Ale Et Ange: 37C Orchard Street - Basement

during the summer of 2009 my friend fasil recommended his friends store that is situated in the l.e.s right across the street from the store project no.8. so after walking around orchard street in search of this store i gave him a call and he said to look at the basement. thats when i spotted a tiny painted sign that read 'ale et ange' with flowers placed on both sides, next to the sign sat oshrea chilling out on a beach chair. stepping down the narrow basement staircase i was pleasantly surprised by the interior of the store. a lot of character, thought and effort had gone into the store. one of the best details that shot out at me was all the salvaged furniture and trinkets you can find around the city at garage sales or 2nd hand dealers. the hangers on the racks were ancient, oshrea had said they were old dry cleaner hangers he found in the trash. there's a shelf in the back with vintage toiletries packaged in the same charming way they've always been. bars of soap, toothpaste, lotion all looked like they were out of another era. i almost felt impelled to buy some of the products for my own use.

after talking with oshrea he shed some light on the manufacturing base of the company, pants are from the same factory that produces for engineered garments. the shirts are made from a more interesting location, an apron factory in china town. oshrea had taught the machinist in the apron factory how to sew basic button up shirts and tshirts, a decent job for an apron factory. fabrics that make up some of their products are 15 to 20 some odd years old sourced from back stocked factory storage warehouses out and around the northeast as well as japan.

upon leaving the store (with a shirt and pants), the overall feeling that i felt was that the shop was very much an extension of their own home; an extension of cultural elements from the city. a lot of effort, a lot of personal belongings and scavenged items that completed the interior.