Do you want to travel to a 19th-century Parisian boudoir? Then make a trip to Aedes de Venustas at 9 Christopher Street in the West Village. This parfumerie is the brainchild of Karl Bradl and Robert Gerstner, two Germans previously in the international freight business. Perfume was just a hobby for them – the business was an outgrowth of that (you can read the story here).

I will not mince words – this is one of the most beautifully appointed shops I have been to in New York, with violet walls, gilded furniture, huge arrangements of fresh flowers, velvet chairs, and birds fabricated from feathers. Everything works together. To step inside is to be transported in time and space and leave the city behind. The atmosphere is incredibly calming.

But let us not forget that, first and foremost, this is a specialty fragrance boutique. The owners have introduced various lines and have some of the finest perfumes in the city. The world of fragrance covers a wide spectrum, from the large commercial lines and household names to the smaller. There are a large number of independent perfume makers now, and many of the finer ones are represented at this shop. There are also blogs which specialize in the field.

I had been to Aedes a couple of times before, but on Sunday, I went with a friend to Sniffapalooza, a NYC event with perfume passionatas from around the world. The event spans several days at a number of locations with manufacturers as well as others in the industry attending. Although I have no real connections with the fragrance world and was a privileged guest, it was just nice to be in an environment where quality and doing things well defined everything…

I suppose it was naive to think than Ten Ren Tea and Ginseng Co. was my own little discovery. After all, it is on Mott Street in the heart of Chinatown. But I had no idea how large this company was. It has not just one store but over 100 worldwide, with 20 in the USA. And the company is 55 years old, founded in Taiwan in 1953. They are now one of the largest tea importers in the world. A photo on their website shows a former president and other notables having tea in their various stores. So they are far from the undiscovered secret I was hoping to bring you. Ten Ren is the largest Chinese tea emporium in the city; the New York stores are run by Ellen and Mark Lii.

The health benefits of green tea, both validated and not, have been well-circulated in the various media, with much attributed to their antioxidant properties of catechins present. Claims have been made that it reduces blood pressure, decreases the risk for heart attacks, stroke, and cancer, reduces cholesterol, enhances digestion and the immune system, increases fat oxidation, reduces cavities and gingivitis (green tea contains fluroide), and aids rheumatoid arthritis, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and multiple sclerosis.

However, none of this means that you should not put Ten Ren on your must-visit list. The calming, pleasant atmosphere is a nice antidote to the melee that is Chinatown. The walls are lined with an array of urns holding over 100 varieties of loose tea from a few dollars to over $100 per pound. Tea is also available in bags and gift boxes. Free tea samples are offered…

One of the great things about New York is its cultural diversity. I don’t mean just seeing an occasional person or persons who hail from another land. I’m talking about enclaves, neighborhoods, or business establishments where one is fully immersed in another culture’s world. If you want to, you can find places in this city that cater to their own and where there is not even one iota of pandering to outsiders at all. This can happen here because there are many ethnic groups (and neighborhoods) so large in the city that one can have a viable business just servicing his or her own community. I encourage you to to peruse my four postings on Jackson Heights, an absolutely fascinating neighborhood in Queens with one of the most diverse communities in the world: Indian Gold, Jackson Heights, The Patel Brothers, The Jackson Diner

Of course, there is a spectrum, and there are other places which are equally authentic but whose products appeal to a broader clientele. Sunrise is a Japanese supermarket in the East Village where one can find serious Japanese shoppers along with others who also enjoy authentic Japanese goods. Myers of Keswick caters nearly exclusively to people of British ancestry.

When I went by Kiteya in SoHo with a friend, we were immediately drawn in by the window display. The shop appeared to be a doorway to anther world. Once inside, our first impressions were proven correct. Everything was slightly alien – usually a good sign of authenticity. The store, displays, and products were all done with a classic Japanese sensibility. The staff also was very authentic, as evidenced by their heavy accents. They were brimming with enthusiasm, particularly once I told them I might do a small article on the shop. The manager started reading my business card aloud and was extremely animated.
Kiteya, which means “come visit us” in Japanese, was created by a mother & daughter team, Keiko and Yumi Iida. Their products are created by five Kyoto-based artisans.

I’ve always admired Japanese artisanship and arts. Everything seems to be done with such attention to detail, whether it’s cuisine, clothing, martial arts, writing, or the arts. Things like Ikebana, Bonsai, Origami, Shoji, Futon, Tatami, Kimono, Zen, Sushi, Sake, Anime, Haiku, etc. So highly evolved and refined over millenia, it’s no surprise how much of their culture has found its way into ours…

I have been seeing Botánica shops as long as I have been in NYC but had never given them any serious attention or gone inside one. Many of them have closed due to the escalating rents, so I took the opportunity to actually enter one for the first time – Botanica San Miguel & Anaisa at 399 5th Avenue in Park Slope, Brooklyn – and speak to the owner, who was from the Dominican Republic.

There was a cloud of smoke in the shop and distinct odors emanating from the myriad of natural aromatic items. The place was an amalgam of products and literature of numerous disparate spiritual and folk practices – they also provide spiritual consultation and readings. These shops are typically found in Hispanic countries and neighborhoods and can be found throughout New York City. The word botánica means botany in Spanish – the stores are well-supplied with medicinal herbs as well as oils, incense, perfumes, scented sprays, and elixirs.

I was told by the owner that the core beliefs are Roman Catholic and that implements of the religion could be found, such as rosary beads, holy water, and statuary and images of saints (such as the popular Virgin of Guadalupe). However, many Botánica go far beyond Catholicism, as this shop did, and have products for a variety of spiritual practices such as candomblé, curanderismo, espiritismo, macumba, and santeria. There are also supplies and books for alternative folk medicine and magical articles such as amulets. Candles dominated the shop, with shelf upon shelf in a variety of colors and purposes. There were things for nearly every need – healing remedies for various conditions or products for love, money, or warding off bad weather (such as hurricanes). I even saw Buddhist and Hindu candles…

Honesty can be a good policy, and honestly, after a stressful holiday weekend with all the preparations and travel, I did not have the energy this morning to do a posting. So I perused my photos with disappointment and tried to figure out how to spin straw into gold, or at least silver.

The photos of the window display of Disrespectacles Eyewear at 82 Christopher Street was always interesting to me but had been previously nixed as not worthy. But in doing an online search for this store, interesting things popped up. Using the singular Disrespectacle returned only 5 items from Google, while the plural returned 2450 – quite unusual. Typically, the singular brings back more than the plural (?). I also found a website on lovewords that defined Disrespectacle as “To be publicly disrespected.” Finally, I arrived at the store’s website. I found descriptions of their product line such as funky, trend-setting, hip, über-sleek, industrial-sleek, high fashion, hard-to-find, and ultra high-end boutique, with features and reviews from all the top fashion publications.

Retailing is very competitive – merchants must be increasingly creative to stay alive in a crowded marketplace. And they are protective of their efforts. I am more and more frequently told that I can not take photographs in stores. In some cases (like restaurants), this is to protect the privacy of patrons, but often it is due to paranoia – i.e. that others will steal their ideas for displays and decor. All the newer, trendy establishments which are hyper-designed are like this. Pinkberry (a new frozen dessert place) is a good example – they have a no photography icon on their windows. In shooting from the street through the windows at the French restaurant Balthazar in SoHo, I had a waiter inside waving his arms at me to signal that no photos are to be taken. So, from time to time, when I can manage to take a photo surreptitiously, I will offer you über-peeks of the verboten…