The Forum trees at Apple Champs-Élysées have finally returned! Indoor trees at Apple Stores don’t always live as long as you might imagine, and “swaps” are not uncommon. That’s why I wasn’t too shocked when the Forum on Champs-Élysées was cleared out. Then a very quiet two and a half years passed.
Someone must have spoken for the trees, because the new Ficus Amstel Kings look much heartier and appear to include a redesigned floor lighting system that will hopefully help keep them green for years to come. It’s a good look for a great store.
Even more Tabletops
January 24 marks the one-year anniversary of Tabletops. Thank you to everyone who has subscribed. I spend a colossal number of hours compiling this newsletter every week because I truly love sharing these little stories with you. When I ran that colossal number past my “accountant,” they told me not to quit my day job. Since I’ve already done that, we’re going to try to make this work instead.
Starting today, you can optionally subscribe to Tabletops for $5/mo or $50/year. Your paid subscription will support my work and help put this newsletter on a path to sustainability. It will also fund further development of projects like Facades, which remains completely free of ads or in-app purchases.
As an added thank you, paid subscribers will receive one bonus article per month. These articles will typically detail the history of one store or a specific event, and each will be similar in length to a standard Tabletops issue. The first bonus article will be published later next week, and it will be about Apple Lincoln Road.
I want to stress that a paid subscription is a completely optional way to support my work. Free subscribers will continue to receive this email every week with no paywall.
SignTime improvements
SignTime, the video service that connects Apple Store and Apple Support customers to sign language interpreters, expanded this past week. The service is now available in Australian Sign Language (Auslan) and Japanese Sign Language (JSL) in addition to existing support for ASL, BSL, and LSF. In Japan, SignTime is known as HandTime.
Pickup cleanup
The Apple Pickup counters at Apple Wuhan and Apple The Mall at Bay Plaza were recently tweaked to add new signage with a smaller Apple logo and the addition of “Pickup” text. This change involved the replacement of all the wood paneling and drawer faces to match. These two were the first Vintage D.2 locations, and their design differed a bit from more recent stores. Every store with a dedicated Pickup counter now has unified signage.
India Art Fair
The India Art Fair Today at Apple sessions that were announced in December now have a proper registration page and details on Apple.com. Three Digital Artists in Residence will host in-person sessions on the Art Fair grounds from February 9–12.
There’s reason to pay attention to these events even though you’re probably not in New Delhi: each one brings us closer to the imminent opening of India’s first Apple Stores. It’s been more than four years since Apple entered an entirely new geographic region with Apple Iconsiam in Thailand, and there are many intriguing ways Apple could celebrate such an important moment.
Featured image
Apple Infinite Loop
Photo via Eric Watney.