Krrb Blog, Neighborly living

Ladies and gentlemen, may we present to you, the shining light of Williamsburg’s southside – Natalie Vichnevsky and her jewel of a store Golden Calf. And then let us instruct you to run, don’t walk to aforementioned store, because she’s having a monster sale starting Wednesday, Feb 23 (that’s today!) and running through Monday the 28th

Golden Calf is having a ‘Wishful Thinking Spring Cleaning Sale’. Jumping the gun on Spring? Maybe. But most everything is on sale—up to 50% off—so who’s complaining? Mention ‘Krrb’ you’ll get an additional 15% off. Ex–clu–sive.

For us, this is a dream come true. Golden Calf (and it’s earlier incarnations) has been a favorite of ours since Natalie first opened her doors in 2002. Back then it was called ‘Small Handsome’ and was part of a little posse of stores—some still going strong on that same intersection of Wythe and Grand—that really pioneered the Williamsburg vintage furniture scene.

A carefully curated and super personal mix of the exotic, the handmade and the vintage, you are as likely to stumble upon an early 20th century Chinese coffer as a lamp made right around the corner from a salvaged wooden table leg. And every piece has a compelling story – the bright red Thonet chair comes from a friend who needs to unload his storage space, and even the postage stamp bookmarks were handmade by Natalie’s great uncle.

Golden Calf also offers upholstery services for those of us who have found the perfect piece but want to truly make it our own.

The location has changed several times over the years, from center-of-campus to off-the-beaten-path, but each iteration has been better than the last, and Golden Calf is now a tried and true destination for those in the know.

Check out Krrb.com/goldencalf for a preview.

Natalie’s Williamsburg

Since we love the careful way that Natalie has chosen items for her shop, we figured she’d probably have an equally good selection of local places to check out while we’re snooping around the area.

Here are some of her favorite under-the-radar spots:

Vintage inspiration

Fresh Kills ~ 50 North 6th Street ~ (718) 388-8081

“Of all the high-end vintage places out and around these days, I just love this place because they have such wacko stuff right next to the more standard known designer pieces. They have a great sense of humor and don’t take themselves too seriously which makes it a fun place to just check out.”

Ditch the iPod

Academy Records ~ 96 North 6th Street ~ (718) 218-8200

“One big room full of secondhand records. They have just about every album you could want and they’ve been around forever.”

Coffee and something delicious

Bakeri ~ 150 Wythe Avenue ~ (718) 388-8037

“I love it there… so mellow, it’s got one of the best gardens in the area, their breads and baked goods are beyond delicious and they just started selling spatzi’s (locally made!) granola, so you can take some of the goodness home.”

Delicious eats

Tabare ~ 221 South 1st Street ~ (347) 335-0187

“Awesome Uruguayan based menu in a cozy beautiful space built out by the owners using mostly salvaged and found materials. But not the usual edison bulb and faux finish old-y time-y style that you see everywhere these days. They really did something that feels fresh.”

Sweets for the sweet

Mast brother’s Chocolate Factory ~ 105 North 3rd Street ~ (718) 388-2625

“It’s just awesome to walk in there and smell the chocolate. And they are always so enthusiastic in there – I guess because they are all really into what they’re doing. It’s by far the best small-producer chocolate I’ve ever tasted.”

Lose yourself

Indiescreen ~ 289 Kent Avenue ~ (347) 227-8030

“Williamsburg’s first for reals art movie house, opened by the folks who do the Brooklyn International film festival. It’s small—maybe seats 100 people or so—but the sound quality is out of this world, especially for such a small space.”

View Natalie’s Williamsburg in a larger map.