New York City's coolest newsstand
& where to grab your Friday morning croissant
This week we’re sharing our new favorite newsstand, featuring our monthly favorite things column, highlighting the coolest new art shows to see now and introducing you to our cool new friend: Muhammad Saigol of July.
Air Mail
If you could imagine a newsstand meets curio shop meets cafe, you’d be close to the new Air Mail newsstand, but what makes this shop so great is something harder to define – it has “it factor.” Located at 546 Hudson Street in the West Village, Air Mail (the physical outpost of the digital culture newsletter) is now open daily from 8a to 7p.
Laurel Bakery
Laurel Bakery recently joined sister restaurants Oxalis and Place des Fêtes, nestled in the heart of the Columbia Street Waterfront/Cobble Hill neighborhood. The bakery is open for retail and will be baking for their sister restaurants. We can’t wait to stop by soon for croissants, mortadella sammies and baguettes at 115 Columbia Street.
Brooklyn Botanic Garden is back again with their dance party in the Garden celebration following their annual Spring Gala. Just as the Gala winds down, spend the evening dancing under the stars with music by Beewack in one of our favorite spots in BK. Tickets to the event on June 4th include special access to the Garden and two hours of open bar with signature cocktails, beer, wine, desserts, &&& more. Proceeds from the After Party provide essential support for the Garden’s programs and collections. Festive botanical attire encouraged!
Meet Muhammad, founder & CEO of cool-kid AC brand, July. Living in New York City, Muhammad set out to design an AC with the actual user in mind. Leveraging his family’s deep expertise in manufacturing appliances for over 70 years, July was born: a beautiful product, easy to install, customizable to your aesthetic, and with a reduced carbon footprint. We caught up with Muhammad to hear about the inspiration behind the brand and what he’s looking forward to this summer.
What led you to start your modern AC company, July?
Pretty much everyone in New York has had this experience: you lug your A/C from Home Depot, drag it up the stairs, and then go through the harrowing experience of trying to install it - without dropping it out the window and on to someone's head. With July, I wanted to improve that age-old summer ritual, with a product that is conveniently delivered to you and incredibly easy and safe to install. When it's all done, you'll have a beautiful design piece that you can even customize to match your aesthetic, turning an eyesore that takes up your window space into a design object.
Does living in NYC change the way you think about household appliances?
In a city like New York, space is at a huge premium. When you have more space, your appliances can be hidden away in separate rooms or corners. But not here; your appliances have to share the space with you. That's why we designed July to look beautiful - something that elevates your space and aesthetic, something that you don't have to try and hide.
What’s the best part about the New York creative community?
New York is such a hub for creatives in so many different fields, that it's always exciting to be able to get inspiration from fields totally divorced from your own. For example, it was a textile designer friend of mine who suggested that we try upholstering one of our interchangeable front covers - and that's how the July in Linen was born. Textiles and appliances are not often thought of together, are they?
How did growing up in a family of appliance manufacturers inform how you designed the July AC?
It might sound funny, but I've been immersed in the world of appliances ever since I was a kid. I remember visiting the factory floor to see how the various fridges and washers were put together; I heard about the business side at the dinner table. With July, we've married the technological, engineering, and manufacturing expertise of a long-established appliance manufacturer with design and user-centric thinking - something that we can probably all agree is sorely lacking from the traditional big players.
Do you have a favorite summertime activity in the city?
A long bike ride up the Hudson to the Cloisters. Summer days are almost here!
Follow Along:
@feelslike.july
www.july.ac
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