For the fourth summer, I’ll be spotlighting little aspects to life here that I love. To see previous Valentines, click the Valentine tag at the end of the post.

I’m always walking around the area, peeking into windows, and over time, I grew obsessed with the wooden sculptures visible at W.D. Lockwood, the 119-year-old wood-stain manufacturers at 49 Walker. I kept meaning to go inside, but Lockwood is an office, not a store, so it felt intrusive. After many weeks, however, the urge didn’t go away; in fact, I began coveting the sculptures. I fall in love with art easily, but only if the feeling lasts do I act on it.

The artist—who also works at Lockwood, obviously—is Herb Schiffrin, and he was happy to let me take a closer look. I kept coming back to the one below, and the price Herb quoted seemed like a good deal. He told me that people had expressed interest in buying them before, but not until now—because I seemed like right the kind of person for one—had he agreed to sell them individually. I believe he was genuine, but it’s possible I’m a soft touch.

Anyone who has ever heard of the Tribeca Open Artist Studio Tour knows that we have plenty of artists in our midst, if not as many as we used to. That you can pop into a non-gallery storefront and buy a piece of art is something that I love very much about this neighborhood, and I hope it never changes.