the mayor

i met some really good people in new york.

however one of the people i met was quite possibly the nicest person i've met all year.

ladies and gentlemen let me introduce you to the mayor.

the mayor is quite simply the man. he practically owns the game.

his collection is the truth.

for those of you that don't know him. he is one of, if not the major player 

in the sneaker game. he owns over 1000 pairs of nike air force 1's alone

supposedly he has quite a jordan collection too and when i quizzed him

he admitted to owning about 20 pairs of adidas and a few pairs of puma.

all in all he is reported to own well over 2000 pairs of kicks.

the mayor drove for over an hour to come and meet me, just to say hello,

to talk about the trainer game ( and to pose for a few pics )

it was the first time we'd met, yet he greeted me like an old friend.

he was polite, humble and is absolutely passionate about sneakers.

here are a few shots i did of the mayor in the bespoke room at 21 mercer...

i'm still touched that the mayor came out of his way to meet me.

by the way, while we chatted he designed himself a couple of pairs of 

premium af1 i-d's and explained to me the reasoning behind his designs.

you can see short video clips of the mayor talking about his collection on youtube

www.youtube.com/user/MAYORTV

i really recommend watching some of his videos. particularly the ones where

he talks about the nike bespokes he designed himself. he's quite a character.

cheers mayor !

waiting for the mayor

while i was at 21 mercer and waiting for the mayor to arrive,

i cracked off a sneaky self-portrait... well, what did you expect ?

check me out, bape black camo thermal top with sleeves rolled up, textbook.

thumbs tucked into pockets, perfect.

smile, nowhere to be seen.

bingo !

london design guide

a big thank-you to michael sodeau for sending this to me

www.londondesignguide.com/2010/11/restaurant-made-in-camden/#more-2617

and also nice to see a little credit at the end. sweet !

la colombe ( again )

on my final morning in manhattan i had a shoot in soho.

afterwards i walked to la colombe to grab a coffee. this time there was

space inside for me to sit, enjoy my flat white and take a few photos.

this is the view of the interior of la colombe from where i sat

it's next door to supreme on lafayette street. very nice interior with a bar along one side,

benches and tables along the other wall, a mural on one wall and a big mirrrrrr*

on the other wall. there's my flat white right infront of me.

here's a better view of it

damn, it was a good coffee

here's the mirror which was behind me

yes, if you can find a seat, this is a good place to hang out at and maybe do a bit of people watching. you never know who might pop in for a coffee...

i know, i know, i was on a slow shutter speed here so you can't tell, but this 

bloke striding in for a coffee is quite a player in the new york scene

does the name aaron bondaroff mean anything to you ?

maybe i should ask if the name means anewyorkthing to you ?

how about a-ron ? the downtown don ?

hmmm... well if you have a minute you could read this article about him

www.interviewmagazine.com/blogs/culture/2009-12-15/aaron-bondaroff-my-life-in-t-shirts/

aaron is the creator of one of my favourite brands, anewyorkthing.

www.anewyorkthing.com

i left him to it while i enjoyed my flat white but after a few minutes the place got busy

showing my style, and being a gentleman, as soon as i finished my coffee i got

up and left so that somebody could have my seat...

( a special grrr ! goes out to the patrons of joe and the art of coffee at this point )

www.lacolombe.com

* i think mirrrrr is my favourite american word

a-ron, a.k.a. the downtown don

as i mentioned earlier, i spotted aaron bondaroff in la colombe the other day.

i left the place a few minutes after him when it got busy, and sat on the bench

outside for a while to put my cameras away properly.

a couple of minutes later a-ron came and sat next to me on the bench.

he asked about my leica and enquired about what i'd been shooting in new york.

he introduced himself and we had a great old chat about anewyorkthing, supreme,

art, photography and the differences and similarities between new york and london.

i asked aaron if i could shoot a quick portrait of him. he said he was notoriously

camera-shy but seeing as i was a fan of anewyorkthing from back in the day...

so here he is. a-ron, a.k.a. the downtown don

sitting outside la colombe, lafayette street, nyc.

http://glob.anewyorkthing.com/?p=8354

what the what ?!

on greene street as i made my way over to 21 mercer, i spotted this

a bike with a cover which was presumably crocheted by a team of nans.

unbelievable !

abraco

on the walk back from the knishery last week i stopped off to check another

coffee joint which was on my list... abraco.

it's at 86 east 7th street between 1st and 2nd avenue

( about a 10 minute walk from the knishery )

i ordered up a flat white as usual, but the barista said it was more of a latte

yessss ! it came in one of the traditional new york paper cups with

'it's our pleasure to serve you' on the side

abraco turn out some very nice coffee indeed. i'd say it's the new york equal

of london's 'espresso room' in coffee and size... it has standing space inside for 

maybe 6 people, if they stand close together.

www.abraconyc.com

if you're in the area it's well worth checking out.