CULTURE & LEISURE • Friday Routine
KRISTINA O’NEAL • co-founder and principal • AvroKO
Neighborhood you work in: Nolita & Tribeca
Neighborhood you live in: Chelsea
It’s Friday afternoon, how are you rolling into the weekend?
I co-run AvroKO and HOST with my three partners. We’re about to open the second show in the Eden Codex trilogy, Fulcrum, on October 16. It brings together our art-based Modifieds (modern and whimsical modifications to found objects), our new AvroKO-designed lighting and furniture, and our Host at Host events that live at the intersection of food, wine, and design. Friday is usually creative time for this project, and all of its parts.
Where are you drinking or dining this weekend?
Via Carota for dinner, I Sodi for pasta, Clemente Bar for late night, and Sant Ambroeus on Lafayette for lunch.
How about a little leisure or culture?
My husband and I are creating a donkey sanctuary upstate at Edition Farm in the Hudson Valley. We keep an art studio and gallery there, too. It’s work and rest woven together with animals, land, and design. For more cultural wanderings, we head to Dia:Beacon for monumental art and then to Storm King Art Center. If you want quiet luxury with a sense of place, Troutbeck and Inness capture the region’s pace. They blend culture, design, and nature without noise.
Any weekend getaways?
Other than Edition Farm, Mohonk Mountain House offers lake swims and mountain hikes wrapped in Victorian eccentricity. In Hudson, book a night at The Maker Hotel or Rivertown Lodge, wander Warren Street’s galleries, and have dinner at Lil’ Deb’s Oasis for the kind of local magic that stays with you.
What was your last great vacation?
We have a California ranch in Sonoma, where I have the opportunity to work with the land (and with other women) while I’m in downtime. My latest project is Authored by the Sun with my partner Tessa Perliss, a native of the region. Our Herbarium and lab has been the most fun possible.
In Napa and Sonoma, some of the most beautiful places to eat include Charlie’s, the three-Michelin-starred Single Thread in Healdsburg (which AvroKO designed), Meadowood for an overnight stay, Plank Coffee in Healdsburg for a locals’ breakfast, and La Luna Taqueria in Rutherford for the best burritos. Spend an afternoon at Scribe Winery in their sensational Sonoma landscape that feels present, not performative.
What’s a recent big-ticket purchase you love?
A new high-design/high performance bar cart that we designed at AvroKO that bridges sculpture and function, debuting in our October Fulcrum show at HOST.
What store or service do you always recommend?
Plant Daddies — plants, pots, green energy for your home
Obsolete — rare design pieces with texture and history
Where are you donating your time or money?
All Seated in a Barn — a sanctuary for donkeys and equine
Little Longears Miniature Donkey Rescue — sanctuary care for miniature donkeys