Taschen Books SoHo

On February 22,2207 we were lucky enough to have photographer/director /hauteur/party maniac/all around fun guy David LaChapelle at our Flagship Taschen Store in Manhattan. David showed up with the ever glamorous Amanda LePore and his good time party crew ready to show his fans a good time, and sign copies of his book Heaven To Hell. More than 300 fans braved the cold weather and rain to wait in a line that stretched around the block onto Prince Street to meet David and Amanda. Everyone who was patient enough to wait was rewarded with a free coffee from The Mud Truck, and a chance to get their book signed by David and Amanda.                                 I've been to a lot of books signings, but I don't think I've been to one with a DJ blasting music. DJ Jon-Jon was pumping the booty pop all night long which kept David and the crowd dancing, and the mood light. While the signing was going on upstairs, there was a raging party taking place downstairs in our gallery. David's friends and associates kept the champagne popping as they drank and danced waiting for the after party to start.

The David LaChapelle signing was the first big, public event at our new Taschen Flagship Store, and was the first time many people got to experience our unique Starck designed space. It was a test in a lot of ways. We found out that people love the way the space looks. We found out that upstairs is a fantastic spot to have a book signing. We also found out that the gallery downstairs is an amazing place to have a party.  Despite the long line, David's fans were more than happy to wait, and the wait felt especially worth it when they were rewarded with an invitation to party at Plumm
with David later in the night.  The signing went on way past 8 o'clock, but David and Amanda insisted that everyone who wanted an autograph would get one, and that was the case.  After some more champagne and pizza, it was off in a limo to Plumm where the party really got underway.

Plumm was packed with revelers from the second they opened the doors until well after 4 am. DJ Jon-Jon continued to keep the beats hot. The only thing hotter than the music, was the sweaty bodies writhing on the dance floor. For a bunch of book nerds, this crowd had a lot of moves. Don Cornelius would have been proud. We were really excited that many of our
neighbors in SoHo came out to celebrate with us and tear it up on the dance floor. We'd like to thank all the people from Luis Vuitton, Prada, Reiss, Lucky, Jack Spade, A Bathing Ape,Ben Sherman, Kartell, J. Lindberg , Ted Baker, MoMa,Babeland,Alessi,Randall Leazer Photography,Industries Stationary,Agnes B., Sotheby's and Kid Robot for welcoming us to the neighborhood in high style.

As usual our staff photographer, Jeremiah Wilson was on hand all night snapping photos of the revelers all night long.
Everyone who kept the party going late into the night (or early into the morning as the case may be...) was rewarded with a visit from rapper Kanye West, who is featured in 'Heaven To Hell'. Kanye stuck around to party with David and the Taschen crew. Here Jeremiah snapped a shot of David and Kanye kicking back in the V.I.P. room at Plumm. Overall, the signing and
the afterparty were a smashing success. Thanks go out to David, Jason,Amanda, Jake, Ethel and the entire New York and L.A. LaChapelle teams for making this happen. It was a pleasure and we can't wait to do it again.

As  everyone crawled into work the next morning, we were delighted by all the great press our event received and the nice things people had to say about Taschen, our store and our party (even Gawker).

Here's a link to Gawker's coverage of the event, with links to a great photo gallery of the signing and the afterparty:


Gawker Coverage of Taschen LaChapelle Event

Here's a link to Gawker's video coverage of the event:
Gawker's Video Coverage of the Tasche/LaChapelle Event

On Saturday night, David LaChapelle's new show Awakened opened at the Shafrazi Gallery in Chelsea, and a full compliment of Taschen people were on hand to celebrate and take in the photographs.

Here we have fearless leader Matthew posing with Ethel  at Shafrazi.


Next up is store photographer Jeremiah, posing in front of the lens instead of behind it.













Here's Ethel, who designed 'Heaven to Hell' posing with a new LaChapelle photograph at Shafrazi.

Now that all is said and done, I'd just like to let everyone know that we have a few extra signed copies of 'Heaven to Hell' available at our New York store for the bargain basement price of $59.99 USD. If you want one get in touch fast, because they are disappearing quickly.

