Apple of my Heart

It's been almost two weeks since I got back from New York and I have yet to talk about two of my favorite encounters.
First was the Colette Paris (for GAP) store temporarily set up adjacent to the GAP flagship store on 54th and 5th Avenue. Colette is a Paris boutique that carries a wide variety of products including clothing and shoes, beauty, art and design books and random gifts and treasures. This is the first time Colette products have been released in the US, and I was lucky to be able to experience the store. The first time I stopped by Colette, the line was too long and I had to book it to make it to the New York Library to set up for the Jill Stuart show. The second time I witnessed firsthand the Euro's power over the dollar. I stumbled upon a charm necklace/bracelet by Aurelie Bidermann that I just had to buy (but set me back $75). Each necklace was engraved with Colette loves NY and could be found in four classic symbols: the four-leaf clover, heart, apple and star. I of course chose the apple.
Speaking of the Big Apple, I often have heard that New York abuses you and you have to abuse it back to survive, but on my short trip the city embraced me with open arms. When I was leaving the Kidrobot offices in Chelsea, I was having a hard time finding the downtown F train that would take me to the Kidrobot store in Soho. I wandered around a bit and eventually wandered down into a station to look at a map. As I was walking down the stairs, a cute kind of hipster boy locked eyes with me and said hello. I smiled and said hello back and continued walking down the stairs. As I was staring down the subway map, it was clear I was at the wrong station and was kicking myself that I didn't ask the cutie boy for directions. I turned around and he was standing there holding out a demo for his band Baby Teardrops that was playing that evening at the Mercury Lounge. I asked him for directions and he took me to the correct station and rode with me to my stop. He ended up being from Kansas City and thought it was way cool that I was from Omaha. He was taking a mid-afternoon break from his advertising job and was telling me about his band and wanting to work for Sesame Street. I missed his show, but I have a feeling that won't be the last time we meet.
New York runs on energies (and lots of caffeine), being able to tap into that really helped me navigate my way around. I know the city is for me, now it's all about getting there.
[read about my experience at the Charlotte Ronson show at scene.creightonian.com]