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Best Bets: December 28, 2015

Deconstruction
London’s Shore Rugs has designed a rug for your standing desk (from $240; shorerugs.com).


1. The leatherlike surface is nonslip, so there’s no need for underlays, even on wood floors.
2. Each rug is made using thick 12-mm. cords hand-woven in traditional techniques — an artisanal touch among corporate furniture.
3. Since silicone has no fibers, the rug is hypoallergenic and completely waterproof, for an easy cleanup when you spill the morning coffee.
4. It’s available in four color-gradient options and three round or rectangular sizes, but can also be customized according to your cubicle.
5. The 100 percent silicone material feels like a gel shoe insert and is designed to release the leg strain and fatigue normally caused by standing on hard surfaces for long hours.


2x2: Wooden Standing Desks
Now all you need is a standing rug (see above).


Light Wood
Full Desk: StandUp Medium, $399 at jaswig-us.myshopify.com.
Desktop Desk: Readydesk, $169 at thereadydesk.com.


Dark Wood
Full Desk: Standing Desk 01, $2,200 at theartifox.com.
Desktop Desk: StandingDeskTopper, $350 at standingdesktopper.com.


Ask a Shop Clerk
Lisa Carrol is the Swedish founder of the new kid-clothing store Livly (108 Reade St.).



How do the Swedes do childrenswear? “The style in Stockholm is very minimalist, even for the kids. It looks amazing, but everyone can end up looking the same. So I also wanted to bring in pieces that had lots of prints. I bought a Fabergé-egg print and made it into a dress ($111) that would look great over black leggings. And the most important things to us are good fabrics. We make our onesie pajamas ($44) using the softest Peruvian pima cotton: It’s organic, hypoallergenic, and has longer fibers than regular cotton. If it’s not soft, we don’t buy it.”


Side by Side
Two new analog-game havens, for Pokémon and Settlers of Catan.


Gamer’s Paradise
21 Ludlow St.
Players: High-schoolers in graphic tees meeting up for pickup Yu-Gi-Oh! (the store opens at 2 p.m. owing to truancy laws).
Tournaments: A “social club” hosts Magic: The Gathering competitions ($5 entry) with seating for 24 people; winners can take home rare cards.
Collectibles: Pokémon-card packs ($4); the first of ten numbered gold Funko Pop! Stan Lee figurines ($4,000).

The Geekery HQ
42-11 Broadway, Astoria
Players: Local college students and ad guys, who stop by after work for tabletop miniature games like Warhammer.
Tournaments: In back, there are 46 seats for Wednesday-night Dungeons & Dragons games; prizes include store credit and booster packs.
Collectibles: Funko Pop! figurines (from $12); hard-to-find Dead of Winter board games ($60).


Cluster
Levi’s, G-Star Raw, and RRL join Brooklyn Denim Co. at West Williamsburg’s new jeans junction.


1. Brooklyn Denim Co.: Women’s soft high-waisted skinny jeans ($198); men’s 14.75-ounce raw denim ($220). 85 N. 3rd St. No. 101.
2. G-Star Raw: Women’s low-waisted, button-up boyfriend jeans ($160); men’s super-slim-fit light-wash jeans with extra-long back pockets ($180). 118 N. 4th St.
3. Levi’s: Men’s vintage pre-1971 trucker jackets ($248); custom-embroidery tailor shop. 120 N. 4th St.
4. RRL & Co.: Men’s 1940s vintage denim overalls ($425) and dark-wash-denim duffel bags ($240). 85 N. 3rd St.


Top Five
Theater producer turned store owner Eric Schmalenberger picks his favorite rainbow taxidermy and tinsel coats from his new Bushwick art and oddities shop Question the Store (135 Thames St.).


“Me and my friend Juanita Cardenas made this tinsel coat (price upon request) with wigs from Party City. You look like an oversize Muppet and instantly become the center of attention.”





“Cult comic-book artist, musician, and witch Dame Darcy paints these tarot cards ($45) with watercolors. She’s very in tune with the feminist aspects of the occult.”






“Wren Britton of Purevile made this functioning doll purse ($150) from antiques he found in flea markets. It’s really morbid and creepy, but also chic and funny.”





“This ‘object to enjoy’ is one of the only art objects that Kenny Scharf has made in multiples. It’s also a bong ($450).”






“The artist PJ Linden’s taxidermy head ($15,000) is from a deer her grandfather shot. She puff-painted it to transform this masculine thing into a queer icon.”






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