Located in the East Village neighborhood of New York, Mace is an award-winning cocktail bar with a focus on crafting innovative and inventive recipes featuring a broad scope of culinary influences and ingredients.  The concept for the bar design, beyond wanting to optimize seating in the narrow storefront space, was to situate it within a spice library stocked with a vast collection acquired by the owners from their travels around the world.  The spices, stored in glass jars which showcase a vivid array of colors and textures, line full height shelves which run the length of the space.  The shelves are gridded by copper sheet wrapped dividers creating individual bays for each spice jar, and light-gauge dia-grid of copper wires create a porous net, tight enough to keep the jars from sliding out but open enough to be retrievable by staff when needed.

The long zinc-wrapped bar and metal stools are anchored along the spice library wall with the bar back of spirits bottles, glassware and other essentials, nestled within the same shelves.  Three intimate banquette and table seating areas are tucked into the remaining peripheries of the space, one at the storefront up against operable windows that open to the street, and the other two at two small alcoves in the rear of the space.  A tiny food preparation area is centrally located in the space, but hidden from view by a slatted wood partition and duck canvas curtain.