Every other week, Jennifer Mankins, owner of the Bird boutiques, tells us about the new 2,500-square-foot store on Grand Street in Williamsburg that she's getting ready to open. Up this week: a wrap-up of interiors, exteriors, mechanicals and designing the counter.
Slowly but surely we are making progress. December 1st is the tentative opening date for the holiday pop-up shop, which means we have six more weeks to finish the North 1st portion of the store. It is going to be close.
Exterior front:
All of the fluted glass panels have been removed. We will reuse them inside the store to cover the clerestory windows. The horizontal metal dividing bar has also been removed and all of the remaining small vertical metal bars have been patched and welded. We have decided to keep the store front white and we have selected a 100%recycled glazed blue tile to finish the storefront below the glass. Keeping water out to avoid the tile cracking is a concern. We are going to seal the tiles before we grout them, and leave a bit of room near the ground to avoid them sitting in water. Hopefully this should do it.
Exterior back:
The brick has been power washed and most of the graffiti has been removed. The electrical work has been completed so they are ready to install the exterior fixture as soon as I find one I like. I hate 99% of all exterior light fixtures so this may be a problem. This side of the building is pretty isolated and dark though, so the more light I can provide the better.
