MODEL THRIVERS: An Interview With Brini Maxwell

Copyright: Bradford Noble

Dear Everyone:

          Our first edition of MODEL THRIVERS features an interview with one of the greatest authorities in thriving that exists, I might say safely.  Her name is Brini Maxwell.  She is unbeatable when it comes to possessing a thorough knowledge of home design, ideas for entertaining, and truly fantastic house hold tips, all of which were demonstrated beautifully on her Style Network television show which began airing in 2004.  She has somehow managed to pinpoint all of what exactly made the home and fashion design of the 50s, 60s and 70s so fantastic and inject it into everything she does.  Presently, she's quite busy with her new line of home products entitled Felix Populi (which loosely translates to "happy people" in Latin), but she graciously took the time to answer a few questions with truly fascinating answers.      

          

          Seeing as Brini is not only an expert thriver but an expert New Yorker as well, I simply had to know where she thrived best.  The answer was her home: Chelsea.  

          "It's probably my best thrive spot.  It's residential, yet convenient to all the suppliers I use for my business.  You can walk to so many parts of the city easily and I have many friends in the neighborhood."  Her business, of course, is the delightful, previously mentioned Felix Populi.  Take yourself to the website and buy up everything.  Now.  

          Ms. Maxwell has always been my go-to-guide for quick home fixes, of course, but also a general reference for household mood, if you know what I mean.  Your living room could be decorated flawlessly but you've got nothing without a comfortable atmosphere, whether you're staying in or entertaining guests.  One of the best ways to go about setting the perfect mood is music, I'd say, and Brini was not without tips regarding living room soundtracks.  

          "I particularly like the genre of production, or library music," which is, as Brini explains, music created for film and television production to use as background and incidental music.  "When you hear selections of it from the past they have a very distinctive sound-- a sound that really reflects the era in which they were recorded."  Her favorite titles include "Music for TV Dinners" and "The Sound Gallery CDs."  I would suggest creating your veryown collection of library music as soon possible.  Really.     

          Music and location are all well and good, but I wanted to know Brini's secret to success.  When asked the secret to thrive, Brini had much to say.  "Doing what you want to do with your life.  Don't get stuck in a job or relationship that you don't want just because you think it's expected of you."  Genius.  "Another would be expressing your creativity-- being creative is such an important part of life."  Very genius.  "I'd say being comfortable with yourself is an important part of thriving." Often overlooked, extremely genius. 

          To end this edition of Model Thrivers, I've included Brini's Perfect Day: a description of how this model thriver does her thing on a daily basis.  I know you're excited.

"It starts with a trip to the gym - I go to David Barton. The cardio sets me up for a productive day. I then go back to my apartment and have a little breakfast - a banana/strawberry smoothie or a half a grapefruit, a bowl of organic corn flakes and some orange juice. Then the day starts in earnest. Maybe it's a bit of shopping for the raw materials for my product line in the garment district, or perhaps a visit to one of my manufacturers. Then perhaps it's time for lunch with a friend, which I might have out at one of my new favorite places - Sweetiepie on Greenwich Ave. After lunch I might have a meeting with a buyer or maybe get together with my director of photography for my video projects. Then it's back home where I'll make myself a nice dinner - lately I've been particularly fond of my almond chicken and potato salad. After dinner I might see a film revival with a friend or just stay home and work on a sewing or embroidery project in front of the television."

Best,

Jordan (And Brini)

How To GET THE HELL OUT!

Chelsy and Melissa Mitchell: their home in the Hamptons serves as the perfect getaway from Manhattan-- really, perfect!  

Copyright Felipe Cortez

Dear Everyone,

     Forgive me ahead of time for being only five posts into what will undoubtedly become your go-to-guide for thriving in the city, only to dedicate my latest entry to getting OUT.  It's essential to thriving, I promise I'm not only saying this because I just had a wonderful weekend out of town myself.  I truly mean it.  

