Creativity, Inc: Dave Eggers of
McSweeney's is a proprietor. A shopkeeper. Perhaps even a franchise magnate! It was his keen perception of unmet needs in niche markets that led to the opening of a growing array of supply houses across the country. Among them:
The Pirate Store, for the well-outfitted swashbuckler;
The Boring Store, a subtle, unassuming purveyor of goods for secret agents; the
Superhero Supply Store, in Brooklyn, carrying all the eyewear and accessories today's world-savers require; and
Greenwood Space Travel Supply, where customers are reminded of the space-travel axiom "A lack of preparation is a prescription for mishaps." If these sound like curious business ventures for a celebrated author, there's a reason: the
storefronts, though real, are just that -
fronts. They're the streetside faces (and fundraising arms) of the nonprofit
826National, a family of learning centers for kids ages 6-18. The 826 'stores' provide free
field trips, creatively themed
writing workshops,
publishing, and
one-on-one instruction. Supported by an impressive field of
cultural types (including Ira Glass, Sarah Vowell, Sherman Alexie, and others), the program is growing. Coming soon: Michigan 826 will open
Monster Union Local 826, and
826LA will open the Echo Park Time Travel Mart.
posted by Miko
on Jan 11, 2007 -
51 comments
Getting Bored is Not Allowed at the
Plaza Hotel, at least not according to its famous fictional resident, the exhausting, spoiled and infectiously ebullient
Eloise. Sadly, though,
today's news is anything but boring: the Plaza's new owners announced plans to close the iconic hotel for 18 months, and renovate it to create private condos -- throwing hundreds of employees out of work.
It's been said that nothing unimportant ever happens at the Plaza: from its
1907 opening to Truman Capote's 1966
Black and White Ball, the Plaza has hosted literati, glitterati, rock stars, and royalty. It has graced the screen in movies such as
Breakfast at Tiffany's and
The Great Gatsby, making Hollywood history when it became the first fully on-location film shoot for
North by Northwest. Ernest Hemingway told F. Scott Fitzgerald to give his liver to Princeton and his heart to the Plaza;
Dorothy Parker got her pink slip from Vanity Fair there. Residents, at various times, included Frank Lloyd Wright, Cary Grant, and Judy Garland. Every President since Taft has stepped through its giant engraved revolving doors.
Chef Boyardee of canned-spaghetti fame got his start in its kitchens. No
New York tourist's rounds are complete without a bloody mary and some bluepoints at the Oyster Bar, a martini in the
Oak Room bar, or
tea in the Palm Court, and its French-chateau facade is
a Central Park centerpiece.
An
employees' group and a
supporting 'Friends of the Plaza' group have begun working to save the gracious place, with the goal of preserving not only the building and their jobs, but the very idea of the quintessential New York luxury hotel. Almost enough to make folks want the Donald back.
posted by Miko
on Mar 14, 2005 -
15 comments
