Have you ever had Uzbek food? Me neither until I went to Nargis Cafe. It's kinda like middle eastern food mixed with Ukranian food. It's so good and so inexpensive.

If you are in need of a moment of solitude, this is the place. On my first visit I was in awe of how time seemed to stand still inside. It has now become a sanctuary from the city when I need the pace of life to slow down.

This is one of my favorite bars in Manhattan. It has a courtyard in the middle and they only serve a large selection of Belgian beer. It's always dark with red lights so it's like a giant darkroom with everyone developing hangovers instead of film. The courtyard creates a front bar that is open on the weekends, so if you get cornered talking about architecture you can escape over to the front bar and watch people walk down 4th street.

I love where I live. I work from home so I’m in my space so much. It’s where I do yoga and cook and make music and art and have friends over. It’s just a really good place for me and the energy is amazing. I love having Williamsburg and all my friends immediately outside my front door.

XXXI (‘Thirty-One’) is ❶ a mixed-use community space for designers (and others) to exhibit, teach, and discuss self-initiated work; ❷ a shared studio space; ❸ a residency for designers; and ❹ an online (and sometimes physical) store. It purposefully lives outside (or against) the constraints of the city it exists in and traditional commercial practice to ask what design can do when its goal is not money.