Skylight’s skylight

STEPHANIE BLAKE, Skylight

WORK • Tuesday Routine

STEPHANIE BLAKE • CEO • Skylight
Neighborhood you work in: Williamsburg 

It’s Tuesday morning. What’s the scene at your workplace? 
I’m bicoastal, between Petaluma, CA & NYC; when I’m in NYC I stay at the Wythe or the Chelsea Hotel. Our office is a 2,600-square-foot, loft-style space at The Refinery at Domino, a building on the waterfront in Williamsburg that is also home to our penthouse venue, Skylight at the Refinery. When we’re on virtual calls from our office, people ask if our backdrop is real, because it’s the amazing window openings in the original brick facade of the original Domino Sugar Refinery. There are over 100 “windows,” none the same size, because they were never meant to have glass — they were meant to act as a beautiful facade for the big sugar refinery machinery. 

This space represents the ethos of Skylight — we celebrate the art of gathering through our global collection of venues — and this particular building captures the soul and industrial past of Williamsburg. Our office also represents how we dream and our vision: Whether we’re in our office, or in our venue on the 15th floor above, the views are the best in NYC. From our penthouse in the sky, I’m eye level with the Brooklyn & Manhattan bridges, and get a daily, show-stopping sunset set against NYC’s skyline. 

What’s on the agenda for today?
In addition to putting the finishing touches on Skylight at The Refinery, we’re in the midst of launching our district canvas at The Penn District, by Skylight. 

Any restaurant plans today, tonight, this weekend?
My best friend since the seventh grade and her husband, a butcher, are the people I trust most in the restaurant department. They took me to Dame in Greenwich Village for the first time, and it was to die for, every single bite. Sitting on the patio, it’s a perfect quintessential NYC evening. 

How about a little leisure or culture this week? 
I’m getting a new tattoo with Loki Lines at High Line Tattoo in Chelsea. One of my favorite tattoos is a simple abbreviation for a phrase we’ve used often at Skylight for the last 14 years — KOW, for “knock on wood.” The font is the same font E. B. White’s essay “This is New York” was originally printed in — it’s one of my most beloved essays, captures the energy and timelessness of this city, and rings especially true during this steamy summer. 

What’s a recent big-ticket purchase you love? 
I love this Isabel Marant set I bought just a couple of days ago, unexpectedly stumbling into her store after a business lunch. It’s a black and cream zip-up mini skirt and matching jacket with shoulder pads… and I couldn’t resist adding her steel toe slingbacks. A perfect outfit. 

What NYC store or service do you love to recommend? 
I’m a sucker for repeating a place where I've found magic again and again and again. My forever favorite breakfast spot for the last decade-plus and counting is Buvette. Sitting in the garden patio that squeezes in three tables of two, I always order soft scrambled eggs with caviar, not on the menu. My most recent tattoo is the word caviar, written in script. It’s not meant to be literal, it’s meant to remind me to always celebrate, life is short. Always choose joy.