Who is the mysterious man-about-town who won the heart of America’s favorite "It" Girl/style icon/TV starlet Olivia Palermo? Meet the devastatingly dashing and handsome Johannes Huebl, who ditched a career in business, moved to New York to model for mega-labels like Cole Haan, Hugo Boss and Hogan, and quickly became a society favorite. We talk to Huebl about his low-key life with Palermo in Brooklyn (where paparazzi regularly snap the couple and their neighbor Anne Hathaway), his favorite New York hangouts and his next career move.

When did you move from Germany to New York? I moved to New York about seven or eight years ago. In Germany, we finish school after 13 years and you have to do military service or social service—it’s mandatory—so I served in the military. Right after that I started studying business economics in Hamburg for three years, took a year off and started modeling a little on the side. I went to Paris, Milan and London and after a year I came back to study cultural science. Once that was done, my agency in New York, Wilhemina, asked me if I wanted to come to New York and make this [modeling] a full-time job. But there’s so many other things I do on the side. I am also a photographer. Olivia and I work on editorial for her website. Unfortunately we both travel so much that we don’t always have a lot of time but we frequently work on a section for Olivia’s site called ‘I Want What She’s Wearing’ and I’ll shoot her editorially. Recently, I snatched two new photography jobs, so I am looking forward to that. At some point I will be able to make the full transition into photography. My modeling work is just very busy at the moment.

Speaking of modeling, you’ve been traveling all summer for jobs, where to next? I have to go back to a job in Germany for Hugo Boss. Right after that, I have another job in London; from there I fly to Ibiza for a good 12-day summer vacation. Then I’m going to the South of France and Majorca for other jobs. In September I usually spend time in New York for campaign season. I just shot a DKNY advertisement with Ashley Greene and Peter Lindbergh. Even though I’m not in New York very much this summer, the 3 weeks in September is the perfect end with a still warm summer at home.

When you do find time, where are your favorite places to go in New York? My all time favorite place that is Cafe Gitane on Mott Street. It’s a really nice spot—the food is fantastic and it’s very well priced. I like going out to dinner and having the option of doing something after and ACME has a really cool bar so it’s fun to stay there after you eat. I also love Sant Ambroeus in the West Village—which is probably one of my favorite areas next to Dumbo—but I like Le Bilboquet, as well. We drive uptown quite a bit because Olivia’s mom lives up there so we have lunch with her or go to the park.

Why did you choose to live in Brooklyn? I love being in Brooklyn. I didn’t have a preconceived notion of moving to New York and living in a certain neighborhood. I just came here and a friend of mind referred me to an apartment that happened to be in Brooklyn Heights. It was late August and it was this beautiful, European-like area. I ended up staying there for about three years with my flat mate, my best friend from Montreal, and at some point we slowly moved over to Dumbo. I wanted to live in this particular building [in Dumbo] and my friend and I were shown a few places, including a beautiful loft, so we moved right in. At the time, Olivia was living in Tribeca, but about a year later we both decided it was time to stop going back and forth [to each of our apartments] so we found a new apartment in the building I was living in. We’re really happy—we’ve been there together for about three years now.

As a native Upper East Sider, did you have to convince Olivia to move to Brooklyn? The building we live in makes the transition very easy. We have the two parks in front of the house, we have a beautiful view and Olivia likes to get away from the city just like me. Of course it was new for her, but we have a little dog and she sees so many upsides of living here. Now she doesn’t want to live anywhere else. A lot of people have that [feeling] with Dumbo I think.

