THURSDAY NIGHT: BATHTUBS AND REBIRTHS
[Above: Emma Snowdon-Jones and me at the Hotel on Rivington for APrivateclub.com’s New Museum benefit]
Thursday, March 27 was the culmination of a beautiful night and a cathartic week. Rebirth.
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“The best thing you ever published on your blog was the first thing you ever published,” Kat told me with striking defiance last Sunday over the phone as lost myself (literally...I was lost...this always happens..) somewhere between Tea and Sympathy and Left Bank Books...I was so deep in conversation with her that I didn’t care. “And just stop second-guessing yourself.”
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This ‘rebirth’ was building steadily throughout the week, although it certainly culminated last night. I owe a lot of it to friends. Kat implored me to find my way back, somehow, to that first piece of writing I published on this blog...and so yesterday morning, I made myself retype it verbatim (I knew it would rekindle the the passion, the emotions, everything that was in me when I launched). And Emily has been telling me to listen to myself all along...but was helpful too this week. And of course, there’s Emma. We’ve only known each other for a few weeks, but there’s a fantastic bond between us and she gives me tremendous inner-strength. Last night, alone, we had a conversation that helped me move through some mental blocks. “You’re Steven Brill’s daughter and you go to parties. They’re going to call you a socialite whether you write about parties or not. They’re always going to call you that. So take out your camera and do what you want. It’s your blog.”
I’m so grateful for my friends. They keep telling me the same thing: trust myself more and do what makes me happy. thank you.
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The air wasn’t just warmer last night. There was a new energy pulsating--a sense of reemergence. And with a 5 party + tour (not to mention Rose Bar), there were plenty of people to gage. My friends had a physical ‘glow’ to them, not to mention an aura of spiritual rejuvenation. There was so much talk of the ‘new’: projects, upcoming events, apartments, love interests, trips, trends, fashion, and more I’m not thinking of.
My conversation with artist Serge Strosberg (his work is exquisite, by the way) at last night’s KiptonArt/Culture+Travel Magazine Reception (one of several stops last evening for Emma, David Gruning, and I) was one of the instances that made me realize just how energized ‘my’ New York is. I asked Serge for his thoughts on the important question of Paris vs. New York. “Do you find New York to be a younger than Paris?” I asked him. “Absolutely,” he said (and not jokingly). We talked more about the energy that lives in this city and indeed, what sets it apart from all others. It was a fitting conversation. Actually, it was the perfect conversation. The lives and lifestyles of this city--with a focus on my generation-- is precisely what I have set out to chronicle in this blog. To have had a run-in with this artist on that night, I think, was something of a sign. It was an honor to have met him and I wish him all the luck in the world.
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Several highlights come to mind from last night, but nothing beats Emma climbing into the tub (see below...)
Above: The scene at APrivateclub.com’s party, benefitting The New Museum ~ The Hotel on Rivington’s Penthouse (swank, stunning, modern space that will, without question, be one of the hottest spring/summer spots for private events...)
above: shooting myself in the stunning ‘ladies’ space
Above: ESJ atop the island...and don’t get excited: she’s fully clothed underneath.
Later, at the Radar/Converse party (where emma and I got some kicks).
And that’s a wrap.
E
ESSENTIALLY EMILY
Friday, March 28, 2008