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Best Bets: Week of May 2, 2016

First Look
On May 19, the previously online-only marketplace AHAlife will bring its beer-tasting glasses and concrete lamps to a brick-and-mortar store called Aha Front (147 Front St., second fl., Dumbo).


1. Events: Product launches and demonstrations with Aha artisans and live DJs. 
2. Beauty: Liv-Unique detox facial cleansers ($60) and Lidi Pekar cleanser sets (from $65).
3. Jewelry: Dorka S. arrow cuff bracelet ($300) and Tronks & Co. Orgull jewelry boxes ($447).
4. Lamps: Menu concrete lamps ($184) and Talbot & Yoon Bob lamps ($160).
5. Home goods: Sempli beer-tasting glasses ($100) and Menuha gold Saturn trays ($60).
6. Furniture: Verena Hennig Roll lounge chairs ($757).


2x2: Modern Dustpans
Spring sweeping.


Under $100
Standing: Andrée Jardin complete-set dustpan and brush, $89 at andreejardin.fr.
Handheld: Ole Jensen dustpan and broom, $30 at danishdesignstore.com.


Over $100
Standing: Eva Solo sweep-up set, $223 at amazon.com.
Handheld: Gentner Design sweep, $185; kshanahan@gentnerdesign.com.


Ask a Shop Clerk
Jeremy Snyder, the Northeast general manager of Tesla Motors, just opened the car company’s first sales, service, and delivery center in Red Hook (160 Van Brunt St.).



What’s it like to test-drive a Tesla in Red Hook?
“The good thing about Red Hook is that it’s super-close to the highway, so you get to experience both city and highway driving. The Model S (from $70,000) has Autopark: As you’re driving down the street, the car searches for a spot. If you pass one, a little P icon shows up on the touchscreen. When you stop the car and press it, the car backs right into the spot, no matter if it’s parallel or perpendicular. The only thing it won’t do is pay the meter for you.”




Moving In
On May 5, creative director Edgardo Osorio will open the first American outpost for his Italian shoe line Aquazzura (935 Madison Ave.).


“I jokingly call this the Duomo on Madison because there’s a dome and all of these arches in the store, and brass and glass shelves, displaying our Wild Thing fringed sandals ($785) and patent-leather Christy flats ($675). It’s like the church of shoes, except the walls are pink suede.”








Three in One
After manufacturing gloves and hats in upstate New York, Upstate Stock (2 Berry St.) opens a Williamsburg shop offering menswear, beard balms, and gluten-free pistachio bread.


1. Bathe: Little Barn charcoal-and-aloe face cleansers ($22), Upstate Stock Willowemoc beard balm ($26), and Dead Sea bath salts ($29), displayed on cutting tables reclaimed from a Bushwick factory. 
2. Dress: Klaxon Howl Army-inspired ’50s-cut tees ($42), Manready Mercantile ecocotton beanies ($32), and Upstate Stock lightweight flannels ($120), all made in North American factories.
3. Snack: Kiinoa toasted cinnamon treats ($3), Aeropress coffee ($4), and gluten-free cardamom-pistachio loaf ($4), served at two wooden picnic tables and under three skylights.


Top Five
The Met’s Susan Noonan on her favorites at new museum shop Rock Paper Silk (1000 Fifth Ave., main fl.).


“Heti Gervis, a young British textile designer, made this Indian Ocean scarf ($300). She makes collages, paints over them, and prints them onto silk.”










“The ‘rock’ in Rock Paper Silk is actually meant to represent glass. These sculptural drinking glasses ($23) are made in Mexico using ancient techniques, and the colors are really fun.”










“The idea is to stack these small dishes (from $27) and play with them. They’re hand-hammered by Fernanda Sibilia, who’s based in Buenos Aires and loves experimenting with patina.”










“What’s interesting is how many men respond to these silk embroidered pins ($25) made by the Brooklyn-based brand
Coral & Tusk. The feather looks great against a blazer.”










“These are nonfunctioning cameras ($55) made from hand-dyed American wood. We’ve seen some hipster types wearing them like accessories, but I’d display them on my mantelpiece.”








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