You are dating an international style icon and you, yourself, are one of the most well-dressed men in New York. What are you going to be wearing this fall? I have a few things that are fall related, like a herringbone three-piece Zegna suit, but otherwise I hardly have trend-related things. Most of my fashion is the typical Italian/English way of dressing without too many things that you’ll see on fashion blogs or on the runway. For classic wear I have a few suits that I just had made by my tailor in Germany, who I’m really fortunate to have. A friend introduced me to him and now we work together all the time. I can tell him exactly what colors and fabrics I’d like and he gets them to me in 6-8 weeks. It’s really nice to have a suit that I designed and fits the way I like. For leisure wear, a lot of my stuff is Bruno Cucinelli. I like to always pair classics with subtle details. I don’t wear much jewelry except for maybe a watch. I tend to wear tassel shoes for some reason, but again, they aren’t trend-related—though they might have different colors for the season. I like cargo and chino pants, and I would probably always wear a button down and blazer or sports jacket.

From left: Emma Komlos Hrobsky, Tin House; Halimah Marcus, Recommended Reading; Celia Johnson, Slice; Jamie Schwartz, CLMP; JD Scott, Moonshot; David James Miller, SET; Brigid Hughes, A Public Space.

The conversation at Wednesday night’s indie lit mag panel at Powerhouse Arena did not stray from its predictable territory: the challenges of getting funding, the ever-evolving landscape of digital publishing and self-satisfaction about being Brooklyn-based.

Though quieter than some nights at Powerhouse, the audience that turned up to hear the discussion between six editors (from Moonshot, A Public Space, SET, Slice, Tin House, and Electric Literature’s newly launched Recommended Reading) and moderator Jamie Schwartz, managing director of the Council of Literary Magazines and Presses, was considerable.

Ms. Schwartz began the conversation by asking about money, a topic panelists returned to over the course of the night. “I think it’s a mystery to most people how the economics of literary publishing works,” she commented. “It’s really like an oxymoron.”

Anyone who hoped this mystery might be illuminated further was sorely disappointed.

Halimah Marcus, the managing editor of Electric Literature explained that since the publication’s launch of Recommended Reading—a weekly piece of fiction posted each Wednesday on Tumblr—nine weeks ago, the publication has had the chance to focus more on its readers and online subscription numbers, but she admitted that converting readers into funds was “complicated.” With the magazine’s elimination of paid subscriptions, Ms. Marcus explained that they have been relying on fundraising with their new status as a non-profit as well as revenues from “other forms of merchandize”—in lieu of a print publication available for purchase at Wednesday's event, Ms. Marcus brought Electric Literature flasks to sell.

Slice’s co-founder, Celia Johnson,was somewhat more candid, explaining that she and Maria Gagliano were almost broke when they started the magazine in 2007. “We kept it running by holding bake sales and many house parties that were surely illegal,” she explained, noting that though they strive to pay their writers, the magazine still doesn’t have a paid staff. Additional funding comes from events, such as Slice’s second annual Literary Writers Conference, which charges writers $300 for two days of workshops and will take place this weekend.

“We’ve become well versed in the art of throwing parties for free,” Ms. Marcus added, laughing with Ms. Schwartz about using homemade canapés rather than catering.

David James Miller, the founding editor of SET, which is available for free as a PDF download, explained rather self-righteously: “My intent was always for it to be about the work of the individuals.”

“I didn’t want to have to think about a bottom line,” he said conclusively.

Moonshot’s editor-in-chief JD Scott alluded vaguely to “using the internet for promotion” and PayPal donation drives.  Adding that he has a 40-hour a job week, he called his work for Moonshot a “labor of love,” a phrase that was repeated throughout the evening.

And while the turnout for the panel would seem to be an encouraging sign, Ms. Schwartz revealed that from a financial standpoint, the event itself was rather self-defeating. Though the four represented print publications were available for sale at Powerhouse, Ms. Schwartz informed the audience that when readers buy literary magazines at bookstores, the publications actually lose money.  The money’s in subscriptions, Ms. Schwartz informed us. Except, of course, for the publications that have eliminated paid subscriptions. The Observer left the panel with far more questions than we arrived with.

Can you spot Audrey Gelman?

By evening’s end, Dustin Yellin was shirtless, grooving pretty heartily to the tunes of friend Adam Green (formerly of the anti-folk band the Moldy Peaches), in Yellin’s lately acquired 24,000 square foot Red Hook warehouse arts complex called the Intercourse. He looked to be enjoying himself.

