Cellure Skin Care Store

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If you’re looking for a new and interesting experience, pop into Cellure. This is a small shop on the block between Prince and Spring where DKNY, Missoni and Elie Tahari are also located. The US flagship shop for this Korea-based company sells “stem cell facial” treatment products.

While not harvested from embryos, these products come from adults who donate their tissues.

There are nine small booths here where customers can try on the products before buying them.  As Cellure COO Esther Chang, who has a PhD in education, explained,

“A venture capitalist who had almost invested in a stem-cell company came in and bought the entire line for himself and the eye serum for his girlfriend. Most of our customers are men. They get the science. Women want to know how this will fit in with their current regimen and mix with other products they use.”

You’ll find this location at 422 West Broadway and can try out their many products yourself.  They even have a short infomercial there where a woman will walk you through the product use from cleanser, toner and eye serum to day and night creams. Now that innovation at its best.

Picture from http://ny.racked.com/archives/2011/12/19/sohos_cellure_specializes_in_stem_cell_facials.php.

Chaucer Remake at the SoHo Playhouse

If you enjoy one piece of entertainment this holiday season, make it “The Canterbury Tales Remixed” at the SoHo Playhouse, 15 Van Dam Street, South Village. This is an experience not to be missed. Baba Brinkman has managed to unlock the highly intimidating original version of “The Canterbury Tales” for his “The Canterbury Tales Remixed.”

The show includes original hip-hop songs and draws analogies between pop anthems and celebrities. A Canadian scholar of medieval literature, Mr. Brinkman sees clear parallels between the ancient text and modern day. He retells three of Chaucer’s tales (Pardoner, Merchant and Wife of Bath) and throws in some legends of Gilgamesh and Beowulf for good measure.

He wants to peak his audience’s curiosity. And he does so with a creative flair, using hip-hop to unlock Chaucer. Directed by Darren Lee Cole, the 85 minute show welcomes tourists, purists, Chaucer-lovers, hip-hop fans and everyone in between to come and enjoy something different this holiday until January 8th.

Picture by Ben Hider.

Ice Sculptures on Display at The James New York

If you love ice sculptures, now is the time to head over to The James New York on Grand Street. Last week, the father-son team of Takeo and Shintaro Okamoto created a garden of frozen towers on the outdoor deck there.

Raised in Anchorage, Alaska, Shintaro said,

“Not all Alaskans play with ice — but I did.”

And today, that playing has paid off. For the last two weeks, they’ve been preparing for this series of sculptures at their Long Island City, Queens studio, pre-cutting 75 pieces of ice into building blocks.

Then, it took them six hours to stack the 15,000 pounds of blocks into two 11 foot towers and one 9 foot tower.

Of course, no one predicted the 60 degree weather that is expected this week. But, as Shintaro said,

“The melting process is part of the art.”

Visitors will find the ice sculptures if they walk through the lobby of the hotel and the free exhibit will be open to the public from 9 a.m. to midnight until January 1.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rWScAKZd0BY&w=560&h=315]

Tribeca Film Festival Gets New Artistic Director

The Tribeca Film Festival is getting a new face, as Frederic Boyer is becoming the new artistic director.  Since 2009, Mr. Boyer has been the artistic director and the head of programming for the Directors’ Fortnight at Cannes; he has also been the artistic director of Les Arcs European Film Festival, held at the Les Arcs ski resort in France.

As Mr. Boyer discussed during a phone interview with The New York Times,

“What I want to bring to Tribeca are a lot of things: the desire of cinema, the pleasure to share, the generosity, the welcoming of filmmakers and maybe to bring more ideas for next year.”

He continued by explaining, “This is a very creative festival, they have a very open mind, and for them they wanted me maybe to bring some more European connections. I have some contacts they don’t have, they have some contacts I don’t have, and we will join our forces to do something very specific and very unusual. I have a lot to learn from the Tribeca Film Festival.”

This festival was started in 2002 by Robert De Niro, Jane Rosenthal and Craig Hatkoff. The 11th annual program will take place in New York from April 18 to 29.