Australian skincare brand Aesop have launched in New York with a kiosk at Grand Central that's made from over 1000 copies of the New York Times.

The newspapers were stacked, torn and bound in a wooden frame then topped with sheets of powder-coated aluminium.

The kiosk is Aesop's first venture into the American market and was designed by Brooklyn architect Jeremy Barbour of Tacklebox.

Aesop are gaining quite a reputation for unusual material choices in their stores - see their branches in Paris, Tokyo and Singapore in our earlier stories.

Here are some more inventive uses for old newspapers.

Photographs are by Juliana Sohn.

Here are some more details from Aesop:

Aesop has been a purveyor of exceptional skin, hair and body products since 1987. The Melbourne company recently opened their first US store inside New York’s Grand Central Terminal. The kiosk, designed by Aesop Director Dennis Paphitis and NY-based architect Jeremy Barbour of Tacklebox, is located in the Graybar passage and offers a selection of Aesop’s line of products. To celebrate this opening, Aesop has created in collaboration with Dia a Jet Set kit that is sold exclusively at the kiosk.

The kiosk was built out of 1,000+ old recycled NY Times newspapers and power coated aluminum which provides the surface on which the products sit. The kiosk is meant to serve as Aesop’s handshake to NY and NY commuters as it is the first retail endeavor on the continent. The handshake is a symbol of both the an introduction to the brand as well as the use Aesop makes of hand demonstrations which are used to introduce Aesop to new customers. The kiosk was intended as a place for information, as well as a place of familiarity, hence the use of the NY Times which is part of the commuters’ daily routine.

Aesop has attracted a loyal following from its beginning for its commitment to high-quality product ingredients, a sophisticated aesthetic, and intelligent communication with its customers. This irreverent company will also open stores in August in Nolita and University Place.

Graybar Passage
Grand Central Terminal
New York, NY 10017

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London Design Festival 09: products from New York shop Kiosk are on show this week in a pop-up space designed by British designer Michael Marriott for London design brand SCP.

The exhibition will show objects selected from Kiosk, a design store in Soho, New York, which stocks everyday products from around the world.

These objects are sourced by Kiosk's owners, Alisa Grifo and Marco Romeny, during bi-annual worldwide trips.

The store aims to celebrate the beauty of the found objects, by presenting them in an exhibition format.

This is the first time that Kiosk objects will be for sale outside the USA.

The exhibition uses plastic storage crates and sheets of plywood to display the objects.

The pop-up shop will be open to visitors until the 27th September.

See all our stories about London Design Festival 2009 in our special category.

Previous Dezeen stories about SCP:

Sprig by Donna Wilson for SCP
Furniture from SCP
SCP in Milan
Soft Rocker by Committee for SCP

Here's some information from SCP:

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KIOSK New York City meets SCP London
Exhibition runs 19 - 27 September
09.30 - 18.00 daily / SCP East, 135 - 139 Curtain Road, London EC2A

KIOSK, a carefully chosen selection of humble and straightforward objects, will be hosted during London Design Festival by SCP in a temporary shop designed by Michael Marriott.

During a trip to America this year, SCP were pleased to make the acquaintance of the American design store KIOSK in Soho, New York. KIOSK has established it’s very own style of design retail by presenting objects in an exhibition format.

KIOSK is run by Alisa Grifo and Marco Romeny who opened the store to offer an alternative to over-design.

They take bi-annual trips to different locations across the globe to source carefully considered objects of simplicity and beauty.

The goods assembled together become a rough portrait of each trip and tell about a place and it’s people. Often they are traditional goods that have developed over generations or anonymous design found in general stores, DIYs and kiosks.

Products created by not one personality but things that are the result of local aesthetics and needs. Their beauty is sometimes hard to see in today’s market; the motivation behind KIOSK was to shed some light on these anonymous objects and support independent producers.

This September, SCP is the first shop outside of the US to exhibit and sell a selection from KIOSK's collection of goods.

Credits:
Original Ice Cream Scoop from Florida, USA
Security Mail bag from Minnesota, USA
Butterfly can opener from Saitama, Japan
Handy Handle from Ohio, USA
Stapler from Hestra, Sweden
Kettle from Mikkeli, Finland
Kaufmann's Cream from Bad Kreuznach, Germany
On/Off switch from Mexico City, Mexico
Carpenters Knife from Hyougo, Japan

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Designer Thomas Heatherwick of Heatherwick Studio has completed a series of brass newspaper kiosks in London.

The kiosks are opened by rotating the front sections around the structure, allowing vendors to set out and clear away their stock more efficiently.

They are made of wood coated in patinated brass, supported by a steel frame.

A glazed band at the top allows natural light into the kiosks during the day and is illuminated at night.

Photographs are by Cristobal Palma.

More Dezeen stories about Thomas Heatherwick:

UK Pavilion at Shanghai Expo 2010
Dezeenwire: Thomas Heatherwick interview in The Guardian
Creative Units at Aberystwyth Arts Centre
Piggyback for Magis
Thomas Heatherwick's new website
Thomas Heatherwick wins British Pavilion competition for Shanghai Expo 2010
Boiler Suit
East Beach Cafe interior
East Beach Cafe

Here's some more information from Heatherwick Studio:

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The studio was commissioned by the Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea to design kiosks for selling newspapers at a number of locations throughout the borough. The existing stands that the kiosks will replace are dull rectangular boxes on the street; their roller shutters make them dead and unwelcoming by night, flat surfaces make them a target for graffiti and their canopies are awkward to use. The poor design of their structure means that the vendor has to spend up to an hour, morning and evening, setting up and packing away the stand.

The studio wanted to design a kiosk without flat surfaces on the outside that looks good by night as well as day, with a different kind of opening and closing mechanism to make the vendor’s life easier.

The new kiosk has a distinctive, stepping-outward form – the result of a more ergonomic arrangement of magazine shelves which also makes the outside a less obvious target for vandalism. The uppermost roof sections are made of toughened glass, so that light comes into the kiosk by day and shines out of it by night. Instead of a heavy roller shutter which has to be lifted, the kiosks open by rotating the front sections out around the structure. The kiosks are made of wood, with an external coating of patinated brass.

The Paperhouse is an innovative alternative to existing box-like newspaper stands the structure made of steel and lined with wood on the inside and patinated brass on the outside opens out in sections, providing a secure, weatherproof location for the vendor, filled with daylight. Each Paperhouse can be easily located on the street, plugged in and opened up, ready for use immediately.

The first kiosks have been installed at key locations across Kensington, including Earl’s Court and Sloane Square. Further installations will follow.

Thomas Heatherwick said: “This has been a fascinating commission for the studio. Newspaper kiosks are an important part of our street heritage – they add vibrancy to the life of the street and provide random opportunities for incidental conversations. The challenge of creating a structure which is able to stand up to conditions in the street whilst making an interesting addition to the urban environment has been exciting.”

Councillor Daniel Moylan, Deputy Leader of the Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea, said: “This commission is about more than just replacing some existing newspaper stands. It is key to our continuing commitment to excellent design for the public realm.”

Project Name: Paperhouse
Location: London
Location: Kensington & Chelsea
Function: Newspaper Kiosks

Client: The Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea, Daniel Moylan
Designer: Heatherwick Studio
Design Development: Heatherwick Studio in partnership with Nader Mokhtari
Manufacturer: Manage Ltd & sub-contractors
Fit out sub-contractor: 2D3D
Frame sub-contractor: Guttridge
Structural checks: TALL engineers

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