The occasion was the first night of Downtown for Democracy’s (alias D4D) foodie fundraiser series, the aptly named Dining for Democracy. D4D crystallized in 2003 on the eve of the Bush/Kerry election. Since then they’ve served as the crossroads of hip, creative types, progressive politics, and parties. And this year, the organization takes on what they refer to as the "Tea Party 10," ten of the most radical (and per a D4D affiliate, the most vulnerable) members with a hand in the upcoming election.

For a $50 entry fee, Mr. Yellin had offered up the Intercourse to a bevy of diners, Mr. Green and a handful of Brooklyn eateries. The vibe was not unlike any typical backyard barbecue—albeit with more maxi dresses and stilettos. Outside a dog ran around, and guests negotiated melting ice cream cones and reclined in the grass. Others stood in the Intercourse’s main gallery space (currently occupied by Mr. Green’s series “Cartoon and Complaint"), necks craning for a look at the space’s lofted studios.

Per Mr. Yellin himself, “We’ve got a bunch of artists and stuff upstairs. We’ve got a geneticist!” (Professor and neighborhood guy Andrew Kern is by his own admission merely a “computational biologist.”) Mr. Yellin was nothing if not effusive about his plans for the Intercourse, the project he referred to as “a sort of cultural think-tank/museum/school/experiment where we give artists and scientists a free space to do their thing. We have exhibitions, concerts, a school starting, a sculpture garden, and a lot of other strange things.” While your humble reporter could not entice Yellin to divulge his favorite Brooklyn eateries beyond those represented at the event—“I like them under the radar”—we pressed him to reveal his dream celebrity chef deathmatch. Mr. Yellin fell silent, his gaze landing on some nearby mung bean pancakes. “Oh man… I’m a lover, not a fighter.” We assured the artist that the hypothetical pitting of skills would be a non-violent lovefest. “My mom and Mario Batali, then. My mom cooks the best steaks. And Batali is such a sweetheart.” For $2,000 come September donors can enjoy a three-course meal cooked by said sweetheart, benefitting Downtown for Democracy.

Restaurants represented at Tuesday’s event were a Brooklyn-centric group. Fort Defiance brought marinated shrimp and scallops in a cucumber gazpacho, the Good Fork produced the aforementioned mung bean pancakes with spicy braised squid, and Home/Made served up grilled flatbread with fresh mozzarella and toy box tomatoes—to name but a few. Colin Spoelman of King’s County Distillery was on hand with moonshine, and kind enough to let us sample his wares. He filled us in on the company’s recent move to the Brooklyn Navy Yards, where they’re growing their own corn and barley. Guests cooled off with Vinegar Hill House’s artisanal ice creams in chamomile, tutti frutti and—our favorite—fresh mint with cacao nibs.

Glenn O’Brien, newly returned from a month-long sojourn to Italy, attended with his wife, Gina Nanni, a D4D co-founder, 12-year-old son. Audrey Gelman, Girls guest star, press secretary to Scott Stringer, and D4D affiliate called the evening a “who’s who of Brooklyn food.” Ms. Gelman had been heartened to learn that the currently in-progress Stringer town hall meeting in the East Village was, in a word, “packed.” Of the mayoral campaign, she told us “Scott’s a great guy, and I think it’s going to be a really fun race.” And fans hoping for more of Gelman’s character on Girls are in luck: “I am going to be on it next year—several episodes. I’m a recurring character.”

When Mr. Green took the stage, it was not a stage at all but a wooden box. Later we couldn't help noting that he had performed atop a literal soapbox. Mr. Green would not cop to it, though we had our suspicions. The musician debriefed us on plans to add a recording studio to the spate of Intercourse ventures, among other varied projects, including a possible lecture by his astrophysicist brother. "That’s what’s cool about this place," he said. "This is basically like the first day, and it’s going to turn into something else.”

