Events and lifestyle site DailyCandy will be launching their own members-only site called Swirl, which will carry designer clothing and accessories for up to 80% off.

A modern version of the haunted house in vampire style.

Continuing the theme that local is more about good stuff created by people with heart, we noticed this bar close to our NYC office with its proud signage for ‘Local Food – Local Beer – Local Wine’.

The second outing of the New Amsterdam Market took place last weekend and PSFK was in attendance checking the artisinal food stands – and their wares of course.

A sign on the ABC Carpet store on Broadway in New York reads:

“We can change the world, rearrange the world – it’s dying to get better.”

6a Architects has created a multi-use space where library stacks are used to display K-Swiss products.

PSFK interviews the co-founder of the foursquare – part friend finder, part social fame, part city guide service for your phone.

Tyler Brule’s team invited Piers Fawkes to contribute some thoughts to the Style Survey 09/10 supplement that accompanied the October 09 issue of Monocle magazine…

Discarding the traditional hook used to attach a clothes hanger to a closet rod, designer Milica Balubdzic uses magnets to do the affixing.

The Kraft Group have bought a stake in the NAKEDPizza chain of restaurants. NAKEDPizza is a chain that claims to sell healthy pizza by paring it down to the essential and natural versions of the original.

While two industrial air-conditioning units churn all day and night at the back of this New York restaurant, the windows and the door are wide open letting the hot summer air in. I actually went in and complained last night about it and the manager gave me a crappy answer that the windows were open because some customers think it’s warm in there and others think it’s cool. I challenged him on this and he shrugged.
We seem to be so infatuated with the sustainability behind the food we eat these days but not so interested in how poorly those serving [...]

The LA Times has published an interesting gallery of images showing Beijing consumers using their local IKEA store as a space to relax and socialize. Beyond shopping, the store has become a destination for Saturday afternoon family outings, naps, and photo shoots.
Only with China’s recent economic growth have branded retail experiences become more common. For most Chinese the concept is still fairly foreign, making visiting these locations a form of entertainment.
[via LA Times]

This space is 303 Grand, a “revolving storefront” operated by digital marketing agency Street Attack. Their mission is to offer people, brands, artists and organizations the chance to create temporary and engaging retail environments on a limited budget or time commitment. Rates for the space can go as low as $300 USD, and it can be rented for one day to three months.

San Francisco retailer Self Edge recently opened a new store on Orchard Street for denim connoisseurs. In this video, Self Edge’s founder, Kiya Babzani, gives a brief history and tour of the shop in New York’s Lower East Side.

Image credit: Getty Images, bancoposta/Flickr
With sales of luxury goods declining in Japan, an article in the Financial Times argues that we might be witnessing an evolution, or at least permanent change, in consumer behavior there. In the article, Michiyo Nakamoto says that Japan became a mass-luxury market in the 80s and 90s where owning a Louis Vuitton bag or Hermes scarf was a middle-class rite of passage – but mow consumers have grown confident in mixing and matching luxury items with cheaper ones:
“This is not a blip. This is a long-term shift in the market,” said Brian Salsberg, the author [...]