A confluence of circumstances prompted a late winter's trip to Manhattan—where LEO Design began 25 years ago: a customer delivery (hurrah!), a dental check-up (meh) and our annual visit to the tax accountant (TBD).
And it was thirty years ago, this month, that I first moved to New York City. Since then, in many ways, the city has changed substantially in color and character. In other ways, the pulse of the city is (more or less) just as it's always been. On this visit, I hit the sidewalk with the same rush of energy and sense of potential as I did when I was a 26 year old boy—invigorated by the bustle and purpose of the New Yorkers surrounding me on the city's streets.
New York is a city of "Highs and Lows." Beauty & Style (rarely found elsewhere) compete for space with Filth & Annoyance (rarely tolerated elsewhere). Sometimes the two are combined in one unlikely synthesis. Consider the view out my hotel window, shown in the photo above. It's a rather unexceptional prospect—undistinguished buildings and too many "mechanical rooftops" for my taste (compared to the beautifully finished rooftops of Paris or any island in Greece). On the other hand, the photo is a sweeping cityscape of muscular structures, each designed by a person, built by a team, and housing hundreds or thousands of people. The enormity of life-force, compressed within this simple photo, is the very pulse which innervates the city (and always will).
Over the next couple of days, please follow along on my visit to The City. I'll share a few sights and thoughts of this place I called home for more than half my life.
Though our Greenwich Village store is now permanently closed, LEO Design is still alive and well! Please visit our on-line store where we continue to sell Handsome Gifts (www.LEOdesignNYC.com).
We also can be found in Pittsburgh's historic "Strip District" at Mahla & Co. Antiques (www.mahlaantiques.com) or in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania at The Antique Center of Strabane (www.antiquecenterofstrabane.com).
Or call to arrange to visit our Pittsburgh showroom (by private appointment only). 917-446-4248