best bets

Custom Couches, Minimalist Wall Clocks, and a Kids’ Store From the Intermix Team

Illustration: Jason Lee

First Look
On May 15, Chicago-based furniture shop Interior Define will debut in New York with customizable couches, sectionals, chairs, and beds (68 Greene St.).

1. Help desk: Employees assist with the customization experience using giant swatch rings and an iPad that allows customers to see different configurations.

2. Beds: Low-slung bed frame with flange seams displayed with a Tuft & Needle mattress and Parachute bedding (from $1,300).

3. Fabric wall: A 77-foot wall lined with fabric options organized by color, including reds like ruby-red suede and sunset-pebble weave and blues like sapphire velvet and ocean sateen.

4. Sofas and chairs: Three Owens chairs (from $900) hanging on the wall by eyelet hooks, each upholstered in a different color and leg style; an updated Chesterfield sofa (from $1,500).

5. Leg station: Four floating metal wall shelves displaying eight leg options, including chrome, oak, and walnut.

2x2: Minimalist Wall Clocks
Telling time isn’t so much the point.

Photo: Courtesy of the vendor

Pricier
Ceramic
: Blush Clock, $350 at workadayhandmade.com.
Wood: Sunclock by Lina Patsiou, $274 at pamono.com.

Photo: Courtesy of the vendor

Cheaper
Ceramic
: Ora Wall Clock, $129 at royaldesign.com.
Wood: Little Lark Gold Moon Clock, $150 at kaufmann-mercantile.com.

Ask a Shop Clerk
Annie Bruce, owner of the new unicorn-themed accessories shop Brooklyn Owl (252 Flatbush Ave., Park Slope).

Photo: Courtesy of the vendor

So why is the shop called Brooklyn Owl?

“I used to be known for the owl hair clips I sold at the Brooklyn Flea. But then I started making unicorn horns and had the idea to make the shop a place where customers can actually be transformed into unicorns. First, we let them choose a horn to wear — they come in rainbow, sparkly stripes; some are printed with cats’ faces (from $14). And once they put on their horns, they get to go on a hunt for self-affirming phrases that we’ve hidden around the shop — like ‘I am amazing.’ Once they find a phrase, they have to say it into our magic mirror. And then the lights turn on and the mirror speaks back.”

Photo: Courtesy of the vendor

He Said, She Said
On April 15, Haro Keledjian and Sari Sloane, the husband-and-wife team behind Intermix, opened kids’ shop Ever After (349 Greenwich St.).

Sari: Last week I saw three girls about 12 years old come in by themselves. They went right back to our in-shop photo booth to take pictures of themselves, then looked through the clothes. They didn’t buy anything — I don’t even know if they had wallets.

Haro: I saw some girls buying stuff from the boys’ section, like graphic tees from Chaser and Prefresh (from $30).

Three in One
The West Village’s new épicerie-slash-retailer Clover Grocery (259 Sixth Ave.) has chickpea spaghetti, feminist T-shirts, and Burmese tableware.

1. Health
Yuzu tonic with wildflower honey ($6), quinoa tagliatelle ($13), and jarred cumin-maple barbecue sauce ($9) stored on a mahogany shelf.

2. Fashion
Alison Lou mushroom brooches in baby, mama, and papa sizes (from $110); a rack of Prabal Gurung “Femininity With a Bite” T-shirts ($195).

3. Home
A shop-in-shop of designware, with copies of Luncheon magazine ($20); pebble soaps ($15); and Hill House mini monogrammable pillowcases ($80).

Top Five
Denise Williamson, publicist and owner of the fashion-and-botanicals-focused 180 the Store (180 Duane St.), on her favorite veggie suede shoes, titanium-studded sunglasses, and asparagus plants.

Photo: Courtesy of the vendor

“These light-wash Chimala jeans ($506) are made with 13-ounce denim by a husband-and-wife team in a small factory in Japan. I love their raw hem.”

Photo: Courtesy of the vendor

“This Kataoka ring ($4,870) is made of two fused tourmaline stones and is set on hand-blended rose gold. It’s inspired by overlapping flower petals.”

Photo: Courtesy of the vendor

“Our Huron Moc Folk ($660) shoes are made of two pieces of leather that are sewn together over a brown veggie suede, which lets your feet breathe.”

Photo: Courtesy of the vendor

“These Eyevan 7285 sunnies ($438) have titanium nosepieces and temples. They’re hand-cut in Japan and have flat lenses that take out the glare.”

Photo: Courtesy of the vendor

“Our asparagus ferns ($20) are soft and wispy, with spindly arms that look like asparagus shooting out of the ground. And they purify the air.”

*This article appears in the May 15, 2017, issue of New York Magazine.

Custom Couches, Minimalist Wall Clocks, and More