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Every other week, Jennifer Mankins, owner of the Bird boutiques, tells us about the new 2,500-square-foot store on Grand Street in Williamsburg that she’s getting ready to open. Up this week: inspired by the election, feeling Yes She Can.

Four weeks and counting. I wasn’t feeling very optimistic about the deadline, but after Tuesday’s election I feel like anything is possible. I think the store will be a work in progress well into January, but I still want to push to get it open as soon as possible. If people are going to do any shopping at all this year, it will likely be during December.

Exterior:
The white ironwork is finally really finished and we are just waiting for the new door and the new glass which should arrive next week. They welded and sanded and painted all of the storefront, including, by mistake, the solid brass balls that rest in between each arch. Those are one of my favorite details of the storefront, so I had them sand off all the paint to expose the brass. I mean if you have brass balls, you should at least show them off! They primed all of the sidewalk metal and the sidewalk glass is being sand-blasted and should also be ready next week. Additional security lights have been added on each corner of the N1st storefront, and the owner from Dokebi, the restaurant next door, has generously offered to move his sign to the other side of his building so it isn’t next to our door.

Interior floors:
The hardwood floor finisher is scheduled for the 13th-15th. This week, the concrete floors were ground down, and sanded so they are smooth as a baby’s butt. There are a couple of places where the floor was brick and not concrete, which basically crumbled when it was sanded. We will have to patch this along with a few other areas next week. We are considering using linseed oil to seal the concrete, but are worried about the tone being too yellow. Any suggestions?

Brick/Dumbwaiter:
I am still in love with the patina on the brick walls in the main space, and am so glad we didn’t paint them white. I especially love how it looks when the sunlight shines in from the skylights. There are two other areas of exposed brick, including a portion of the dividing wall and the dumbwaiter, which we decided to strip clean. It was a long, boring, labor intensive process, since all the paint and plaster was removed by hand, but it is so beautiful and well worth it. We have cleared and finished the interior of the dumbwaiter shaft too, and added a light at the top, but we are going to place a grill on the bottom and across the front, because it is too costly to install the lift mechanism at this time. I am trying to cut expenses everywhere possible, which isn’t fun, but it isn’t optional.

Ceilings:
They have finished framing the ceiling and are starting to drywall. There are at least five different ceiling levels, with floating edges at the transitions, so it is a bit slow going. I was worried I wouldn’t like the dropped ceiling areas, but they really help define the different areas of the store, especially the jewelry area in between the dressing rooms, across from the cash/wrap.

Fabric/Wallpaper:
I always use Josef Frank fabric from Sweden as a main design element in my stores. He is one of my favorite designers ever and I am a bit obsessed with his prints. However, they are extremely, extremely expensive, and since I’m not going to be in Stockholm again until Christmas, and since I am cost-cutting and trying to keep everything as local as possible, I have decided to go with fabric designed and produced by my great friends Anna and Tim Harrington from their company Deadly Squire based here in Brooklyn. We are covering the whole wall behind the cash/wrap with fabric curtains. It is going to add a much needed, soft, colorful element to the design. I also want to wallpaper the walls of the jewelry area and am considering options from Flavor Paper, hand screen-printed and produced on an original 50ft long, 6,000 pound steel vacuum table, in the 9th ward of New Orleans. Rumor has it they are moving part of their production to Dean Street in Brooklyn soon. They are stunning!

Speakers/alarm/security:
We ran speaker wire to eight locations in the store, which I hope is enough. We are still deciding on which speakers and stereo to buy. I guess we can always bring in a separate PA when we have parties. I realized the extra long cash/wrap counter can double as a perfect DJ booth. More on that later. We are getting two quotes for the alarm/security camera system. The quote from the behemoth, omnipresent ADT, was not as ridiculous as I had imagined, but we are still waiting for the quote from the Brooklyn-based Father & Sons security. If it is about the same, I’ll probably go with them. I haven’t found that paying extra really makes any difference. Ideally we can get this decided this week, so all of the additional wiring can be coordinated with the electrician and can be completed before the ceiling is closed.

Basement/HVAC:
We plastered the walls on the stairwell so they are super smooth and won’t catch or snag any of the clothing as we bring it up or down. We have decided after all to keep the boiler and run a few radiators to dry out and heat the basement. The HVAC capacity is not sufficient to supply the basement. It is very cool down there, even in the summer, due in part to the stone foundation walls, but it is too cold in the winter. We are also not sure how to resolve the need for a required fresh air intake for the boiler, and the need to seal and waterproof the basement.


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