This roundup of things we liked this week originally appeared in the February 20, 2025 edition of the Secret Strategist newsletter, a weekly email where we share the stuff our staff — plus a rotating cast of writers, design-world people, and various others with very good taste — would otherwise keep to themselves. If you want to get our picks straight to your inbox each week, sign up here.
But no sweaters, as promised last week! —Katy Schneider and Simone Kitchens
This Week’s List
* Photographer Kathy Lo’s kids’ line, Two Bridges, now has a nice assortment of vintage.
* Interior designer Colin King is throwing a tag sale this weekend in Chelsea. We’re told he’ll be selling pieces from Mario Bellini, Poul Kjaerholm, and Noguchi (his 44-inch 120A Akari?), as well as a custom sofa, coffee table, dining table, and side tables he designed.
* Features writer Madeline Leung Coleman here with a slew of exciting things she’s seen of late: like the mauve napkins she recently used at Cafe Kestrel. “They were a very sturdy cotton, but it was really about the very strong and confident mauve,” she says. “The napkins are actually from Arrow Linen,” a Brooklyn linen-supply company, chef-owner Dennis Spina told us, “they are named Dusty Rose, which is kind of fun.”
* Another great thing she saw this week: “I was in Vancouver visiting family and went to my favorite Japanese home-goods store, Sort Days, where I spent a very long time considering these adorable drinking glasses. They’re petite and sturdy and are designed with that little dip in the hip so that a child can hold them. Worth considering for anyone with a kid who’s graduating beyond sippy cups and who wants to consider something cute and non-plastic — or possibly for sipping a digestif.”
* Also at Sort: “These soaps from a Toronto company are beautiful. Also spent a long time considering these plain and perfect bookends. Should’ve pulled the trigger.”
* On a trip to Providence this weekend, Strat writer Erin Schwartz stopped by Suburbia Circus, “an immaculately curated vintage store with tons of antique Edwardian bloomers with delicate triangle lace, moiré gowns, curly-lamb-fur vests, and some sick vintage CDG and Margiela. I got a mohair skirt; my partner got the world’s softest alpaca beanie. The owner has been selling on Instagram for a minute, but the brick-and-mortar just opened on February 15.”
* Susan Sarandon looking cute in her classic short (not mini) UGGs. Incidentally, one of us may have purchased the UGG Heritage TrailGazers over the weekend, not naming names …
* And one of us registered for these Iittala glasses after much functional-but-attractive glassware obsession …
The Strategist is designed to surface useful, expert recommendations for things to buy across the vast e-commerce landscape. Every product is independently selected by our team of editors, whom you can read about here. We update links when possible, but note that deals can expire and all prices are subject to change.
