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This weekend-only retail space is the latest venture from brand consultants Anthony Sperduti and Andy Spade (the pair behind J.Crew’s Liquor Store menswear shop), packed with merchandise equal parts clever, kitschy, and knowingly cool. Upon opening in February 2009, the sprawling spot showcased a live-bird aviary in the front window—quickly dismantled amid criticism by blogosphere bird-lovers. The stock provides a mash-up of art, accessories, and home accents, but most of it—arguably, the best of it—is dominated by offbeat finds: dried, paint-splattered palettes, dated pinup calendars, fencing gear, a glass case of Lehman Brothers paraphernalia (including a forlornly comic “Emergency Evacuation Kit”). A large central table is piled with globes, and card-catalogue-like drawers below slide out to display contents like color-saturated vintage photographs, a glossy school of rubber fish, or a giant, cellophane-wrapped gummi bear from France. The artwork lining the walls may be the work of kids (aged 5 through 10) or Anish Kapoor, depending on the piece. Many of the shop’s offerings are customizable: One case bears “Backdated Confidence Trophies” ($75), individually personalized to revive long-lost self-esteem, and an immaculate fifteen-by-fifteen-foot wall in back is rented as an indoor billboard. — Lauren Murrow

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