Also, the Taschen NYC store was recently featured in the Columbia University newspaper, The Spectator. There's a great write up about the store, titled 'A Psychedelic Journey Through SoHo'  with brilliant comments by yours truly. Thanks go to Isabel Bohrer! Here's the link:
'A Psychedelic Journey Through SoHo

Thanks to everyone for making this event a killer success. Hope to see you in person soon at the store.
Cheers - Michael/Taschen NYC

The crew here at Taschen SoHo is excited to announce that on February 22,2007 from 6-8pm David LaChapelle will be meeting his fans and signing copies of his book  Heaven to Hell. This is the first public event at our new flagship SoHo New York City store, and we guarantee  that it's a going to a great time. If  you haven't had a chance to come and by and check out our fantastic new Philipe Starck designed space, this is the perfect reason to do so.

We will have copies of both 'Heaven to Hell' and 'Artists and Prostitutes' on hand for perusal and purchase. In case you're not familiar with 'Artists and Prostitutes', allow me to fill you in a little bit. To begin with, this books is physically enormous. Closed, this hardcover book is 13.6 x 19.7 in., which is big enough to do justice to Mr. LaChapelle's wonderfully bright and detailed photographs. The huge page size means flipping through this book is  more akin to viewing the photographs in a gallery show, than seeing them on the printed page. It's a beast! As you turn through the 698 full color pages, you'll find single and double page spreads of the definitive images of the iconic celebrities of our times, including Tupac Shakur, Madonna, Amanda Lepore, Eminem, Philip Johnson, Lance Armstrong, Pamela Anderson, Lil’ Kim, Uma Thurman, Elizabeth Taylor, David Beckham, Paris Hilton, Leonardo DiCaprio, Hillary Clinton, Muhammad Ali, and Britney Spears. You definitely know the subject of these photos, and chances are you may have seen David LaChapelle's work in Italian Vogue, French Vogue, Vanity Fair, Rolling Stone and i-D or a million other of the  best magazines on the planet. Working at Taschen, I'm fortunate enough to have spent quite a bit of time with 'Artists and Prostitutes' and it is a truly fun and mind  blowing book. I'm also fortunate enough to be able to observe the reactions of scores of people to this book, and no one can walk past without stopping to pick up their jaw. Whether they are long time fans of David LaChapelle, or seeing his work for the first time, folks are drawn in and can't walk away until they've thumbed through every single page. The photos have a magnetic power and a brilliant playfulness that is unlike anything else they've ever seen. 'Artists and Prostitutes' is part of Taschen's very special Artist's Editions series of books, and this particular volume comes in a special slipcase, and is limited to just 2,500 copies worldwide, all of which are hand numbered and signed by David LaChapelle.

On February 22,2007 David LaChapelle will be signing copies of his photo collection 'Heaven to Hell', the third volume of his trilogy that began with LaChapelle Land (1996) and continued with the infamous Hotel LaChapelle (1999). 'Heaven to Hell' contains photos of both the ultra-famous and the ultra-infamous, with shots that stretch from Paris Hilton to Amanda Lepore in  David LaChapelle's unmistakable style. This 344 page full color book measures 10.9 x 14 in., and comes packaged in a beautiful slipcase. It's a must own for anyone with an interest in contemporary photography, pop culture or celebrity.

Clear your calendar for February 22,2007 from 6-8pm for your chance to pick up a copy of 'Heaven to Hell' or 'Artists and Prostitutes' and a chance to meet David LaChapelle and get your book signed. You can expect a wild time - this won't be your average cheese and crackers book signing. We'll be playing killer music, showing a special one of a kind video of David LaChapelle hard at work creating the images of 'Heaven to Hell' on our spectacular 24 screen video setup and quite a bit more. Expect quite a few surprises throughout the evening.  We hope to see you there.






What?: David LaChapelle will be signing copies of his book 'Heaven to Hell' and meeting his fans.

When?: Thursday February 22,2007 from 6-8pm

Where?: The Taschen Flagship Store in SoHo New York City,located at 107 Greene Street (Between Prince and Spring Street). The closest subways stops are the N/R at Prince Street or the 5/6 to Broadway-Lafayette.

Why?: For more information call Taschen-SoHo at (212)226-2212, email store-ny@taschen.com or leave a comment here on our store blog. You can also see all our books, events, stores and everything Taschen at http://www.taschen.com/.

Thanks for reading! - Michael @ Taschen NYC