Employee Of The Week: Jesse Johnson at Flight 001

This week's Shop Clerk in New York Magazine is Jesse Johnson of Brooklyn's new Flight 001 store. Flight 001 has, for a while now, been the fun, campy alternative to your basic, jumbly Innovation Luggage shop. And we want you to know that we didn't cheat and went in person to the new location on Smith Street, just in case some of you were thinking we were a wee bit lazy last week. We have always enjoyed their "Airport '77" décor and they seem to have scoured the earth for the most amusing travel accessories and gadgets as well as all sorts of indestructible looking hard sided luggage. The Shophound particularly liked the Hideo Wakamatsu bags in camouflage pattern or, for the very daring, leopard. Jesse has all sorts of good advice and information in his interview, but as usual, those crafty editors at New York have saved the best for last.

What do you do for in-flight anxiety?
I take a Valium and do a shot at the bar. Klonopin works really well, too. I’ve made the mistake of taking it too early, passing out, and drooling all over myself while everyone else was boarding. So, twenty minutes before boarding is a good time to take it.

We don't know the reason for the rampant oversharing in this column, but the shop clerks are forever divulging all sorts of things better kept to themselves. Having said that, knowing when to take your Valium can be invaluable information, so thank you Jesse!

As an update for last week, we did receive a nice message from The World of Golf's Eric Bianchini, last week's clerk, who took his extra bit of attention with much better humor than some others have (you know who you are).

Clearly you are our ideal customer.  Someone that could certainly benefit from all the high tech new equipment that we have installed.  Give me an hour and I will have you hitting the ball straighter and impressing your friends with all your new golf knowledge; and at only $100 that is cheaper than an night on the town or about the same as dinner at Jerry's.

The Shophound thanks you for your kind invitation, Eric, although you may have overestimated our research budgets just a little, as well as how impressed our friends are by golf knowledge. We are press, after all, and have become accustomed to all kinds of free swag complimentary promotional materials. Should we ever reconsider our personal stance on the sport, however, you will be the first one we call.

Flight 001 132 Smith Street, Boerum Hill Brooklyn