#090 ✰ Objet soirée in NYC : it's happening in about 48h!
we might actually be (slightly) insane
A few weeks ago, we flew to San Francisco, excited and nervous to make this Objet º2 a reality. By ‘we’ I mean Max and I. Kev was already there, as you know now. Meanwhile, my parents took over with the boys, on a very short notice ❤️
We ended up gathering a very engaged, diverse, intimate crowd, some coming all the way down from Chico (a 3h drive 🙉). Just like La Première, shit hit the fan until the very last hour, but once there, the level of discussions blew our minds.
Talking about that… 🚕🗽 meet us in NYC on Thursday evening! 🗽🚕
We are throwing our first soirée in the big apple ; so if tattooing memories onto clothing sounds like the thing to do on a Thursday night - or if the prospect of spending an evening surrounded by interesting people, under curated music, sipping nice handmade drinks: just come 👇🥳✨
OK back to our last soirée behind-the-scene 🍿 To get an idea of who we are (sometimes a bit crazy but lovely overall) and discourage you from throwing events 5 800 miles from home.
Jet lag is overrated (immigration is not)
From Lyon to Geneva 🚞, Geneva to NYC ✈️, NYC to SF ✈️. And back.
Sep 30th. 6am, I kiss the kids goodbye. “I am heading to San Francis’ boys, bringing daddy back” and meet Max at the train station, we grab a coffee and off to Geneva. The whole security-immigration process is smooth, the beauty of travelling outside of school holidays... Max is granted with lounge access through his Revolut account, let’s do that.
Stop over in NYC. Immigration has always been my favorite part of a trip (kidding), and this time again, after waiting for two hours, I am next in line, the officer gets out of his box, and closes the door in front of me, without much explanation. Voilà. Welcome. (Also, random ask, can someone please teach the Delta crew how to smile?)
Sept 30th. 11.45pm local time, we land in SF and off to the Mission, where we are staying. -9H. It is crazy warm, still. 80F (26º).
Feels like home
It is strange how quickly your body and mind adapt. It is the first time staying in this neighbourhood, but after a whole summer in the Bay, everything tastes familiar. Taking buses and trams throughout the city without rarely checking Google maps, topping up your Clipper card from your phone, being asked where is XYZ by a group of tourist (and being able to help), having your local coffee shop or taqueria, knowing which street you’d better take or avoid.
Our friends Valentina and Gian are away that week, and kindly offer us to stay at their apartment - alongside Kimchi, the furry roommate. Grazie guys, you played a big role in making Objet nº2 🙌
On Substack, I come across a couple of hyper local newsletters which leads me to attend an interesting panel on ‘how to make art accessible’. If you think
, make sure to get ‘s curated events in your mailbox.
I keep meeting with local tailors, and let’s be honest not all of them are open-minded and curious. At least I get to enrich my precious list, one by one.
This summer we had met with Spencer, and he’s now inviting us at his place again, a very interesting coliving house called the Embassy, 13 residents sharing a victorian mansion, bedrooms, sauna, a gigantic kitchen and dinner table, and homemade food on a regular basis. I am fascinated and often fantasise about the coliving philosophy (especially with kids) yet absolutely not ready to put it in motion. Any tips welcome!
What we’re testing this time around
OK despite the first paragraphs, these tiny four days in SF are not really about wandering around. We have a lot to squeeze in to get ready for Friday night! In case you’re wondering: “nope”, the second time around is just as stressful as the first one. Is it because we now have something to compare ourself to? Probably so.
Based on our retro and the valuable feedback we collected from the attendees of La Première, we’ve decided to twist a few things:
a larger schedule, to allow time to get your label sewn
just one tailor in the spotlight
a live leaderboard, to spark that healthy ‘tap them all’ quest without having to stare at your phone
a collective art creation, to get people to actually make things (like, with their hands)
That jacket
When is the last time you crafted something with your hands? We sneaked in a beautiful denim jacket at the party and gave it a brand new life and owner.
We found it at one of our favorite thrift store in town, Afterlife Collective.
Deliveries, aka Shit-Hits-The-Fan, Episode2
Let’s talk labels. We had ordered them from the same provider in Florida that did a great job last time, in no time. Although that time..
So you wait. And hit refresh on USPS’s tracking website 246 times an hour. Finally, when, four hours to the party, there are still no labels in the mailbox…
you run to Fabric Outlet, a soon-to-close-forever Ali Baba cave in the Mission to get ribbons and threads, meet our talented we-can-do-this Stella at her place, draw and test what would be a very… homemade label project.
Did I mention we would paint on a denim jacket? I had ordered a good bunch of fabric paint. And guess what, on October 4th, the day of our event, I received this:
While Stella is busy sewing magic, and because, well the paint-on-jacket project isn’t looking so great either, I run to a nearby DIY store, buy some paint, head back.
Kev gives me a call : paint was just delivered 🔥
I check Stella’s mailbox : labels are here 🔥
Stressed? Me? Haha. Of course not.
Transforming a space in one hour 🪄
We had come to Homebrew Crypto Club1 once, early August, when Nori - who works there and was our dj at La Première - popped in to get her Costco card and hand it over to us.
Pro tip: do not share your Costco card, they do check your picture. And clearly, Max could not pretend to be Nori.
This office space stands in a beautiful brick building with large windows. Having 90 minutes vs 30 to get a space ready is much more comfortable let’s be honest. Especially when you prepare your own cocktails 😎. However, there was a lot to create from scratch, while the first time it was kinda plug and play. You can’t have it all baby.
We’re doing this
Doors open. People start to pop in… and you’re not tired anymore. How much I love their curious look when they pass the door “is that… here?”, the astonishment that such place exist, the excitement when they come and ask “ok what exactly is going on here?”
Just like the first soirée, I am surprised to notice a good number of people coming alone, without knowing anyone at first. How fulfilling to watch them laugh and chat just a few minutes later, seek labels, tap them and kick start a new discussion.
Who are they? An actress, a painter, a science-fiction writer, a developer, a bakery owner, a wildlife expert,… Curious people seeking new ways to meet IRL, at the edge of tech and fashion.
Quick retro
After putting everything back in order as if nothing had never happened, we headed to a taqueria in the Mission, for a late dinner with the dream team Stella & Sushmit. And while it was almost impossible to hear one another because the karaoke was crazy loud, we still managed to get these out:
WE LIKED 🤩 such a diverse crowd!! | Stella's unconditional energy | people laughed and talked to everyone else, and overall were way less lost than the first time | the uninhibited live painting on jacket | the competitive run after the leaderboard | an easier app checkin | transforming the space and having enough time to do so| better F&B quantities | a more private entrance | Erick taking professional pictures | Adri's mix 👌
WE WISHED 😵💫 we had more time to do a crew dinner earlier that week | we'd start at 8pm (people have diner before that) | we plan more things ahead to avoid so many fires to deal with at once | a more optimised flow once you step in and out | we had not been kicked out from Lu.ma's weekly newsletter (now we know why!)Flying again
1.30am. Back to the Mission. We’d wake up at 6am and off to the airport, back home. Needless to say we looked like zombies with a f*** headache. One coffee and a morning bun later (seriously who invented this, it’s the hangover treat) we took off and headed back to France, where my two little men were wrapping up a week of grand-parenting.
Heads down planning what’s next
We’ll see you in NYC, in about 48 hours !! RSVP here
Looking forward to meeting a bunch of new friends on the East Coast real soon. And the rest of you in Paris, London or San Francisco later on!
Bisous 💋
Mathilde