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Welcome to Drunk Shopping, our feature celebrating the time-honored tradition of getting totally wasted while the sun's still shining before buying a bunch of debatably useful stuff that the sober you would be too timid or too restrained to take home. Each Friday we'll cobble together a new itinerary starting you off with a boozy Saturday or Sunday brunch before meandering through a few neighboring retailers and happy hours notable for seasonal specials, limited time availability, fantastic deals, recent openings, or new shipments.
The weekend is here, and with it comes Greenpoint Open Studios. So, in an effort to seem at least a little cultured when all we really ever want to do is drink, eat and shop: Drunk Shopping, Greenpoint. We'll convene at Papacitos for a Mexican street food-style brunch. Do Mexican street vendors really peddle chili and chocolate French toast or eggs over white corn polenta? Who cares! Their beers start at $3, they have three kinds of micheladas and pints of sangria are $8. Yes, pints. More importantly—not really—the restaurant is a sponsor of the open studios initiative so we're just being supportive of the arts and the community.
There are a hell of a lot of open studios and galleries featuring special events and exhibitions on both Saturday and Sunday, from noon to 6pm. With over 150 open doors all over Greenpoint, and considering our expertise is more drinking, eating and shopping than the North Brooklyn arts community, we're not going to get all in to where you should go and what's happening where. DIY itineraries, people—look at all these options!
What we can tell you, however, is what shops to pop into along the way. There is so much we could share with you, in fact, that we're going to focus solely on those hosting special events as well as Greenpoint Open Studios sponsors.
There's Kill Devil Hill for denim repair, Victorian-goth home accessories and vintage clothing—plus they're exhibiting the work of Luc Schwab, a British expat artist working out of San Francisco. Old Hollywood—a Greenpoint institution with cushy new Franklin Street digs showcasing locally-crafted jewelry and indie fashion—is offering up free custom necklaces with purchase (constructed on the spot before your very own eyes), plus refreshments.
Then there's Julia James—a fantasy boudoir of frilly girl things. There's Word—Greenpoint's independent booksellers. There's Alter—the boy one and the girl one—for on-trend and usually on-budget designer and lots of Cheap Monday; plus Cato's for workwear basics and non-designer denim and flannel. Or you can just buy booze: Brouwerij Lane has a fancy and extensive selection of imported beers.
At some point you'll obviously need to stop for a few beers and, well, the Diamond is a sponsor! You know, that dark little hole on Franklin with an illustration of a diamond over the door? Yeah, that's a bar and they feature many, many beers. Try them all!
Now, if it's Saturday and you're still conscious as night begins to fall you can hang around for New York's first Nuit Blanche. Nuit Blanche—or literally White Night—is an all-night public art festival that launched in Paris, Berlin and St. Petersburg in 1997. This year's New York version will feature a series of site-specific light and sound installations along Greenpoint's usually closed-off industrial waterfront. There will be lasers. There will be dancing. And it will all be simulcast at Toronto's Nuit Blanche so you'll essentially be getting your party on with a bunch of Canadians.
Start the night off right—in a retail environment—at From the Source's new warehouse space. They'll be hosting their own series of installations along with some light nibbles and hopefully heavy libations, starting at 7:30pm.
Let there be light!
Enjoy! And please do share your Drunk Shopping tips, tales, and war stories in the comments.
· Greenpoint Open Studios [Official Site]
· Bring to Light New York [Official Site]
· Drunk Shopping [Racked NY]
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