• by Kelly Samardak , November 21, 2008

WIRED Store VIP Grand Opening Party, WIRED Pop Up Store, New York
November 20, 2008

The call of gadgetry was louder than the red wine throb from the Ad Council ceremony the night before, so I bundled up and walked over to 15 W 18th Street for the VIP pre-opening party at the WIRED Pop Up store. I don't get pop-up stores. I mean, I understand the point, tangible glittery marketing and product/advertisers caressing, but item wise they're always so limited. I hit the Brooklyn Industries pop-up a month or so ago and I was severely disappointed by the inventory. However, it also wasn't a party. When you're in a store with free nibbles surrounded by brightly lit bars with free drinks, it gets a lot better.

I don't know what I was expecting, but what it wasn't cocktail dresses. I mean, it's the WIRED store, not the grand opening of Jimmy Choo. I'm sure that's just my insecurity talking since I was sporting my comfy jeans and Converse. I'm glad David Factor, Mobile Account Manager at ADA Music, and I got there at 6:30 p.m. on the dot because that tiny hotbox filled up with a quickness.

I wandered around and poked at touch-screen displays that already bore the gamey finger marks of over-fondling. Oh, hey! I found Jenna Landry, whom I met at the Ars Technica party and she put a little bug in my ear about Adrian Grenier's partnership with Peter Glatzer of Reconcile Productions. They're co-creators of "Alter Eco" for Planet Green and had a little display at the store entrance. Perhaps Grenier would be making an appearance. You may know him from Entourage, but I know him from that movie with Melissa Joan Hart, "Drive Me Crazy." I was hoping he would bring Turtle.

Hopping on the "green is better than greed" wagon, the WIRED Store recognized globally eco-minded charities like charity:water, Echoing Green, Forest Ethics, and the International Rescue Committee (IRC). While I was balancing on my slippery toes, due to the cranking body heat, to grab a shot of the store floor packed thick and tight like Don't Break The Ice(tm?), I heard "Hey! Aren't you @socialmedium?" from a navy-blue wool-beanie-wearing critter. It was Dan Cordella (AKA @filthyfowl), Copywriter, and his band of well-clothed cronies, Paras Shah, Account Director, and Adam Romero, Associate Creative Director, all of Agency.com. After discussing the power of bald heads and the acting skills of Grenier, Cordella launched into his Mark Wahlberg impression from SNL's "Mark Wahlberg talks to animals" and I nearly irrigated my jeans. Dead-on impression could win a contest.

Moving on. The Rapture were the masters of musical ceremony, practically touching the ceiling with their heads as they coated the increasingly more perspiration perfumed store with their beat paint. Poking over the entire crowd like the emerging neck of the Loch Ness monster was Matt Caldecutt and a few feet below him was the lovely Lisa Lacy, freelance food and business writer, who I hear makes a mean sweet potato pie. Right around the corner was the also-looming Dave Burdick, Huffington Post Green and Business editor, and Katherine Goldstein, associate blog editor at the Huffington Post.

Relaxing against the wall with half of her face doubling as a projection screen was Meghan Killeen, Senior Designer at Earworm Media, a small animation shop in north Jersey. Earworm produces "The Perils Of Dr. Shroud...Vampire Killer!!!" and you bet she had some fake vamp teeth on her. I popped them into my mouth immediately. Earworm sticks with you, doesn't it? Earworm.

Yes, Adrian Grenier appeared, almost obscured by his wild mop of hair. I made the dumb considerate move of saying "hey, when you get situated, can I take a picture of you in front of all your stuff?" I mean, the boy was still trying to take his coat off and already was getting pulled in and shouted at from every direction. He softly said "sure" with a slight hint of annoyance. And you know what that got me? Nothing. Two other camera-toters with bigger lenses, fatter flashes, and louder mouths completely overtook the situation, yelled like paparazzi... and got their shots. There's a chance that because I value mine so much, I'm too considerate of others' personal space.

Unfortunately I didn't see any of the other WIRED folks I've met and thoroughly enjoyed, like Josh Stinchcomb, Associate Publisher for WIRED.com, but strangely enough, he is in one of the flickr photos! I did meet Chris Marcangelo, Detroit Manager of Ad Sales for WIRED and his modern mullet-sporting friend, Michael Deantonio, President of Impodo, the company behind the store's Lincoln display.

Seared tuna, filet mignon dices, miniature Reubens, quesadillas, and an unappetizing-looking pile of mushrooms weaseled their way around the room, quickly scooped up by sweaty WIRED friends. Guess which passed dish created an almost-riot-like fervor? Yup, your good buddy and mine, the mini-burger.

The pop-up store will be open Nov. 21 through Dec. 28. Hours are from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Wednesday through Friday, 12 p.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, and closed Monday and Tuesday. If anything, pop in so you can practice your spy skills with the remote tank.

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Peep the larger more glorious photos on Flickr!

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