030: Quinton Mulvey's tiny, shiny things

Plus Lisa Says Gah! at Nordstrom, MNZ's end-of-season sale, and a The Row balaclava for 75% off.

There’s a lot of Magasin-related dialogue that happens off page and between sends—product recommendation-rich texts and anecdotes around previously shared items among readers and friends of the newsletter—and while it’s not my wish to make every private conversation public, some exchanges are worth a reprint.

So, to share a soupçon of the Magasin underground:

I was told the Maison Balzac wick trimmers that catalyzed my shift to home shopping for the season inspired several gift-givers: One Gemsun founder presented them to the other, and they became the subject of a Secret Santa swap between two featured shoppers (you’ll hear from one again below).

A reader replied to last (last) week’s home roundup asking for lamp recommendations, and I said that I preferred paper and wood. We have something similar to this in the living room (caveat: yawn), but a pair of these wood-slat table lamps by Montreal-based Stamátios Fragos and the “Lampampe” by Ingo Maurer are high up on my wishlist.

A DM from EDL about sunglasses send me on a tailspin. I’ve said it before but Jacques Marie Mages makes the best, and I’m waiting patiently to be Succession rich enough to buy them (although this one pair is atypically on sale). I was also recently reminded of this optical shop in CDMX, Escópico, with an excellent selection of Cutler & Gross, Eyevan 7285, and others.

I spent a few days in Mexico City last week, which is why your inbox might have seemed light. And even though I shopped less than I planned to, I did manage to pick up a perfectly creamy cotton sofa blanket and textured dish cloths from Utilitario Mexicano.

Of course, I also found time to buy some things online and back stateside since the holiday sales haven’t abated—an Eckhaus Latta dress I’ve written about previously, a Santangelo anklet from the MNZ End-of-Season sale, and a wool gilet from Colbo’s vintage exploration event.

This newsletter can totally be a conversation if you want it to be, by the way. Reach out with product requests in the comments and I’ll see what I can do.

Also, since I haven’t asked in a while, it would be great if you wanted to share this email with a friend; I’ve set some arbitrary goals for the newsletter that I’m really hoping to hit this year. Every new reader counts :)

---

What’s new

Lisa Says Gah at Pop-In@Nordstrom

• Lisa Buhler is wheeling her checkerboard horse past even grander gates, expanding the Gah!-ligarchy into the fempire it was destined to be: Lisa Says Gah! has landed at Pop-In@Nordstrom alongside a suite of satellite brands embodying the more-is-more aesthetic. Admittedly, some pieces are like if corporate Memphis was a person, but seeing Tyler McGilivary and Rose Greenberg ascend from one-woman Instagram shops is betraying my inner girlboss cheerleader (I just Googled to see if Nasty Gal still exists—it’s clinging on).

• SSENSE introduced makeup to its product assortment for the first time, and while no one needs yet another place to buy M.A.C., it’s clearly a makeup artist-informed buy and a good forum to discover and indulge in exclusives from La Bouche Rouge, Surratt Beauty, and Westman Atelier.

• The Adidas x Prada Re-Nylon collection is back, and it’s so simple and strong in its total reliance on the two brands’ core visual materials (and scarcely anything else) that it has to power to look cutting edge for a long time—like how the costume designers in Her made clothes for the near future by taking elements away rather than adding them.

• New York-based leather goods brand Ashya has long deserved a bigger stage than the hyper-directed one it’s already carved out for itself, but I never expected a platform to come from Michael Kors. The brands’ collab works surprisingly well, tying in the best of the MK universe with the confident shapes and unimpeachable quality of Ashya’s designs. Ashya’s own styles remain sensible investment options.

• There’s also: Pharell’s Human Race introduces hand-crafted ceramics to host its beauty products, like a minimal soap dish; and Brightland restocks its limited-edition LUSH vinegar made in collaboration with internet strawberry company Oishii.

