Rock Star
After circling the globe for semiprecious stones like lapis lazuli from Afghanistan and golden “Venus hair” crystals from Madagascar, London-based jewelry designer Francesca Bristol is touching down in NoLIta to showcase her sculptural pieces at Language. Her chunky jewelry, including the “knuckle duster” ring, a sinister-looking silver piece that spreads across several fingers, will be shown and sold in the boutique’s gallery for a limited run. The oversize designs may be a bit much for cautious Club Monaco types, but Alanis Morissette, Lenny Kravitz, and Bob Geldof are all bold enough to wear the ornaments.
MAURA EGAN
Electric Chair
If weeks of pestering the hostess have failed to land you a table at Canteen, you may just have to settle for one of the chairs. The bright-orange Marc Newsom-designed models have proved so popular that Stuart Parr is now stocking them at his gallery. “They’re very futuristic,” he says, “and they’re a lot more ample than those straw bistro chairs.” For $1,300, they’d better be. But Canteen co-owner John McDonald hints that for him, at least, the hot seats pay for themselves: “I didn’t know it at the time we picked the chairs, but food books say orange makes people hungry.”
BETH LANDMAN KEIL
Class Clown
So Krav Maga doesn’t provide enough kick for you? Crunch has introduced circus training as the next extreme sport. Choreographer Sarah East Johnson, whose bulging biceps are ample advertisement for the big tent’s rigorous training, leads the hourlong acrobatics class, where would-be trapeze artists learn to fly though the air, hula-hoop, and even juggle. After the success of her recent all-woman show Lava Love (Sigourney Weaver was so impressed she hosted a fund-raiser for the tumbling troupe), Johnson decided to condition less limber bodies. Advanced students may learn to walk the tightrope, but really extreme enthusiasts longing to learn how to eat fire and swallow swords will just have to join the big top.
M.E.
Sister Act II
While brother Mark and sister Samantha spin nightly at Madison Avenue boutique openings and fashion-Website launches, Charlotte Ronson is determined to do something different – she’ll outfit all the party girls who attend these events. This Ronson, who has just finished an apprenticeship with Cynthia Rowley, has been snipping away at C. Ronson, a line of vintage muscle tees and tanks embellished with seventies-style leather braiding and turquoise beading along the sides. Kate Moss, as well as Ronson’s charity-circuit chums, has been spotted in the form-fitting tops ($65; available at Scoop). Yeah, you could get the real thing for half the price – but that would mean slumming on the Atlantic City boardwalk.
M.E.