With Others | Studio AHEAD

WINE BAR STORY: With Others, a new wine bar in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Owner Shanna Nasiri describes her approach as centered on small-production, low-impact wineries. She was interested in the story behind the producers. Her enthusiasm is an antidote to the New York life of anonymous delivery men and impersonal menus. We thought Northern California meets South Williamsburg. “I wanted to work with Studio AHEAD to design the space because they carry the same ethos I do when searching for wine. They work with small scale, nuanced artisans, artists and fabricators. I wanted those values to carry through from the wine, the food, to the design,” she said.

THE LOCATION: Williamsburg has seen dramatic demographic changes within the last 30 years, but still contains a creative spirit if you know where to look. We channeled the Williamsburg of late 90s and early 00s, a period of experimental art, loft parties, and the artisanal food renaissance following the opening of Diner. This is the era when Utne called the neighborhood “the third hippest place to live” after our beloved Mission.

We left the weathered façade as-is. Scratches, graffiti, patina, grime. Inside: a purposefully rough-around-the-edges feel. This is not the 

Williamsburg of Hermès and homogeny, but of carefully selected wines served in a space of carefully selected artisans where you wave to the people you know across the room. A neighborhood bar.

THE ART: A dramatic wooden vase by Northern California’s Ido Yoshimoto. Ceramic pieces by Brooklynite Katie Coughlin. Washi paper lanterns by former New Yorker John Gnorski depicting Dionysian scenes of friendship and frolic.

THE MATERIALS: Unassuming—small square tiles, walnut furnishings, custom metal backbar. Industrial soft. Chain metal candle holders by Nico Corona, stools designed by Chris Liljenberg Halstrøm from Fritz Hansen with a pillow folded origami-like on top.

THE COLORS: Mostly monochromatic. Mostly taupe. Dark walnuts. Soothing contrast to bright loud furious New York.

Photographer: Ekaterina Izmestieva (https://ekaterinaizmestieva.com/)