---

What’s on sale

MNZ Store End-of-Season Sale

• Maryam Nassir Zadeh’s End-of-Season Sale is back, which means minefields of knee-high boots, frilly wedges, and rotational basics to impulse buy. Crocheted wearable art from Supriya Lele is alarmingly marked-down, and those cute, gauzy MNZ totes are less than $45. Also, and I mean this seriously, one of you should buy me the Julian bag as compensation for all the hard work I do here every week.

• The artfully assembled La Garçonne universe has been made more available than ever this week with an extra 20% off its sizable sale section (reaching before the additional discount up to 70% off) with LGXTRA20. Exquisite coats and forever knits and holy grail pleated pants from brands like Lemaire, Studio Nicholson, and Arch The are presented at inspiring prices.

• A pair of extra special Petit Kouraj fringe bags are an extra 20% off (on top of their already 50% discount) in Farfetch’s sale-on-sale, which also includes Coperni, JW Anderson, and resurgent Jimmy Choo.

• It won’t last, but it’s too on-the-money not to share: This The Row silk and cashmere balaclava is 75% off right now. There’s probably only one left so godspeed, but generally Saks Off 5th is a sleeper destination for good on-sale things (I got my MNZ Kiki boots here for about the same discount), and its current clearance includes Bottega, Proenza, Prada.

• I almost never consider it a real sale unless it’s sitewide. So while Everlane often hosts its cringey “Pay What You Want” events, there’s never a better time to shop than right now (unfortunate ecomm speak, but it’s objectively true). Take 25% all full-price items at the Thank You Sale, which ends today.

• Colbo introduced New York to unforgettable Israeli designer Hed Mayner, and while we’re still waiting for the shop to launch its ecomm platform (coming soon!), one cool thing is that, as a reward for our patience, a handful of quintessential Hed pieces are on sale at SSENSE right now.

• There’s also: A swell of Lemaire just got further reduced at Matchesfashion including leather key fob shells and phone carriers up to 50% off; Araks’ delicate underpinnings in fearless shades are now up to 80% off at its Annual Sale; and I dug up a hidden code for Simon Miller’s big sale that I swear works—use EXTRA20 for an additional 20% off.

---

Quinton Mulvey balances his cool with warmth

On ritual, routine, and how to be home alone.

Six months after Quinton’s first conversation with Magasin, and the world is showing off its best negative. It’s 36º outside, and there’s been plenty of time for things to change, evolve, deepen, vest. In the spirit of checking in with friends, here’s what’s new in and around the tangible, consumer world of Q.

Q: I've had to develop a whole little routine for myself living alone, like what I do in the morning—I just have to go through certain emotions to feel connected to the outside world. I remember that feeling of childhood where I woke up and the news was on because my dad had it on in the background. And I obviously don't want to be bombarded by scary news, but when you live in a tiny box, it's nice to know what's going on politically and in terms of our safety and et cetera. So I've been listening to NPR’s podcast Up First every morning. It's 15 minutes, it’s a good dose, I'm showering, I’m making my coffee, I'm hearing what's going on in the real world. Now I can jump back in my little fake Instagram world and feel like I have some finger on some other pulse elsewhere. It's been helpful.

Q: I also finally said goodbye to French pressing. They're beautiful and it's romantic, but there's a lot of cleanup every time and I'm tired of getting spit hot water on me by accident. I’m done. L: So what are you doing instead? Q: I got a coffee maker, like an old school, analog hot pot of coffee. L: No one has that. Q: I know, but then I have coffee all day. It's not a fancy one. It's very simple, but I love just having a pot of coffee—I drink about a pot a day, which is maybe bad but it makes me happy. And if it gets cold, then I can make it into iced coffee later. It’s just nostalgic, like something about the news and a pot of coffee, I’m like, “Oh, I’m an adult, I have my little rituals.”

