Sullivan St.

I figured I'd begin with the second shortest north-south street in SoHo -- Sullivan St. One one block east of 6th Avenue, Sullivan St. is a little off the beaten path, and less fashionable than the really trendy ones further east. This street has off-brand, unique stores (including three Tibetan-themed boutiques!), a few cool jewelry stores, cute cafes, and some of the final remnants of when SoHo had been a working-class Italian neighborhood.

These pictures were taken January 29 and January 30.

Starting heading north from Broome St., where Sullivan St. separates from 6th, one of the first stores is this cute frame shop, Sullivan Street Frames, with its minimalist window. The store is only open intermittently, and I have a feeling it's kind of a leftover from when SoHo had many more art galleries than it does now, before most of them were replaced with high-end clothing boutiques.

A little too Modernist-looking to fit completely comfortably in with the old-world charm of its neighbors, jeweler David Lee Holland's storefront at 69 Sullivan St. gives off a severely upscale vibe. I'm not thrilled that my ghost appears in the door reflection, but the guy at the desk inside (perhaps David Lee Holland himself) was resting his head on his hand, and giving me a strange look, so I felt rushed into taking the shot.

Now this is a mysterious storefront! Flowers & Such, at 79 Sullivan St., is almost never open, and on the few occasions that I've seen the lights on, someone is cleaning out dusty junk from inside and sweeping dry leaves and petals onto the sidewalk. It's a tiny little hallway of a store, filled with strange woodland objects . . . almost more of a prop supply store than the event planners the sign indicates.

STUart is another jewelry store, at 103 Sullivan St. Stuart himself popped out while I was taking these pictures . . . and asked if my name was also Stuart, which it isn't. I guess he gets a lot of people taking pictures of the store because their names are Stuart.

Closer shot of STUart's jewelry. Next time I'll get even closer . . . but I felt weird with Stuart standing right there, even though he took out that display so I could see it better.

The storefront of Modern Tibet, at 103 Sullivan St., is astoundingly busy and colorful. Now this is a display to get lost in. I particularly enjoy the various multicolored Buddhas on the bottom.

Closer on Modern Tibet's jewelry and statuary. The display feels like a cross between a museum exhibit, a bazaar, a pawnshop, and a street vendor.

At 107-109 Sullivan St. is Global Table, the only home accessories store on this street. They update their display relatively often, and I'm always impressed with the chunky, streamlined vases and dishes and other pottery in the window.

A close up of Global Table's south window. It's such a specific aesthetic.

Here's the view of Global Table's smaller north window. Those red bowls and that red vase are such a needed splash of vibrant color. And I love that wooden . . . decanter? . . . with the image of the bespectacled Asian dude peeking out of the corner.

Of course, by now, we're feeling a little snacky and here's Once Upon a Tart at 135 Sullivan St.! Actually, I've seen more impressive St. Valentine's Day displays from them . . . this one's a bit plain with just the heart mobile. They often have very inventive windows. And the tarts always look delicious.

I can honestly say that this trip out taking photos was the first time I noticed Il Bisonte at 120 Sullivan St. The storefront isn't exactly attention-grabbing, although the bags are nice. A basic, functional display. I'll bet it smells good and leathery in there.

Closer on Il Bisonte.

Okay, now this storefront is one of my favorites in SoHo. Purl, at 137 Sullivan St., is such an incredibly colorful yarn and notions store and of course those colors spill over into the storefront. Just eye candy all over.

Purl's north window, emphasizing a pink theme. Homey, pretty, and artfully casual.

Just up the block at 147 Sullivan St., is Purl Patchwork, which focuses on fabric. This shop is just as bright and colorful as its sister store, and although all the colors come through the window, the display itself could be more inventive than just piles of swatches.

From this angle, Purl Patchwork's accessories on the wall and the jars of . . . pom-poms? . . . are more visually interesting.

Ling, a spa and store at 191 Prince St. I think this is the only storefront spa on Sullivan St. The display has an appropriately Zen minimalist vibe, and the red flag saves it from being totally boring.

Just a shot down Sullivan St. toward Prince St., showing the new-fallen snow. The afternoon's "wintery mix" was starting up again, which is my least favorite kind of precipitation. SoHo in deep Winter can get kind of bleak.

Vajra Collection, at 146 Sullivan, has two pleasingly busy windows filled with exotic goods. I get an attic attitude from these storefronts. The southern window is above.

Vajra Collection's north window display. I dig the chest of drawers particularly.

At 144 Sullivan St. is Local, a little cafe. I love that yellow bench, and the simplicity of the awning.

Now we're getting into the holdout stores from the old Italian neighborhood SoHo used to be. At 149 Sullivan St. is Pino Prime Meats. I love the black-and-white photos in the window, and the whole store's air of old-fashioned authenticity.

The same authenticity is evident at the cheese shop across the street at 156 Sullivan St., Joe's Dairy. Maybe this is a bit too authentic . . . they couldn't move those cardboard boxes elsewhere, and open the metal grating? The windows were badly steamed-up, too, which doesn't exactly make a cheese shop seem inviting to enter. But I bet there's phenomenal cheese in there.

Also at 156 Sullivan St. is Tibet Emporium. I'd have to rate this the best storefront window of the three Tibetian shops on Sullivan St., with that backlit, spectral dress hovering in the display. The window is full but not fussy, and cleanly laid-out. The products also seem more unusual, less cliched, than the other stores' wares.

A new addition to the block, Petal Belle at 158 Sullivan St., recently replaced an old Italian fish shop. The storefront is decorated in decent, well-considered colors, retaining a warm, old-world vibe. (The store name links to the owner's blog . . . which is interesting, but has horrible loud music that starts automatically.)

I'm guessing that's a statue of St. Anthony in Petal Belle's window, because of what's across the street.

The Shrine Church of St. Anthony of Padua, at 154 Sullivan, which goes across the whole block of E. Houston to Thompson St. For an impressive storefront display, it's hard to beat life-size statuary, tower spires, marble arches, and a giant rose window!