The Cool Hunter

By Jeanne Chinard & cfmullen ••• One of our favorite sites ever (and we've been fans since it started) is now acknowledged as one of the coolest places on the internet planet to find the coolest things. Of course, it’s Cool Hunting which just completed its first bricks and mortar retail experiment. Located in Gap’s concept space on Fifth Avenue during the holidays, Cool Hunting’s shop proved to be as quirky and eclectic in the real world as their site is in the virtual one. This isn’t the first time Gap has hosted a pop-up store - they have also hosted them for other creative companies like Pantone & Keds x. ••• One of the things we liked most about the shop was that it exemplified what modern luxury has become. Hopefully we are done with all of those Ian Schrager aggressively minimalist or faux baroque interiors that have populated all too many retail spaces and hotels in the last decade. The Cool Hunting shop didn’t feel slick, or controlled. Raw wood wall panels and oriental rugs warmed up the small space. Everything in the store was accessible and inviting to explore. There was a small, well-edited collection of interesting objects, many the result of a collaboration between Cool Hunting and independent artists in the New York area. ••• Some of the things that caught our eye were the Pop Culture pencils printed with quotes like “Why I love John Hughes” movies and “Why Alec Baldwin is so cool.”  A small, but interesting collection of books that ranged from “Stickers: from punk rock to contemporary art” to “Just Kids” by Patti Smith. A few tasty treats like Brooklyn Salsa and Mast Brothers Chocolate.  And twenty skateboards covered in antique kimonos and handmade in Tokyo by Zillion. ••• The thing that we bought on was a charming brown coat with no sleeves. Not for us, but for Bert, our incorrigible chocolate Lab. Made exclusively by Zoomies, it was chocolate brown with red piping, a water repellent outer layer, velcro closures for a comfortable fit, an ultra-soft fleece lining for warmth, and a sharp looking stand-up collar. We thought it would be perfect for a lab who does his own form of cool hunting. ••• We asked a friendly, low-key guy who was standing in the middle of the store about our find. He was very nice and helped us look for Bert's size. We asked how he came to work at the Cool Hunting pop-up, and as it turned out - he is Cool Hunting.  It was Josh Rubin, Cool Hunting's founder and Editor-in-Chief. Unassuming and with a great eye, he was really enthusiastic about his new venture. And so were we. ••• His pop store reminded us of this little place we used to shop in a long time ago on Columbus Ave and 78^th street. (If you can believe it, in those days Columbus Avenue was considered fairly dicey and you had to be adventurous to live there.) There was always something in that shop to peak your interest: a book, a scarf, a vase, a small painting, new things, flea market things – all wonderful things. And what was there was constantly changing. The two guys who owned the store had style and taste and grace. They were Cool Hunters long before Malcolm Gladwell coined the phrase. It was a fun place to go and you didn’t have to spend a zillion dollars to get your money’s worth. ••• The Cool Hunting store epitomizes the way the world is changing. You can see the shift. At one time, those in the know wanted to sit in Philippe Starck transparent Louis XV chairs at the Hudson and knock back Grey Goose martinis. But today, luxury is savoring a slow latte from Stump Town while sinking into a weathered comfy chair in the rough-hewn lobby of the Ace Hotel. ••• Cool is never fixed in time. It isn’t subtle and it always announces itself as a moment of change. Where we once sped towards cool high-tech materials and modern interpretations of the past, we now seem to be craving reminders of a pre-tech world with natural materials and deep roots. ••• So congrats to Josh and his team for creating such a creative store and hip site. ••• Cool is always in flux. Our generation has lived through many evolutions of it. And it will be interesting to see where our cool hunting takes us next. 

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