Q: Also, I was on the fence about this mirror. L: You were saying earlier it pulled your whole apartment together. Q: Ok, you know what, I’m gonna do it. I’m gonna shout out the Zara Home mirror. It's obviously referential of Ferm Living’s, which is also beautiful. I very much like the mirror that it’s inspired by, but this one is less like, “I'm doing a quirky Brooklyn mirror,” more, this is artful. L: It’s not from the Lisa Says Gah-niverse. Q: Exactly, unfortunately it’s from the Zara-verse. But, you know, in terms of sustainability, a mirror is not something I will throw out and repurchase, mirrors can last you a long time. L: Didn’t you actually go to the factories in Portugal where they make all the Zara Home stuff? Q: I went where they made a lot of the rugs and textiles, which is amazing. And it’s the same factory that produces a lot of these more luxe brands that are posting messages that they're the sustainable and more upscale alternative. Zara Home sheets are made where Parachute sheets are made.

Q: Also in the same purchase from Zara Home I got two big waffle bath towels. I really love waffle for the bathroom right now. They just kind of hug you, but they also scratch you a bit. They’re bouncy. I got them in black because I’m tired of makeup stains. Honestly, I’m really happy with my purchases from Zara Home.

L: I remember your shelves were also a big moment for you in your home. Q: I was obsessed with these very expensive metallic, industrial, scientific, almost block shelves from Frama. Very upscale interior company, super chic. I unfortunately don't have the budget to buy like multiple-thousand-dollar shelves at the moment. And I asked my friend, Tiffany, who works in interiors and who's a designer, “Where on the internet can I find these cheaper? Do you think I could commission someone to make these?” Apparently metalwork is not cheap, especially when it's custom. But she sent me a link, and they are almost, unfathomably, like the same shelves. If not, I like these more. I’ve honestly recommended them to so many people—many happy customers. I got a mini one for above my little fake kitchen unit space where I do a statement bottle of wine and a candle, so it's kind of my little restaurant shelf. L: Chez Quinton. Q: And then my other ones house all my fragrance. L: It looks very refined, retail style. Q: It’s like an Acne Studios apothecary moment.

Q: I'm feeling kind of tired of this same, mid-century Instagram apartment that's kind of like 1970s California, whatever. So I was really embracing colder materials in this space and then bringing warmer elements and accessories to lighten the mood a bit. I’ve been bringing in more Gothic and Victorian tchotchkes that kind of compensate for the super cool minimalism. And candles, like Ceremonia’s. I'm obsessed. I'm extremely impressed, because I think a lot of these cutesy consumer brands make their candle as this filler product that they know will always make money, so there's not a lot of intention there. But Ceremonia killed it with the vessel. And the scent is reminiscent of a lot of their products, which I like. It's definitely more bathroom, but my bathroom is just a little too small for a candle, so I put it right under my shelving, like on top of my dresser. It makes the whole space feel a little soapy and clean, and it's a very nice scent to get out of the shower to.

Q: Have you been hearing a lot about body butter? I got one from our friend Felah, and I really like it! It’s called Glasur. It's definitely fragrant, but it's mild enough that it can be all over your body. There's a floral one called like Black. And then there's one that's called Amber. I like the Amber, but I bought both. I think this is the year of body butter.

Q: Generally, I have been trying to invest in tiny, shiny things to make me excited, because it's not like we're going out. We're not pulling looks. I bought Bottega glasses, and they were definitely one of these things. Everything I’ve mentioned is shiny. Little shiny things and things in the home—the mirror, the shelves… L: And the body butter makes you shiny. Q: But I have kind of interesting reasoning for the glasses. Obviously Daniel had such a, for better or worse, profound impact, and it kind of occurred to me after the whole parade I never had a single thing from it. I will remember my twenties, this era of my life, as like, Bottega was the moment following Phoebe at Céline, and I didn’t ever get anything from Céline except for eyewear. So I was like, “Let me continue this legacy, so that post-Daniel Lee, I have one memento of that time.”