Three days after Kelly Clarkson started a public feud with Brooklyn game shop Art of Play, the story is still making the rounds on the Internet, with supporters on both sides having their say on social media. But inside the small shop at the west end of Atlantic Avenue, just steps from the ramp to the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway, things are quiet and drama-free.
As soon as the doors close on a sunny Tuesday afternoon, the sounds of traffic fade away, the curiosity corner comes alive. The topic largely focuses on: things that make people stop and say, “Ooohhh!”
In the center of the store are three small tables with artistic puzzles, toys and magic-themed games, ranging from a bowl of colorful spinning tops starting at $30 to a $265 kinetic sculpture made of chrome-finished sticks. Floor-to-ceiling shelves hold fine hardcover books, wooden xylophones, ticking clocks and high-tech speakers.
In fact, you have to really look to find the star of the moment, a six-inch tall hand-carved animatronic bird affixed to the wall and attached to a box and crank with a delicate “do not touch” tag. A manager introduces: “There’s the world famous Molly.”
It was because of Molly’s wishes that Clarkson first called out Art of Play online and claimed that she was treated poorly after inquiring about purchasing the novelty artwork, which was valued at $15,000 at the time. Clarkson accused X that an employee tried to direct her toward a less expensive item, and compared her experience to the famous beautiful woman The scene where Julia Roberts’ sex worker Vivian is turned away from a Rodeo Drive boutique by the sly saleswoman. When the store responded that the bird was not for sale, Clarkson doubled down and her nearly 9 million followers jumped into the fray.
Co-owner Adam Rubin explains rolling stone The online attention has led to threatening phone messages, abusive DMs, review-bombs, influencers intruding into stores being filmed, and offensive comments being made at store employees and passers-by – including one incident where the police had to be called. (This controversy has led to no shortage of media coverage, including a mob of reporters who waited for Rubin to open up shop this morning.) “Kelly Clarkson knew she was lighting a fuse when she decided to use her fame and money on a public stage to try to destroy our business,” he says. “He chose to do it anyway.”
Kelly Clarkson calls the Art of Play “curiosity shop” in Brooklyn.
Julia Weeks/AP
But for now, the shop is quiet. A family sits at a small table in the back of the shop doing crafts, while two different women browse the shelves for birthday gifts. I asked a shopper, who declined to give her name, about the Clarkson controversy. “Who?” She answers. “What happened?”
Rubin says community members and small business owners who work near the store have been supportive in the wake of the disturbance. She says many people have left gifts, pastries and notes of encouragement since Clarkson’s post.
And while Rubin told reporters he raised Molly’s price (sarcastically, we assume) to $15 million due to “popular demand,” he otherwise seems eager to turn down the temperature of the feud. He says he is focused on giving Clarksons more support for the Art of Play in its initiatives (the store also operates as a night-time performance venue for magicians) and for other small businesses in its vicinity.
“This is a place made for wonder,” says Rubin, who is also a popular children’s book author. dragons love tacos. “We work directly with artisans from all over the world. People come in in a bad mood and leave in a good mood.” When I ask if she and her bosses would ever call back Clarkson—who famously left in a foul mood—she quickly responded: “Absolutely.”
As I turn to leave, a woman in an olive drab dress and brown streaked curly hair appears before me at the door, her arms open and a sympathetic expression on her face.
“I know!” He screams when Rubin goes to hug him. “Can you believe this nonsense?”