My perception of Bloomingdale’s was all wrong. I used to think it was your every day, run of the mill department store, but I could not have been more wrong. I was leaving Central Park with my friends the other day when we stumbled across one. They know how much I am into upscale cookware as well as fashion, so they suggested we go in. I was in awe of this place. Eight floors of luxury goods heaven.

On the first few floors you’re looking at mostly luxury clothes and cosmetics. So, my friends and I walked around for an hour taking it all in. Once you get up to the fifth floor, we transition from clothes and perfumes into the home goods area, which is my forte as you all know by now. Not only was almost every brand I knew there, but there were actually quite a few I had never heard of it. I probably took about 50 pictures to look them up later.

I was a kid in a candy store upon getting to the cookware section. Almost every big name company you’ve heard of in the space was represented. All-Clad had a representative there who told me a lot about their product. There was also a nice gentleman in a sweater vest who walked me around the entire floor telling me which brands he liked and offered good bang for your buck.

Not only were there pots and pans as far as the eye could see, but all sorts of appliances. Air fryers, coffee makers, toaster ovens, and a Nespresso stand giving out free espresso samples, which were great. There was also a beautiful section of utensils including a display of knives, many of which are covered in my piece about knife sets. I felt like I was on the set of Forged in Fire walking around there.

I think what really stood out to me in the end was the sheer volume of luxury kitchen goods. It felt like a career fair or some kind of cookware conference. Beautiful things everywhere. Obviously the brands mainly promote the more generic products, but they also will show some truly amazing things. I saw coffee makers that was listed for over $10,000!

This stand mixer collab by Smeg x Dolce Gabbana is, without a doubt, one of the coolest pieces of kitchenware I have ever seen. I know the colors are a bit flamboyant, and I’m not sure how it fits into a cohesive kitchen design, but this is pure art!

I think that was my favorite part of Bloomingdale’s as a whole. Yes, you can go to a store of an individual brand, or even shop online as most people do nowadays. But to see all these amazing stores in the same place made each individual store even greater. The whole is truly greater than the sum of its parts at Bloomingdale’s on 59th in Manhattan. If it was my choice, I’d sleep in the bedding section. Kidding! Until next time cookware fans!