Where This 'Director of Styling' Finds Unexpected Objects for His Apartment

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New York City has more stores than anyone could physically tackle, but somehow we always keep returning to the usual suspects. To break out of the rut, we've asked some local shopping and fashion gurus to provide their hidden retail gems—those unique stores around our fantastic city that we might not all know about. Cue the Beatles: We're about to get a little help from our friends.

Image via Yelp

Casey Smith is an art school graduate and currently acts as the director of Jed Root's styling divisions, where he helps curate the careers of the creative talent the agency represents, like stylists Joe Zee and Jessica Diehl. He's a lover of architecture and design, has a collection of Prada shoes, and frequents Abingdon 12—his favorite shop in the West Village—more times than he'd like to admit.

I'm a bit of a bowerbird: a unique creature that collects tons of intriguing objects and uses them to decorate its nest, so needless to say minimalism isn't for me. I find the uniqueness of different things or objects provoke the imagination, and give a space the feeling of a well-lived life. That said, my favorite hidden spot is Abingdon 12, a garden-level shop on Abingdon Square. The entrance is under the front stoop of an 1800s townhouse and almost feels like you're entering someone's home, and in a sense you are—the owner, Paul Caddell's, home. The shop is full of surprising pieces of art, furniture, sculpture, lighting and objects from his travels around the world.

You'll find collections of objects such as mason jars full of skeleton keys, antique door knobs, vintage tools, and handmade pottery. Some of my favorite finds have been crumbling clay busts perched on steel stands, haunting portraits on paper collaged by artist Ted Galperin, and a vintage Mexican tin mirror. This is the perfect shop to find the perfect something special for you or a quirky friend who finds beauty in the unexpected.

· Abingdon 12 [Official Site]
· Jed Root [Official Site]
· All Shopping Confidential Posts [Racked NY]

Abingdon 12

613 Hudson Street New York, NY 10014