Old Money

A collection of currencies, a Funny Bar 86, big restaurants and piano lounges

I’ve missed some stuff after not tending correctly to a cold and I must rest my vocal chords because I’m in conversation with Megan Nolan at the Strand on Thursday to launch the paperback of her Ordinary Human Failings. Get your tickets before they sell out (or let me know if you want guest list, maybe I’ll still have some spots).

On June 26th, David Lê presented The Arcades: Live, showcasing some of the antiques and artworks he is currently selling via his old store’s site, maiden-name.com. I, too, was one of the set pieces, sitting at a 1960s Arco Desk designed by BBPR (Gian Luigi Banfi, Lodovico Barbiano di Belgiojoso, Enrico Peressutti, and Ernesto Nathan Rogers), typing on a laptop in the style of Carrie Bradshaw at home.

While the voiceover I’d recorded of a Lê original monologue connected said desk to the Sex and the City franchise’s downfall, I closed the computer, stood (in a Maiden Name skirt—this one, in black and not terribly creased—a white tank top, and white Row slingback heels), walked to the front of the desk, pulled out a martini shaker and glass from a drawer, shook one vessel and poured its contents into the other, then sat and sipped. Before exiting stage left, I pulled out a cigarette from another drawer and lit it.

The rest of the show involved Joan Crawford drag setting up a 1968 Carlo Scarpa table, another monologue, and a live singer. The pieces are really worth perusing. If I didn’t already have a leafed table in my studio apartment, I’d buy this 1929-designed Eileen Gray hinged desk/table.