
Step Up to the Mat
Truck’s new floor-mats are made of bonded leather that’s stain-, water-, and even stiletto-resistant (really – we tested it!). ABC carries the two-by-three-foot mats in two colors, in its Modern Link department on the second floor ($240).
ABC CARPET & HOME
888 Broadway, at 19th Street
212-473-3000
Good Chemistry
Steven Sclaroff’s new West Village shop sells lighting he designs, vintage furniture, and what he calls “smalls,” little knickknacks for people who don’t need, say, a side table or a sofa. We particularly like the vintage molecular models. Made of wood, these were probably used by chemistry students in the fifties – and fiddling with them is addictive ($125).
STEVEN SCLAROFF
801 Greenwich Street
212-691-7814
Show Your Stripes
Babette Holland trained in ceramics but has always worked in metal. Her latest collection of “metal pottery” includes aluminum vases inspired by artists like Russel Wright. Each super-light, super-fragile vase is handmade in Brooklyn. Available in six solid colors or three stripes, with choice of ten shapes and four lamps ($80–$270).
MXYPLYZYK
125 Greenwich Avenue
212-989-4300
Masters of the House
Don’t know Wright from wrong? Richard Weston’s new book, Twentieth Century Residential Architecture (Abbeville Press), is a Who’s Who of contemporary architecture that will thrill neophytes and longtime collectors alike. The 400 photographs, drawings, and plans include history-making homes by every heavy-hitter of the twentieth century, from Charles Rennie Mackintosh to Eileen Gray, R. Buckminster Fuller to Jean Prouve, Philip Johnson to Tadao Ando ($75).
URBAN CENTER BOOKS
457 Madison Avenue, at 51st Street
212-935-3595