What a great week for design in New York!! CB2 then the new 75 story MoMa tower and now Muji !! I love New York.
What a hell of a town !

I have to admit that the renderings for Nouvel's MoMA tower are pretty spectacular. Definitely something out of a retro-future sci-fi vision.

I hear Muji is giving away free reusable shopping bags for the first three days! And each time you reuse the bag you accrue points towards a discount on future purchases. Just geniosity!

So...was this what the countdown was for?

I'm really hoping it was for the Fall Colors contest winners announcement, and not for the opening of a retail store. :/

Thursday, October 25, 2007
Open Studios Weekend November 17-18

Long Island City, New York, October 8, 2007 — On November 17th & 18th, Crane Street Studios artists will hold an Open Studios event. From 12-6 on Saturday and Sunday, the public will be free to tour 5 levels of art studios housing the working spaces of over 100 artists. Open Studios weekend offers visitors a rare and more personal opportunity to experience art in the environment in which it is created.

The artists in the building have shown their work in galleries and museums throughout the world. Several of the building’s artists have been featured in the recent Project Diversity Queens show, sponsored by the Queens Council on the Arts. Individual artists may have their work available for sale; this is a great opportunity to acquire a piece of artwork from a working New York City artist.

In addition, the Open Studios event will also feature a silent auction of works created by artists in the building. All proceeds from the silent auction will go towards printing and advertising costs for the twice-yearly Open Studios events.

Exhibiting artists:
Jason Andersen * Tim Anderson * Sol Aramendi * Jess Benston * Ben Beshaw * Angelica Bergamini * Kenneth Burris * John Cave * Dana Chang * Mike Childs * Henry Chung * Corina Coria * Cair Crawford * Christina Dallas * Helen Dennis * Pablo M. Diaz * Domenick Di Pietrantonio * Roberto Franzone * Kyu-nam Han * Maurine Holmgren * Anki King * Sonomi Kobayashi * Leoworks * Max Lust * Sai Morikawa * Anibal Padrino * Antonia Perez * Ana Gravito Prata * Elisabeth Page Purcell * Elise Rasmussen * Joan Reutershan * Thomas Snelgrove * Keila Sone * Michael Stefanovich * Steve Suzuki * Akemi Takeda * Masaki Takizawa * Kim Tran * Josep Mosq Uea * Robert Walden * Ward Yoshimoto

Immediately following the Open Studios on Saturday the 17th, join us as we host a party on the fourth floor of the Crane Street Studios building.

Crane Street Studios is located in Long Island City, New York, in the borough of Queens. It is easily recognizable as the brightly painted, multi-muraled warehouse across the street from P.S.1. Originally known as the Phun Phactory, the exterior of the building showcases the work of local and well-known graffiti artists, headed by Meres of 5 Pointz. Crane Street Studios artists include sculptors, painters, printmakers, jewelry makers, and more.

Address: 46-23 Crane Street, right off of Jackson Ave, Long Island City, NY 11101

Subways: E, V subways to 23 St/Ely Ave., G to Court House Square, 7 to 45 Rd/Court House Sq.
There is no 7 train service on the weekend of 11/17 and 11/18.

Buses: Q67 to Jackson and 46th Ave. B61 to 46th Ave.

5,4,3,2,1...

dud.

ew.

It's none of my business if people in NYC act like this is the second coming of International Soup Kitchen or H&M but Japan can offer better than this. This stuff looks too self regarding and trying to be something instead of just being. Which reminds me, is the city awash with shoppers shlepping that notaplasticbag bag?

cerise ly—
that sidewalk seems awash with tourists. who else has time for leisure shopping at noon on a workday?
i don't think any of the inanimate objects that muji offers are troubled by the heavy philosophical quandry of "being". it's just stuff—take it or leave it.

Ok obviously I missed the fabulousness that is Muji. Went to the store today - didn't see anything that blew me away and the prices weren't that wonderful. A single elastic hair band for 1.25? Eh.

I'll be honest -- I have no idea what Muji is, though I pass by the store every day to and from work. I will stop in to check it out. But because I do pass by every day, I can attest to frontiersperson's comment about tourists. The street population on this part of Broadway, as well as most of Soho these days, is probably 85% foreign tourists and probably some American tourists, too. The sinking of the dollar has given an even greater rise to Europeans on our streets, loaded down with shopping bags of all sizes.

normally I would find yakitori's self-promotion (which I'm assuming it is) a non-sequitur and an imposition. But as an act of protest against editorializing that seems more like a paid-for muji marketing campaign, it's kinda funny.

Not everyone works on Friday afternoons...

That said, I figured I'd check it out, and was completely shocked by the line at 12:30. I hopped on it, since I was free for a few hours, and checked out most of the store. Honestly, the buzz was fun, but I found that the very same objects were at the MoMA store for less (best 5pack of socks ever, $15 at moma/$16.50 at muji). So I decided that a free bag and gift weren't worth the junk.. I still prefer Ikea crap. I then went to wander around the way-more-colorful Pearl River Mart, and bought my muji shelving unit at MoMA instead.

I got to work at 11:15 today and by 11:45 I had grabbed my coat and 3 coworkers to go to the GRAND OPENING!

2 hours later (1 hour of shopping and 1 of waiting in lines, to get in and to pay) I returned to my desk with my new purchased calendar, and gifted coloring pencils and tote.

Later, I posted a few comments in AT, and now it's the weekend.

I'd say I've had a productive day!

Love Muji at Moma- maybe because it's tucked between all those wonderful books. The store was a big yawn. Not worth the wait by any means.

first words that popped into my head upon spying yakitori's self-promotion post here: "you suck!"

first words that popped into my head upon waking up to the fact that i actually clicked on a dumb Muji promotion post: "I suck"