Bagpiper Garry Cheddy flanked by Bloomsday participants.

“June 16 is one day in the life of Leopold Bloom in Dublin and that’s about all I understand,” Kings County District Attorney Charles “Joe” Hynes told The Observer on Saturday at the annual Friendly Sons of Saint Patrick’s (FSOSP) Bloomsday pub crawl.

Two years ago, FSOSP members John Burns, Declan Walsh and Jimmy Ryan decided Brooklyn needed to participate in Bloomsday—an international celebration that takes place on June 16, that date of the often-drunken exploits of Leopold Bloom chronicled by James Joyce in his novel Ulysses.

“We thought, this is preposterous that Brooklyn doesn’t have [a Bloomsday],” said Mr. Ryan. And who better to organize the day of revelry than the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick, a membership group devoted, rather vaguely, to “promoting the spirit of Saint Patrick.”

It was Mr. Ryan who had the idea to get the D.A., conveniently named “Joe Hynes,” involved in the festivities. “I called Joe and I said, ‘We’re reading from Ulysses,’ and he interrupted and said, ‘One of the characters is Joe Hynes, you know.’ I said, ‘That’s why I’m calling.’”

“He said, ‘I read it and I didn’t understand a word of it.’ And I said, ‘Joe, nobody does!’” Mr. Ryan told The Observer.

“One hundred years ago, I was an English lit major and I did quite well until I was asked to read Ulysses,” D.A. Hynes explained. But he didn’t need much convincing to agree to read Joe Hynes's lines in the reenactment of the "Cyclops" scene during the pub crawl.

Pinstriped suits, bowties, reading glasses and thick paperback volumes abounded as FSOSP members and literary aficionados converged over plastic mugs of Guinness. “If you didn’t get a mug, get a mug,” Mr. Walsh announced hospitably to a crowded audience at the first of six stops—the Black Sheep Pub. “Keep the juices flowing.”

A show of hands at the beginning of the day revealed that the majority of attendees had indeed read the book in question, though some perhaps more closely than others. Mr. Ryan explained that once the FSOSP had the idea to start a Bloomsday celebration in Brooklyn, they organized a class to read the book together. While one member estimated that only about seven of the 44 current FSOSPs participated, the day saw no shortage of enthusiasm for Joyce’s text.

“Guys, there’s a slight chance I might cry,” a recent Mount Holyoke grad who just finished her thesis on Ulysses warned her companions. The three friends took a picture to send to their Joyce professor back at school.

Also in attendance were Adrian Hardiman, a justice of the Supreme Court of Ireland and his wife Yvonne Murphy, a judge of the Circuit Court.

After selected readings from the early episodes, a procession of about fifty Joyce enthusiasts hit the streets of Park Slope to march to Union Hall, led by bagpiper Garry Cheddy and with a large Irish flag in tow.

Though one of the few readers who did not adopt an Irish accent for the occasion, D.A. Hynes read Joe Hynes’s monologue admirably, and was met by calls for an encore from a supportive audience.

“Have you returned to the book in recent years?” The Observer asked the D.A. before his performance.

“No, I have not. I have a lot of better things to worry about,” Mr. Hynes responded, laughing. A novelist himself, having published what he describes as a "fact-fiction novel," Triple Homicide, Mr. Hynes told The Observer, “My reading is a lot lighter. I like Grisham, I like a lot of crime novels.” The D.A. is currently finishing up the sequel to his first book.

The Observer headed out after the fourth stop—which included the presentation of a certificate confirming Leopold Bloom, Joyce’s protagonist, as an honorary citizen of Brooklyn, signed by Borough President Marty Markowitz—but the rest of the crew was still going strong. After all, as one seasoned audience member reminded us, the readings get dirtier as the day goes on.

Founding director Sasha Chavchavadze and Katya Redpath singing ditties on the outdoor stage.

