The pencil can be a mighty, mighty instrument. These fine writing implements come clad in black in a troupe of ten, now on the shop. Sharpen and spellbind the page, scriveners!
Lowell is our new favorite spot in Portland. Buy a trinket for your altar and cloak your shoulders in a storied, kinesthetically-fulfilling textile from far yonder. Maya and Dino are the purveyors, curators and charmers at Lowell — stop in and see them some time.
Photographs by Laura Dart
This prescription for a life lived all top down and outside the yellow lines made its way into a mezzanine drawer at Ace Hotel Portland and was found by an unsuspecting individual in need of some advice. The exact provenance is something of a mystery — though we believe the 5-step program, if not the transcription, to be the sage advice of a person six years of age, named Lucien. The Advice From Lucien Poster is our first in a series we’re creating in-house and with some of our favorite artists and young philosophers. It’s screenprinted in Portland on 250 gsm stone blue paper in a limited edition of 150. The word so far is it can really help out your life-living game.
Our Swim Club San Jacintos Tank pays homage to our sunward-jutting neighbors just to the East of Ace Hotel & Swim Club — the fair San Jacintos — and to our brightest shining star. Seattle-based Jungmaven makes these from a natural white material composed of 55% hemp and 45% organic cotton. Hemp is an environmentally friendly, sustainable crop that produces more fiber per acre than trees, has naturally anti-microbial properties and goes from seed to harvest in only four months. It’s hard to smoke though — we tried. Recommended use: wearing.
Harry Selfridge was a fireball upstart, born in Wisconsin at the end of the 19th century, who skyrocketed up the creative and entrepreneurial ladder fueled by his unprecedented, radical and roundly victorious new ideas about what public space and consumable creativity could be. A trailblazer in forging the relationship between art and retail, he gave complete creative license to display artists — and quite possibly invented the concept of window displays at Selfridge’s & Co. in the then unfashionable western end of Oxford Street in London. It goes without saying that we identify with, and find inspiration in, his curiosity about as-of-yet-undiscovered nooks and crannies in beloved metropoli — rough or faded diamonds seeking a good fog and shine.
Mr. Selfridge’s breakthroughs dovetailed with and preempted radical shifts in democratizing gendered society and social spaces, a world in which women starting emerging from their kitchens and out into unstructured, free-willed leisure time at department store cafes, shops and promenades. By recognizing the imagination as a powerful driver of impulse and intention, Mr. Selfridge and his crew birthed the experience of retail therapy as we know it today — for better or worse.
Though not many among us would identify free market capitalism as a stakeholder in radical social change and free thought, we can perhaps credit this bootstrapped toe-head from the Midwest with creating a wonderland of aspiration, longing, imagination and the democratic freedom of buying — where just to hang out was, and is, totally free.
We’re excited to get addicted to what is bound to be the new Downton Abbey — Mr. Selfridge, which begins airing this Sunday on PBS.
INTERVIEW : LINDA GERARD & DJ DAY
To many, Linda Gerard needs no introduction. She has a cult following of devoted fans who journey to sunny Ace in Palm Springs to catch a glimpse and an earful of this self-described — Older, Wiser Lesbian. She’s everyone’s femme idol, the apple of our eye and one of our favorite human beings. She’s also a ridiculously talented woman with many an industry notch on her belt. That she’s decided to settle down with us in the desert, hosting Sissy Bingo every week and otherwise wowing those in the know as well as virgin ears and eyes, makes us incredibly blessed. Linda’s voice carries the oceanic vibrations of every great Broadway star before her, and she lets it ricochet ‘gainst the walls of King’s Highway when the mood is right. Her penchant for show-stopping eyewear and envy-inducing collection of let-your-light-shine sweaters and blazers leave us swooning.
We recently released a vinyl-only limited edition of Linda’s greatest hits, Fabulous Selections on our shop, and for our mutual dear friend DJ Day — another Palm Spring legend — we also present his first album, Land of 1000 Chances, on the shop. Day and Linda sat down recently to thumb through a bit of Linda’s life story — the stuff of big dreams, massive love, brave independence and a woman from whom we all have a lot to learn — entrusted to a confidante half her age but who’s definitely dancing to a similar drummer.
Find below the first of three chapters — you’ll see more in the weeks to come. And check out Linda’s and Day’s albums on our shop.
Let’s start from the beginning.
I was born in Trenton, New Jersey, in 1938, to a very orthodox Jewish family. Kept kosher, did the whole bit. I was always a performer. I always got up in front of people and sang. So, when I was old enough to get on the train my parents would let me go by myself to study in New York. I studied singing, dancing, acting, elocution and all that stuff. My parents wanted me to go to private school, but I said, “No, no, no. I don’t want to go to private school.”
I went to Trenton High School and I was in all the plays and the musicals and that was fun. Then when it was time to go to college and my parents wanted me to go I said, “I want to be in show business, but I’ll go to college if I can go to New York City.” There was a college in New York City called Finch, and it was on 78th Street between Park and Madison. I knew that if I got in I could sing on the weekends because that’s what I wanted to do. I got into Finch and on weekends I sang at 1 Fifth Avenue. I was always singing. I didn’t get great grades but I didn’t care. My parents cared, but I didn’t care. So the following year I didn’t want to go back. I said to parents, “Let me audition for the American Theatre Wing,” which was a very good school, for musical comedy.
Straight out of Knoxville, Tennessee, The Ace Hotel x Alpha Industries Fishtail Parka is made with love and the knowhow that comes from a long history of manufacturing military flight jackets. Today is the last day to win one courtesy of our friends at Alpha.
The Ace Hotel x Alpha Industries Waterproof Fishtail Parka — up now on our shop and on the handsome shoulders of our New York bellmen — is designed to breathe easy even while it keeps you warm and dry, based on the classic US Army M-65 Fishtail parka. The nylon shell is seam-sealed with an adjustable hood and waist for easy layering options in all wet weather conditions. The classic fishtail bottom can be snapped up. Soldiers of the olden days used to wrap the tails around their upper legs for freedom of movement and an additional waterproof surface. You can too if you want to.
Our new Palm Springs Kids’ Pullover Robe is a shout-out to all of our pint-sized people worldwide — who couldn’t use a head start on a lifetime of laid-back loungeability? It’s made from soft cotton flannel, and sports the familiar Ace Palm Springs Moroccan black stripes design with an oversized hood and knotted cord toggles. Sportier than the full-length version, this robe is suitable for playtime or arts and crafts in flannel-ly comfort. Grab it on our online shop, and check out all of our stuff for kids.
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