Where do you go shopping?
You know, I'm fond of the three B's: Barneys, Bergdorf Goodman, and Bloomingdale's. But going downtown is a whole other experience. There was a cool shop I happened upon in Nolita called Hable Construction. It's a tiny little shop owned by sisters - one of whom happens to be a fabric designer - and they make tchotchkes and pillows. When I was renovating my house, I used some of their fabrics, and one day, as I was walking down Elizabeth Street, lo and behold, there it was: Hable Construction. [The store in Nolita has since closed, but there's another one open in the West Village.] That's why I love to go into that area: It's so arty and unexpected. You'll find housewares next to clothing stores next to bodegas next to comic-book stores. Also on Elizabeth Street, too, is a place called Me&Ro, where they make great gold and silver jewelry with Sanskrit engravings and with a tiny little stone or a tiny diamond. I practice a lot of yoga, and I used to practice aikido, so I'm into that whole vibe.

There's this leather-goods shop that apparently has been there for 20 years, according to the guy behind the desk. It's called Peter Hermann, on Thompson Street. And it's the kind of place where you see one thing in the window, and then while you're paying for it, you see something else and then something else.

There are great antiques shops downtown. I stopped into one and bought a lamp, which they're shipping to me. The place is called Paterae, and they have great lamps and chandeliers; it's on Broome Street. And I went into a cool little stationery store called Greenwich Letterpress, which is on Christopher Street. I just can't get over how much that street has changed from what it was like in the '80s. Back then, it was basically all shops for gay men; now it's stationery shops and moms pushing their strollers.