New York, NY | In Brooklyn, an Italian Record Store Fades Out After Nearly 60 Years: Silvana Conte kept it open for her mother, and for a neighborhood that had already moved on. There’s no large “Going Out of Business” sign. No big announcement, no last-minute fanfare. The news came in a Facebook post, shared by a family friend. Just a few lines to say that after nearly sixty years, SAS Italian Records will close its doors for good. The store opened in 1967, founded by Ciro and Rita Conte, immigrants from the island of Ponza. It has remained in the same location ever since: 7113 18th Avenue, in the heart of Bensonhurst. The name—SAS—is an acronym of their children’s names: Silvana, Adrianne, and Silverio. More than a brand, the sign was a marker of origin, a statement of belonging. What began as a small record shop with a few household goods gradually evolved into a kind of Italian-American general store: CDs, DVDs, flags, bath products, pasta makers, crossword magazines, and toys. Nothing flashy, but everything with a clear and traceable lineage.
New York, NY | ‘By Appointment Only’ in New York: 6 Hidden Shops Worth Visiting: Hand-forged armor. Prehistoric bones. Music that’s never been digitized. This isn’t retail—it’s an invitation-only obsession. You didn’t come to New York to wander fluorescent aisles hunting for someone to unlock the fitting room. You came for the locked-door city — where nothing’s labeled, the elevator grumbles and whoever buzzes you in has already decided how the afternoon should go. …Archivio Records: Archivio is more vinyl bunker than retail space. It’s a Dumbo concept store: part record shop, D.J. hub, barbershop, tattoo parlor and creative hangout. Co-founded by the D.J. and Queens native Pablo Romero (who asked for a shout out to his Colombian background) and the D.J. Daniel Corral-Webb, this upstairs Dumbo loft draws an international mix: visiting D.J.s, stylists, design-world regulars and the curious who’ve heard whispers.
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SG | Turn your favourite audio clip into a record? This Katong home studio makes customised vinyl: With the lathe-cutting machine they brought in from the US, Art/st’s Charlyn Yap and Lee Sin Yee offer private workshops for custom vinyl making. Music aside, other audio clips they’ve turned into records include wedding vows, a child’s first words and a grandmother’s last voicemail. bout a year ago, Charlyn Yap became obsessed with the idea of made-in-Singapore records. The seed of the idea had actually come to mind when, after her grandfather died, she found a collection of cassette tapes he had made, recording himself singing. “I suppose that was their era’s way of creating ‘covers’,” said the 35-year-old. “As I played whatever was still audible, a surprising moment emerged: My own five-year-old voice, interrupting his recording session in the studio. What followed was about a minute of him good-naturedly scolding me in a mix of Hokkien and Chinese for ‘ruining his take’ and making him start over.”