Annex Flea Market

Jung Lee has always had a vision. Starting in 2002, she and her husband began implementing this vision through their event planning business, Fete. But after years of helping folks optimize their celebrations, Jung decided to delve even deeper, opening a shop to display luxury home decor. There is no theme: traditional designs mingle with modern ones, and therein challenge more staid categorizations of items. The result is energetic and adventurous, but most of all beautiful to behold.

Before Lilia, a member of the Manhattan Sideways team, discovered ALT for Living, she said to me that she had never considered that shopping could be an “experience. ” In fact, she revealed, that "For me, life is life and shopping is shopping, quick and painless - I go in, find what I need, and get out. But as I walked into ALT for Living, I felt as though I had entered a time warp. "ALT contains two little worlds - a coffee bar and a showroom - and they work with miraculous synchronicity. The cozy coffee bar, A Little Taste, serves as the storefront, and it instantly recalled to Lilia the old-fashioned cafes of Paris and Rome. The coffee beans are one-of-a-kind, hand-roasted by ALT Roasting CO. “You have to try the iced coffee, ” suggested Victoria, ALT’s Marketing Coordinator. She was right. It was rich, full, and flavorful, with frozen coffee cubes instead of regular ice cubes. What a treat. With coffee in hand, we were ready to take in the pièce de résistance of ALT for Living, the showroom, which caters to high-end interior designers, design firms, and architects. The space is an aesthetic feast, somehow both immaculate and inviting, pristine and meditative. Sitting down with Analisse Taft-Gersten, ALT’s creator and owner, we learned that she would like her customers to view ALT for Living as a full-fledged lifestyle experience. “It’s a one stop shop to help amplify your home and get a great cup of coffee along the way. ”Analisse started out as a model at age seventeen, which provided her with the opportunity to travel all over the world. She fell in love with Europe, particularly Paris. “I think I was an old Frenchman in a past life, ” she said with a laugh. Analisse went on to say that she developed a passion for interior design, and left her native California to seek out a new challenge in Manhattan. While working for an interior design company, she found her calling in sales, and took a leap of faith. She began ALT as a small venture in a temporary office space, then a small showroom in Soho, and finally ALT’s current home in the Flower District. Since every item is unique, the shop attracts a vast array of customers, from hip up-and-comers to the most established designers in the industry. In an effort to maintain a stimulating space, Analisse constantly changes elements of the shop's layout. She loves repurposing old pieces and making them her own. Her current favorite piece at ALT is a vintage rosewood desk by furniture designer Joaquim Tenreiro. What sets ALT for Living apart from other businesses that cater to interior designers is that one can truly lose oneself in the shopping experience. Within the coffee bar-showroom, shopping is no longer just shopping, but also an opportunity to visit Europe without leaving Manhattan.

Walking into Mantiques Modern is the equivalent of walking into a treasure chest. Full of antiques that grace the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, this store offers not only an incredible buying experience, but an extraordinary viewing experience. While the largely pop culture-referential items, such as old Wrigley’s sculptures, handmade bicycles, carved skulls and massive seashells, were intended to cater to a primarily male, nostalgic clientele, there were plenty of women browsing on the days that we stopped by. In addition to the impressive selection of fun memorabilia, there is an array of photography, clocks, small tables and other furniture pieces. On a second visit, we were given a personal tour of the different century pieces that were particularly unique. A nineteenth century sterling silver Japanese flask from the Samurai era, a bronze clock that drips downward by Salvador Dali, a giant leather, classic Hermes handbag in perfect condition were only a few of the items that we gazed at in awe. While the store has rested on 22nd Street for just ten years, the owners of Mantiques have been in the business for forty, accumulating a broad knowledge that spans centuries, and a certain sort of intuition for choosing pieces that are “gutsy, cool” and one of a kind. We found that we could look up at a shelf for several minutes, walk away, come back and see something equally intriguing staring back at us that we had missed only a moment before.