     Now, many of you may be rolling your eyes and thinking that I have no idea how hard it is to get out of the city when you have a job to hold down or even schoolwork to do, but please, keep your eyes on the Thrive Guide and focus for a minute while I try my best to calm you down.  If you're without a car, the money for a bus or a train, or if you're simply without the TIME to run away for a day or two, it's up to you to remove yourself from the city without ever setting foot on a train, plain or automobile.  Forget about work, forget about school, even if it's just for a few hours one day, and let yourself get OUT.  Out of your own head, my friends.  

     This may sound so incredibly obvious, but it's these sorts of things that we convince ourselves are mere luxuries that, in our busy lives, we should not afford ourselves.  WRONG.  If you're going to keep your head above the water (and the crowd) here, you've got to ban the word luxury from your vocabulary and realize these things we regard as leisurely or indulgent are plainly and simply things we deserve.  I promise.

     On the other hand, if you can catch a ride out of the area, by all means, DO IT!  This weekend I went to Sag Harbor to stay with my best friends here in the city, Chelsy and Melissa Mitchell (look forward to their weekly column right here on Thrive Guide!).  Their home is delightful, their family is always entertaining, and the area is about as close as you can get to an ideal escape from Manhattan.  I've always said that even though getting away is about relinquishing one's responsibilities, there are Four Things One MUST Do: 

          1.) Enjoy the Great Outdoors

          2.) Have a drink

          3.) Meet at least one new, marvelous person 

          4.) Cook

     I hope everyone's holiday weekend was a productive one-- productive in the sense that you took some time for yourself.  This week, we've got a lot to look forward to at the Thrive Guide.  There'll be a new profile on a new, marvelous person named Sarah Dowling as well as the first TwinSay column, by none other than Chelsy and Melissa Mitchell.  Plus, we reveal our first celebrity interview as a part of our Thriving Heros section, and here's a hint: BRINI MAXWELL!  

Best, Best, Best!

Jordan

PROFILE IN THRIVE: Michael Buchholz

Michael Buchholz on his rooftop in Williamsburg

Dear Everyone,

It's my pleasure to introduce you to Michael Buchholz: superior host, culture monger, food enthusiast, Brooklynite Dandy, brilliant businessmind, and master thriver. Since I've lived in the city, Mr. Buchholz has been one of the only people who I've let lead me blindly (and eagerly) to their most favorite places about town. He hasn't steered me wrong yet, and between you and me, I'm compiling a list of our various outings to make a fail-proof destination manual on the occasion that out of town friends pay a visit. It seems as if he's stumbled upon the magically mysterious and unbeatable formula for getting along swimmingly in his neighborhood in Brooklyn (as well as anywhere else he finds himself) and I'm eager to share it with you.

I tell Michael that we should meet at his favorite neighborhood place for this interview, and he suggests a place called Second Stop Cafe. Not only does he know everything about the place (I can vaguely recall folkloric details such as: the chef who makes the baked goods downstairs once worked at one of the ten best

 restaurants in the world!) but he knows just about every person, be they employees or patrons. The establishment is covered in that Williamsburgonian style one has come to expect from any coffee shop near Bedford-- the decorators are obviously found object collectors, and I've even heard that some of the light fixtures once belonged to JP Morgan and the Plaza Hotel. The girl behind the counter is charming and undoubtedly charmed by Michael Buchholz. I start off the interview with a simple question.

JORDAN: What makes you happy?

MICHAEL: EVERYTHING.

J: That's cheesy.

M: You can't interview someone and say that their answer is cheesy.

J: You're right. Yes, yes, yes.

M: Let's see. Brooklyn. The very basic quality of Brooklyn... that it retains the energy of the city without being overwhelmed by it. I think the city has lost its way.

J: Lost its way?

M: Yeah, lost its way. Every neighborhood becomes a caricature of itself in the city.

Michael is distracted by an incoming patron. They're familiar with one another, naturally. We talk a bit about the caricatures that Brooklyn, and in particular Williamsburg have come to produce, and we laugh.

J: Does thriving in Brooklyn come naturally for you, or does it take a lot of thought?

M: It takes a lot of thought. For me, being stationed in any place requires a lot of effort in order for me to achieve a decent level of comfort. I tend to draw my basic needs from places that I've traveled that I'd like to recreate in some way.

