Kyle Supley is a comedian, official NYC Tour Guide, preservationist, collector and photographer, as well as a design curator and consultant specializing in mid-century modern lighting, fashion and home decor.
Keisuke Asano photographed Kyle in No. 31 / No. 33 / No. 35 / No. 37 / No. 38
Read the full Q&A below.
TIME AFTER TIME
Morning routine: Iced coffee made from my early 1960’s light-up Mary Proctor electric percolator. It makes a great tasting brew.
Drink of choice: Tequila soda with a splash of pineapple
Nighttime ritual: Often I’ll stream some TV while I repair clocks for clients, or myself. I try to keep the pieces in my vintage clock collection running correctly.
Favorite workout: Running along the Hudson River Park.
Current uniform: Denim cutoffs and my vintage “I Ran Into Tammy Faye at the Mall” T Shirt.
FOR THE TIME BEING
Book you’re reading: “The Daring Life and Dangerous Times of Eve Adam’s.” About the 1920’s lesbian poet who owned a Tea Room in Manhattan’s Greenwich Village.
Song or album on repeat: Song “Jack and Jill” by Raydio featuring Ray Parker Jr. before his song “Ghostbusters,” was a hit.
Most-used app: Instagram. Less so eBay lately. Trying to cut back on buying antiques!
Favorite podcast: The Bowery Boys NY history podcast.
TV show you’re watching: The Minx. A friend is the photographer character in it and the costumes are amazing. And other attractive things…Last movie you saw: “Fire Island.” It was fun to see one of my favorite nature escapes from the city shown on the big screen.
Artist who inspires you at the moment: Justin Liam O’Brien. His paintings are a beautiful blend of modern queer life and 1930’s romance.Best recent discovery: Mareluna restaurant on Sullivan Street. Incredible Italian fare. If you can eat outside you get equally majestic views of 1 World Trade and the Empire State Building.
QUIET TIMESelf-care strategies: I love a lavender salt bath in the winter or a heated swimming pool in the summer. Call me bougie, but I’m just dislike being cold.
Can’t-live-without-it beauty product: Embryolisse Lait Crème before bed.
Place where you go to relax: Mushroom hunting nature walks in upstate.
PASTTIMEOff-duty activity or hobby: Polaroid photography on Fire Island for my Insta art project: “OnFireNy” Documenting beauty and the beach.
Favorite charity that’s worth your time: I’m very interested in members of the LGBTQIA+ community who paved the way for us and younger generations so I would say SAGE. Advocacy and Services for the community and its elders.
Guilty pleasure to (wonderfully) waste your time: Scouring Facebook Marketplace for super deals. Even if I don’t have room, it’s fun to see what’s out there and to send it to fellow collector friends.
OF ALL TIMESmartest advice ever received: Know Your Worth.
Most inspiring trip: Visiting Amsterdam with it’s history, architecture, clubs, horological history, and bicycle lifestyle.
Best gift you ever got: Too many to pick just one, I’m very blessed with people who know what I love. Probably one of the earliest and best was my great grandmother’s Kit Cat Clock with glow in the dark eyes from the 1950’s.
Most memorable meal: Gusta Pizza in Florence Italy.
TIMELESSThree objects you think will stand the test of time:
1) My clock that features red neon clock hands that I purchased from Bleeker Bob’s record shop.
2) My pair of Brass Boot 5” mens platform shoes from 1974 that Elton John owned the same pair of.
3) My GE vinyl record changer console from 1968. Snagged for $15 at a stoop sale in Albany. Miraculously we got it up five flights of stairs in Hell’s Kitchen when I moved in. It sounds incredible all these years later, and I love to watch it drop through 8 LP’s as it plays for hours at a time.
IN TIMEWhat’s your next project? A one man show about my obsession with clocks, time, styles, and NYC.
What are you looking forward to in 2023?
More time to travel, spending quality time with friends, and hopefully a return visit to Europe.
TIME WILL TELLTen years from now, you will: Have had a gallery show of both my Polaroid series, and my work photographing the “magic”years in NYC pre-Pandemic from 2000-2020. I will also have a design museum celebrating my and fellow collector’s amazing objects from the 20th century.
Invention or innovation you most want to see in the future: Clean-running, hover-cars like George Jetson had.