Last Saturday evening, cousins Julia Casey and Lily Warnke, squeezed into silk tank tops and mini skirts and migrated to north Brooklyn. Later that night, they planned to make their way to a bar on the Lower East Side, but first, they had to attend a benefit for Ms. Warnke’s mother’s interdisciplinary art gallery and reading room, Proteus Gowanus.

As the young women traversed the event space—pausing in front of the outdoor stage (Ms. Casey: “I think that woman just sang about a Communist eating a fish”) and quenching their thirst with red wine—the crowd thickened.

For the last year, the theme of the artwork, installations, exhibits, and classes at Proteus Gowanus has been migration. “We looked at it from the point of view of populations, objects, the future, and time travel,” said Tammy Pittman, Ms. Warnke’s mother and the executive director of the space. But its meaning was flexible, she added, and meant to be used in a variety of different contexts.

Take, for instance, the theme of the benefit: nomads. “We wanted the benefit to focus on how people set up throughout space and interact with one another,” said Ms. Pittman. It also sounded like fun, she added, and seemed to fit the bill because “this is more a party about people than it is about objects or the future.”

The benefit, which was held in the establishment’s labyrinthine building—an old box factory—was more of a quaint affair amongst old friends and like-minded artists than a champagne and canapé fundraiser. 

“It’s a really unconventional benefit because we really don’t do a kind of a cocktail party and speeches thing,” Proteus Gowanus founding director Sasha Chavchavadze said. “It’s more interactive and fun and connected to what we do all year.”

In addition to access to the many creative spaces of Proteus Gowanus—the Hall of Gowanus, the Observatory, the Reanimation Library, and the Fixer’s Collective, to name a few—guests could also partake in a number of interactive installations created specifically for the event, such as a follow-the-leader-type card game called Nomad, a series of world maps for charting peoples’ physical migrations throughout their lives, and tarot card readings.

“It kind of organically grows as we go on,” Ms. Chavchavadze said of the seven-year-old gallery space, which became a certified non-profit in 2010. “There’s a lot of love for the organization and I’m hoping we can keep it going because it’s very community based and people care about it a lot.”

After a set of gypsy songs performed by artist and singer Katya Redpath, guests migrated into the main room for the night’s main event, a live auction. As Ms. Redpath auctioned off each prize, guests clamored to outbid one another, raising the prices ever higher. But the prizes they were competing for were not your average auction items. Instead of tangible goods, guests were competing to buy "live experiences."

“It’s a unique twist on the live auction,” Ms. Pittman said of the seven experiences up for bid. Of the selection, “Talking Trash,” a historical lecture and guided tour of the Gowanus Canal; “Literary Necromancy,” a guided tour through Green Wood Cemetery; “900 Years of Russian Art in One Hour;” and “Win Any Argument on Climate Change,” a one-hour lecture on all things climate-related, were the highest grossing prizes, with closing bids of $140, $135, $100, and $100, respectively.

As the event wound down, guests exited through the back alley, spilling out into the unusually cold night air. Tables were folded, food was packaged up, and bags of trash were deposited in dumpsters. Down the block, a thirteen-year-old boy and a hundred of his closest friends celebrated his Bar Mitzvah. A couple walked their dog. And Ms. Casey and Ms. Warnke checked their cell phones. It was a little after ten o’clock. Time for them to migrate back into the city. 

We approached a surly P.A., who tried to direct us to an alternate subway route, but being the intrepid journalists we are, The Observer refused to move until we were told what was going on.

"Filming for Kill Your Darlings," the P.A. grudgingly replied.

Perfect! We took a seat across the street and waited for star Daniel Radcliffe to appear in character as Allen Ginsberg.

While we never got a good glimpse at the Harry Potter actor, we were surprised to see that Twitter wasn't ablaze with savvy citizen paparrazo. Luckily, New York Daily News' Katie Nelson is on the case!

Eventually we had to leave to make the trek uptown, but this is the perfect time for some smart shutterbug to send us a photo. (We're much nicer than Harvey Levin's team at TMZ!). If you have any photos or video, let us know!

(Photo via @MissGrint)