I think this makes such good sense. I'm eating a brownie and a glass of milk, and he's having coffee or tea-- I can't tell which, but given his immense background in coffee, I'll say the former.

M: The problem with the world being so accessible is that we're too familiar with what's out there so we're never content with what's directly available to us.

J: Oooooh, nice! And you're no longer a victim of this syndrome?

M: I think I've just accepted that you can't be everywhere at once.

J: If you could be everywhere at once, would BK be one of them?

M: Yes.

We discuss what a great, bubbling melting pot Brooklyn and New York as a whole truly is. Not only is there a world full of culture and diversity out there awaiting us all, but a world full of connections, as the business minded Michael believes firmly in.

M: I bumped into this woman yesterday who overheard my conversation regarding my business endeavors and she gave

 me her card fifteen minutes later and offered her professional advice and her product to help support me in any way she could. You can meet your next business partner sitting in a coffee shop here.

J: Can't that happen everywhere?

M: People aren't as approachable elsewhere.

J: Some people might read this and say "Brooklyn! Ha! APPROACHABLE?!" What would you say to them?

M: It's all about how you approach a person or a situation.

J: Would you say that's one of the keys to thriving?

M: Yes. Approaching any situation with a positive attitude and a bright outlook.

He's stumbled upon something brilliant. More customers enter, more hellos. He's quite friendly with the owners, too. Little does he know that I'm about to spring a terribly deep question upon him.

J: It's Saturday afternoon and you're hosting an extra terrestrial, anxious to see the area. What you show them will be their lasting opinion of earth before they jet back to their planet later that evening. Where do you go?

M: I'd probably take them right here. Second Stop. If we were in my neighborhood, I'd take them right here.

J: Why?

M: I suppose I appreciate the fact that despite any business's tendency to be a massive

corporation... a big, massive endeavor... you know one person created this certain mold to plant in every single town... there's still the opportunity in a neighborhood like mine to open a smaller scale place that serves the community and is a very clear display of the work of a creative mind.

J: Several businesses in Brooklyn share this characteristic. More so than Manhattan?

M: Absolutely.

J: Does it make it easier to thrive in an environment where small business like these exist?

M: It's inspiring and in the very least sets me on the right path, knowing that its still possible to be an individual despite being in such close proximity to a place that can sweep you away in the blink of an eye.

Michael must mean the city. Michael nods at another customer, I finish my milk, and we go for a walk. He shows me a few of his favorite places and we pass burgeoning new apartment complexes. He's dismayed by them-- especially by a building with a large advertisement posted to it claiming the new apartments as "Adorable!"

M: Why should this exist here?

We continue to walk until we reach his apartment where we'll have dinner with Zachary and Nell (the wonderfully domesticated dog). Before, though, we enjoy the excellent view from his roof, just as the sun sets behind the Manhattan skyline and the streets of Williamsburg below grow dimmer.

On What's to Come

Below, leave me a message if you've got the following to offer:

-Interesting places around New York City that I might profile

-Interesting people around New York City that I might profile

-You'd like to be profiled!

Dear Everyone!

     It's the third day of Thrive Guide's existence, and things are just about to get personal.  I'm seeking you out for thrive-stories, profiles in thrive, narratives of great thriving, if you will.  If you thrive particularly well in your environment, I'd love to interview you and take a few photos.  It will all be intensely great: you'll become the spokesperson of your borough, neighborhood, or village, and your head will grow large amounts.  Yes!  

     I'll also be begging my favorite, notable New Yorkers to say a few words about their  methods of thrive.  I'm confident that with a little time, Thrive Guide will be a useful tool-- so useful, in fact, that you'll want to boil it down to a pocket-sized, hard cover book.  One day.

      No big ideas today, tomorrow Thrive Guide will be featuring its first PROFILE IN THRIVE, though, so prepare yourself for that, you thrive-guidiacs.  (Tell me how you feel about that word.)  PLEASE, let me know if you'd like to be profiled, as well as if you've got any friends who thrive particularly well.  Let me know of your favorite places to enjoy yourself, too.  Thrive Guide depends on the readers, and if you're reading this, you are one.  

