May 18th was a busy evening in the Central West End. But so is almost every Friday around here…

To start off our art hop, we popped into Coiffures by Shawn, where owner Gregory Smith was hosting a happy hour to showcase the photographs of his friend, Dr. Gregory Benson, taken during his travels to Nepal. Walking up the stairs into Smith’s airy space, we were greeted by a din of chatter and music. Next to bottles of shampoo, conditioner and countless other products, were delicious food and fruity fun drinks, courtesy of Smith’s downstairs neighbor, Sub Zero Vodka Bar and their new fresh market bar. Between sips of cool, summery concoctions and gazing at the stunning photographs captured by Dr. Benson, who himself was present at the event for a short while, neighbors and friends caught up and shared laughs. We sniffed candles on display from local company Smelly Things and perused a Morrocan Oil product package, which was part of a giveaway from Smith. Peeking into Smith’s station, we spied a framed news clipping, highlighting the celebrated hair whisperer and one of his long-time clients. Coiffures by Shawn has been open in the Central West End for 40 years and hosted a wonderful evening celebrating not just the photography of a long-time neighbor, but also the first open house in the salon’s new space. For more photos of Coiffures by Shawn’s Happy Hour, click here.

After finishing our surprisingly delightful plum-vodka and cucumber lemonade concoction, we headed north up Euclid, to McPherson. The sidewalks on the north side of the street were jammed with people, young, old and every where in between, welcoming Philip Slein Gallery to the neighborhood and taking advantage of the congenial neighbors who were staying open late to add to the sense of festivity. We meandered into Duane Reed Gallery, where there were two exhibits opening that evening — glass works by Jenny Pohlman and Sabrina Knowles. We wandered into the second gallery, at the behest of art consultant Merrill Strauss, to check out Matthew Paul Issacson’s tile sculpture installation, Infinite City. Click here to see video of Issacson discussing his methods and work. For more photos from Duane Reed Gallery, click here.

Next, we headed over to Centro, enchanted by the “fireplace” out front and were greeted by Ginny’s Famous CenCen punch. Centro was showcasing their latest arrivals from Antonio Citterio for Flexform. Among the modern furniture-philes, we noticed  a large four-legged critter, named Pluto, who was behaving remarkably well amongst all of the beautiful furnishings.

The sun was going down as we strolled into Philip Slein Gallery, where Slein himself was holding court amongst paintings by Jackie Saccoccio and a tribute to Arthur Osver. We heard the Saccoccio paintings in the front room were close to selling out by the time we arrived. The gallery was crowded as we made our way to the back and the Osver exhibit. The crowd that had gathered was as varied as the colors in the Saccoccio’s and everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves, the space and the arrival of Slein to the Central West End and the corner that Slein himself described as “special and unique” in St. Louis — the best for high-end retail, art, antiques, design and furniture. For more pictures from the Slein Gallery Grand Re-opening, click here.

We’re excited to have the Philip Slein Gallery in the Central West End — and to have spent such an fun and arty night in the neighborhood.