With all the centers we have discovered dedicated to children, pets, students, and shoppers, it was refreshing and intriguing to come upon Senior Planet – “the country’s first technology themed center for over-60s. ” The center offers courses, skill-shares, workshops, special events and lecture series that help senior citizens deal with the ever-changing technological world. 22 computers, 3 Skype stations, a gaming area, a projector, mobile devices and a lounge create a space that one might think is fit for a youngster, but is, in fact, the perfect space for the senior folks. “Aging with attitude” is their motto. Computer basics, advanced computing, introduction to the iPad, digital photography, social networking and more are all taught in a welcoming environment. What a brilliant concept!

A favorite of Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, and Sarah Jessica Parker, New York Vintage is what co-founder Shannon Hoey describes as “a leader in fashion. ” Shannon has spent the past twenty-three years amassing an extensive collection of vintage clothing, which includes a downstairs retail space open to the public and an upstairs industry archive open by appointment only. Over the years, Shannon has dressed red carpet actresses and world-famous singers, and has worked closely with costume designers on a range of films and TV series, including Boardwalk Empire and Mad Men. In 2010, First Lady Michelle Obama made a historic appearance in a New York Vintage Norman Norell dress, and since then, Shannon has dressed her on many occasions. When I first visited New York Vintage, I could not believe my eyes. The window display was stunning, as was the old-fashioned décor, complete with richly upholstered chairs, gilded mirrors, and ornate chandeliers. I was captivated by the wall of Vogue photographs, each one featuring a piece from Shannon’s collection, and of course, by the true treasure of New York Vintage: high-heeled shoes, flamboyant hats, and endless racks of beautiful dresses from designers around the world. Upstairs, the industry archive upstairs was filled with even more outrageous items, from a dress owned by Ulysses Grant’s wife to intricate McQueen headpieces. “Every piece here has historical significance, ” Shannon told me. “We’re an institution, a working museum archive. ” In fact, she added, many of the items at New York Vintage have been purchased from museums, and each piece is meticulously documented and entered into a database. Today, Shannon is one of New York’s foremost experts on fashion as an art form, so I was surprised to learn that she never set out to work with vintage clothing. “Fashion discovered me, ” she told me, explaining how her husband’s career in antiques first sparked her interest in vintage. It quickly became her passion, and within a few years, she and her husband co-founded New York Vintage. “He handles the business side of things, and I’m the creative director, ” Shannon explained. “So I get to do the fun part. ”But the vintage business can be difficult, too, and it took years of hard work for Shannon to build her collection. “The kind of fashion we seek is not easily found, ” she said. “It takes patience and capital, and you need to know what you’re looking for. ” In the early days, Shannon spent a lot of time searching for new pieces in Europe, but nowadays, with three young daughters, she travels much less. When I asked about her children, she said with a smile, “They spend a lot of time here with me, and they love playing dress-up. ”Shannon, unsurprisingly, also loves dressing up, and she told me that she has a lot of opportunities to wear items from her collection. “Halloween is my favorite holiday, ” she explained, “And last year I went to Allison Sarofim’s Italian futurism-themed party in a pink Mohawk and mod clothing. ” But Shannon’s favorite era is the 1920s. “I’m obsessed with all of it, ” she said. “The mindset, the freedom, the departure from women being bound and put in corsets. ”Still marveling over Shannon’s list of celebrity clients, which includes Julia Roberts and Beyonce, I asked if she ever gets starstruck. When celebrities first started flocking to the store, she told me, it was totally overwhelming, “like running from a tidal wave. ” But since then, the only time she has really been starstruck was her visit to the White House with the First Lady. “Some celebrities still catch me off-guard, ” she said, “Like the time Nicole Kidman showed up unannounced. But otherwise, I’m used to it. ”When I asked Shannon about the future of New York Vintage, she told me that they are hoping to expand overseas. “We want to open our doors to global clients, ” she told me, “maybe by opening an outpost in Europe. ” But until then, she told me, she will continue to do what she loves here in New York, working with designers, inspiring them and feeling inspired. For Shannon, the truly fulfilling part of her job is working with designers and models, creating with them and helping to communicate their vision. “I’m always inspired, ” she said with a smile. “I have the best job in the world. ”