Thinking about trekking out to brave the shopping crowd at the Red Hook IKEA this weekend? If you're in it just to check out the always-entertaining room setups, then Ikea may just have fulfilled your every desire. Adverblog has discovered a magical little toy over at Ikea's Swedish site which gives you the room set-up experience without having to go to the store.
The "Come Into the Wardrobe" experience includes five rooms, all showcasing Ikea furnishings given life by random people doing random things in them. Their movements depend on the music, or your voice if you turn on your mic, or tracks you upload. Granted we can't understand much of the Swedish, but put men in boxers, spandex and a pilot suit with Ikea furniture and they've got our attention.
At least one Park Slope mom isn't feeling the Ikea love or taking the free shuttle. We came across a Park Slope Parents email/rant from a Slope mom who took a $14 cab ride and found it to be out of cribs and says "big. f*cking. whoop." to the manager's offer to call when they're back in stock. Here it is:
Just wanted to share my experience with Ikea today. I went to buy a crib (after hearing lots of good things about them and digging their cool modern design). I looked first on the website, which said that this item was not available to order online--you had to go to the store to buy it, and the site stated that it was "In Stock" at the Brooklyn store.
So, one $14 cab ride later, not only is the crib not in stock, it's not in stock in the entire tri-state area. Nor were almost all the other cribs. And you can't order or reserve one, you have to just come back in two weeks and try your luck. I complained to the manager, who said all he could offer to do would be to call me when they come in (big. f*cking. whoop.). Their customer service is crap, but that's one way to keep prices low I suppose!
This week writer Mike Albo heads to Red Hook to check out—you guessed it—the brand new Ikea store on the waterfront. He has a mostly positive take on the place: "Sure, it furthers Red Hook’s transformation into the Paramus Park shopping mall in New Jersey. Yes, it may bring traffic and inauthenticity to the area. But walking through the maze of home furnishings, I saw what I love about Brooklyn: everyone...This store is for everyday Brooklynites needing something cheap and relatively well designed, even if the stuff is of dicey quality and doesn’t last forever." [NY Times]
"Ikea is rolling out a handy service at their Danish stores. Partnering with bicycle manufacturer Velorbis and the Freetrailer service, they plan to offer low cost rentals of bikes and trailers to shoppers. Ikea of Denmark did a study that reveled 20% of their customers traveled to the store by bike, which prompted the offering. Hopefully this catches on in Brooklyn, as the new Red Hook Ikea is kind of off the beaten path." [PSFK]
Oh, the Swedish, and their filthy-sounding furniture names. Writes the tipster who sent this gem in: "I spotted this at Ikea this weekend and was like, 'You want me to do what now?'" Why, they want you to rub your face up against the soft, velvety exterior of this pillow. Nothing off-color about that.
· Ikea: Ofelia Collection [Ikea]
RED HOOK—A Red Hook resident sends word that not only are neighborhood locals pissed about the new Ikea, some are going as far as throwing their old Ikea purchases out in...protest? The report: "On the eve of the Ikea store opening we found it ironic that someone in our building was throwing out their Ikea furniture in Red Hook." Will community furniture burnings be far off? [RackedWire Inbox]
GREENWICH VILLAGE—A random note from a reader: "I just found this really nice boutique called Helianthus on La Guardia Place near the NYU campus. They have dresses, tops and jewelry by up and coming NY designers. Sweet!" Interesting PR tactic here. [RackedWire Inbox]
Ikea has finally opened in Red Hook. As the neighborhood continues to react to the massive stream of cars pouring down Van Brunt Street, The Life Vicarious scribe Adam Robb, who liveblogged his time camping out in front of the furniture chain, shares some final thoughts on the experience.
The spoils of the Ikea camp out: two free couches
Being Racked's Red Hook bureau chief for a week was like a foray into Graham Greene fantasy camp. Much like James Wormold in Our Man in Havana or Harry Pendel in John Le Carre's The Tailor of Panama, I found myself falling ass-backward ill-equipped to be embedded with the duty of espionage on the eve of revolution; the only difference being those characters were chronicling banana republics, I was assigned to an Ikea. Alas Cuba, Panama and Red Hook remain stable this morning, their residents suffering another day in heat, horns and the gridlock of inching gentrification, used American cars clogging narrow foreign streets. They'll survive because they possess superior coffee and ballfields and no amount of encroaching modernity can take away those simple pleasures.
In the span of a few hours, Ikea Red Hook has gone from a complete media circus to just another Ikea store. The crowd barricades have been dismantled, the campers have dispersed, and (as far as we know) you can now just stroll right in. The store is a bit of a mob scene, but still completely shoppable. If you plan on braving the opening-day rush (or are in the midst of it right now), you might be wondering: How will I transport my Ikea purchases home? There are a few options.
The kindly neighborhood locals would prefer that you not clog up their streets with cars, but you can, of course, drive over there.
9:27am: With the rest of the press (and various hangers-on), we push through the entrance to find—er, more thunderstix! It's like a Nets game, only yellower!
9:42am: What's that you say? A coupon for a complimentary Ikea hot dog? Don't mind if we do.
9:55am: The line to get in is currently 10 minutes long—and growing.
10:15am: We hold in our hand a complimentary Ikea hot dog. Yahtzee.
While we prep some sweet Ikea Red Hook interior photos for you, shall we turn to the matter of transportation logistics? At present, our field team reports that Beard Street is getting pounded with traffic and that the parking lot is mostly full. People are also arriving by the bus, and boat, load. One matter of procedure that you may want to note (see gallery corroboration): exactly one blue bag's worth of Ikea loot per person is permitted on the Ikea Ferry, which has just completed its maiden voyage to Red Hook.
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