Butik & The Beast

Everyone talks about Linda, Cindy, Claudia, Christy and Naomi.

But no one really talks about Helena, who's got to be one of the world's most underrated supermodels -- and also happened to co-found Nylon Magazine with Marvin Scott Jarrett.

Helena Christensen -- the great Dane-Peruvian with those sparkly eyes, a stint in that Chris Izzak's "Wicked Game" music video from 1991 and a wicked photography eye -- has her own little shop in NYC worth checking out...again and again. Butik, which she opened in 2006 with her best friend and flower artist Leif Sigersen, is a Hudson Street haven of clothing, antiques, candles, lamps, accessories and the like from Paris, Denmark, Germany and other exotic Scandanavian locales. Browsing through its trinkets and treasures is like stepping into Christensen and Sigersen's world of favorite things, all of which is hand-picked by either or both owners.

Butik -- the Danish word for "specialty shop" -- was remodelled from an old bar in the West Village with high ceilings and exposed brick. Sigersen, a lover and artist of all things flora, has a tropical arboretum in the back for his flower creations. They also set up sewing shop in the store, where the sartorially-minded duo produce their Christensen & Sigersen clothing collection.

It's a like little bit of Denmark in the Big Apple.









I'm Lovin' it: Doing it "Cheers"-style: Where everybody knows your name. This for me would be the staff at Alpha Sushi behind my apartment building. It's kinda nice being greeted by a rousing chorus of "Hi, (XXX)!" at least once a week from a kawaii (English translation: cute) Japanese staff.







I'm Over it: My comp is sooooooooo slow sometimes.


Music of the Day: A few days back, I went into HMV today to pick up Daft Punk's album Alive 2007 (which basically chronicles their recent world tour), but it doesn't drop until December 4th. My buddy Oli -- who saw helmet-headed duo in NYC, lucky bastard -- informed me today that the entire album is available on Limewire. Look out for the two-case bound book, 'cause that'll be the money buy.







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