Happy Friday

Happy Friday Everyone.  We have some new teas, a few random tidbits and a song to share. This weekend is going to be a little rainy, hopefully everyone still has some fun plans. We just got in some new Hibiscus teas from The Republic of Tea including Vanilla Apple, and Coconut Hibiscus. Check that out if you're in the mood for something flavorful and different from the norm. 

To trail off a bit, every friday night we drive a rental van full of our gear we setup at the Brooklyn Flea from Manhattan to Brooklyn. Street art in New York is a controversial issue, and although we don't condone illegal activity we do think that put in the right space that art contributes to the amazing cultural experience that New York has to offer. A great example of this we've been seeing  on our weekly commute lately, is someone who is tagging gates on Bowery street in the lower east side. It's interesting because during the day, when the businesses put their gates up, everything is as normal but when they're put down, they become an easel for a local artist. Just wanted to share a photo of this, and we think it's great that this particular business left theirs up. It's understandable when the art is chaotic visually, or politically driven but something as refined as this should stay up. There was another great one, wherein a store would put their gate down to close, and the gate would read "Open 24 hours". The form of our blog is loose, we like to use it to share different things with our customers. We thought anyone who hadn't seen that would get a kick out of it.

In other news, the Upright Citizens Brigade has just opened another theater, this time in New York City's East Village. Some of you may remember a while ago when we posted a petition to allow this theater to open in New York and serve liquor. It's pretty amazing, they've now opened and are doing shows every night for like $5. They have some improv, but this theater is a little heavier on standup. There seem to be quite a few of our customers who are comedy fans. We are ourselves too. 

All rambling aside, to combat the rain, enjoy this song by Bag Raiders. (Youtube link, buy the song if you like it! Warning, very upbeat)

Have a good weekend everyone.

Fall is arriving…

If you're in the mood for something new at home we just got in some new white packaged teas. White Lavender, Raspberry White, and White Peony (Serendipitea Loose Boxes), Ginger Peach, Jasmine, Vanilla Coconut (Republic of Tea tea bags) and Mutan White, and White Earl Grey (Harney Sachets).

In other news our amazing customer Ruby (pictured) has opened an online store selling vintage plastics and clothing accessories from the 1920's-1950's. If you enjoy the site you can check back frequently for new items but act fast on snagging anything you like because the quantities are generally very limited, sometimes only one piece.

www.melmacandchintz.etsy.com 

That's it for this blog. If you're in the mood for an upbeat song enjoy a jam from New York band Ratatat

Rachel Mercier & her sweet stationary shop called “Mercier Beaucoup”

We know we've probably said this a hundred times before, but we LOVE our customers!! And we also love learning about all the creative things that they do. 🙂

For instance, we just learned that one of our neighbor Rachel Mercier curates a super cute online stationary shop called "Mercier Beaucoup". (What an absolute adorable name!) Rachel loves stationary so much that she has kept every single handwritten notes that she had ever received (including one from her fiance in 7th grade). Now that's what we call passion! And now, lucky for us, she is sharing her passion through her online store. Way to go, Rachel! 🙂

Happy Gloomy Monday

Got some Gen Mai Cha in from Republic, both loose and in bags. That’s the green tea with toasted brown rice. 

Have a great week everyone. We’ll leave you with a cool photo set and a song.

A photographer named Natsumi Hayashi did these. It’s still self portraits of her jumping, where she looks like she is flying. She said in an interview that sometimes she jumps 100 times before she can get the right picture. That’s a good lesson for all of us impatient people, that sometimes when you want to do something really great you have to fail at it a bunch of times, and still see it through. Pretty inspiring photos.

http://yowayowacamera.com/

Two Door Cinema Club – I Can Talk (Moulinex Remix)

Sweet Clocks

Our friend Mike designed and created some awesome clocks from scratch. He is an industrial designer who designed the Marc Jacobs Bang cologne bottle a little while ago and he is also a dear friend and customer. Mike's favorite tea is Serendipitea's Lapsang Souchong. Check out his new clock here, available for purchase on Etsy. 

http://www.etsy.com/listing/78749322/custom-screen-printed-solar-system-wall

Pork Pie Hatters on 9th Street btw First & A

Two of our regulars (Sean & Hanna) just opened up an awesome hat store @ 440 E 9th Street between 1st Ave & Ave A (T: 212-260-0408) called Pork Pie Hatters! They have all sorts of hats, we were actually really surprised at their variety of styles. They also have an online store if you love hats but also love ordering online, you can check them out here at http://www.porkpiehatters.com.

Congrats Sean & Hanna! Your store looks great, and I love my new hat. Thanks! 🙂

Sip for the cure

Just got in some new 'Republic of Tea' teas including selections from the Sip for the cure series. Every time we sell a tin of this tea, $1 goes to support the Susan G Komen fight against breast cancer. They come in really cool flavors like pomegranate vanilla. So keep that in mind next time you're parched and want to explore some new teas.

We hope everyone is having a calm and terrific day, to assist in the calming part, here is a great song from Cut Copy.
(Who are playing at Prospect Park soon BTW)

Dave’s awesome shirt

We had to compliment our customer Dave on his hilarious shirt. He said not many people have gotten the humor of it, but we beg to differ. Dave gets a large chai with tapioca. We say keep up the good work.

Hanger Tea

Hey guys, thanks for checking out our blog. You're not going to regret this. You're going to feel really good after browsing for a few minutes. Check out this great tea packaging from designer Soon Mo Kang. We believe it's just a prototype design. Very awesome packaging.

(More pictures at source: http://www.yankodesign.com/2010/01/07/hang-me-some-tea/)

We will be closed monday for the holiday. We hope to see everyone over the weekend, and after the holiday (remember we're closed tuesdays). We're open every other day from noon-8pm

Here is a good end of the week jam before you start your weekend. Rex the dog

Drink from the fountain of youth

Happy Friday everyone. So check these out.
A customer of ours runs several tattoo shops and loves coming in for a jasmine tea, lightly sweetened with tapioca. She has this great artist working for her who does some really interesting work. Amazing visual abstract pieces definitely worthy of a permanent stay. The name of the artist is Amanda Wachob

Also, Here is a great track to kick start your weekend. Drink from the fountain of youth.