      I'll leave you with a tip: take out your headphones!  The sidewalk, the train, the bus-- these are no places for iPods!  There's more than enough to listen to around you, as "cheesy" as that may sound.  *Not available on iTunes.

Best,

Jordan

Dinner's On the Floor

THE FIRST FLOOR SUPPER.

Above, I dine with a sizable group of old friends.  Recently, I had a floor supper with two very new friends, and it was such a success.  We ate too much, drank too much, and talked a great deal.  Do it, do it, do it.  You're never too old to sit Indian-style and swap stories while you stuff your face.  Promise.  

Dear Everyone,

     This is me, telling you what you must do the next time you're hungry for food but also friends.  It's a fail-proof plan for a pleasant evening, I promise.  Clear your living room floor.  Put the coffee table in your room and scoot the furniture to the walls, because you're going to be eating down there with the people you love.  This formula works especially well for new friends you meet at work, classmates that seem worth getting to know, or those delightful strangers you bravely strike conversations with at coffee shops (I applaud you for this-- remind me to tell you a story I heard about coffee shops and why they're so populated).  

      What you do with your floor is completely up to you, but make it beautiful, that's all I'm going to require of you.  I remember the first time I hosted a Floor Supper I took an old tabletop without legs we had laying about the apartment and set the plates on top just as I would have a table with legs.  The food went on top as well, and pillows served as the seating.  Now, just because you're eating on the floor, don't deny yourself the pleasure of creating a neat centerpiece.  Do it.  DO IT.    

      The food should be PLENTIFUL, with big bowls and huge plates filled with comforting things like mashed potatoes and pasta and vegetables!  Half the fun is passing the grub, isn't it?  Preparing the food should be a group activity as well-- no one likes a cook who does all the work, I promise, really.  

     When everything's ready, calm down and join your guests on the floor.  Candles are a great mood-setter-- you'd be surprised how they're stripped of their usual romantic connotation when it's a small group of friends you're with instead of your boyfriend or girlfriend.  Soon, you'll be talking about really big things in small ways, and vice versa, and you'll all instantly fall in love.  Food releases a chemical in a person's brain that forces them to talk about their day, really.  I might have made that up, but I would buy it if somebody told me. 

      Having friends over for dinner is something very classic, and removing the stuffiness of chairs and a dining room table makes the atmosphere so much more relaxed.  Good things come from it, I swear.  It should be a group process from the get-go, really-- you and your dinner guests might buy the groceries together at one of your local markets (places like Trader Joe's are wonderful and terrific but the lines can be patience-wearing and the small-village-market vibe is simply lacking).  Cook together, eat together, and most importantly: talk together.  This works well on a weeknight when you're not too overloaded with work.  You'll feel content all evening, and pleasantly at ease throughout the next day.

      So break out the broom and sweep up, dinner's on the floor tonight.       

Best, 

Jordan

Celebrity Sightings

I saw the woman pictured above one day on the train.  She wore a tremendously cut trench coat and a great, thin navy blue scarf with white polkadots.  Her shirt was gingham.  She had great hair it was browny blonde and cut really well, and her face was porcelain.  One eye was bigger than the other.  She had good earrings and a big, fat watch.  I drew her when I saw her, and then a week or so later I saw her again in Murray's Bagels!  She was right behind me!  It was better than seeing a celebrity.

Dear Everyone,

Hello, happy Monday, here's a few things I need to say to you.  I realized today that you can't enjoy yourself without enjoying the people you see when you're walking about, running errands, going to work and school and playtime, and things like that.  Lucky for you, enjoying the people you see is one of the easiest things you'll ever have to do!  Start by choosing their most interesting trait, be it physical or otherwise (audible, smellible) and then, let yourself be amazed by it.  There's a little bit of everyone they've ever met in that trait, but I can assure you that this person is one hundred percent original.  Bask in their brilliance.  Take in their genuine uniqueness.  Draw a picture of them and tell their story to the people you find yourself at a party with later that week.  It's all so easy, you see, if only you let yourself.

Best,

Jordan