If you are pounding the streets of New York with a list that has you stumped, try these six outlets for unique gifts with a local twist.
Festive lights, ice skating and holiday windows make New York City magical in December. But it’s not all fun and games — many of us have shopping to do.
If you’re pounding the pavement with a list that has you stumped, try these one-of-a-kind outlets for gifts with a New York twist, so you can get on with making the most of your holiday.
The below-street-level New York Transit Museum Store in downtown Brooklyn takes underground standards to a new level with antique subway token cufflinks, monogrammed mosaic tiles and subway map shower curtains. The Metropolitan Transport Authority-inspired merchandise also includes ornaments, boxer shorts, placemats and wooden toy subway cars, so you’re bound to find something for train enthusiasts of every age. If your itinerary only allows time for Manhattan, shop the Transit Museum Gallery Annex and Store in Grand Central Terminal.
Dish emporium Fishs Eddy in the Flatiron district brims with a variety of New York-themed glasses, tea towels and tableware, such as the Brooklynese “Cawffee” set, complete with “Creamuh” and “Shugah”, and Skyline-patterned crockery highlighting Manhattan landmarks. Other playful collections, like a Todd Oldham-designed line featuring American Modernist Charley Harper’s bird and fish illustrations, also fill the shelves.
If you’ve visited the Big Apple before, you will understand the saying “here today, gone tomorrow”. Now’s your chance to scoop up quirky creations for the younger set at The Land of Nod’s Toy Shop. This temporary Soho outpost from the Illinois-based retailer features exclusive handmade fabric dolls, silly stuffed monsters and rocking toys, as well as kid-size tepees and bowling sets — all amid an enchanted forest setting. But it won’t be around long — the pop-up packs up 27 December.
With profits supporting New York City children’s charities, shopping for presents at Treasure and Bond is like giving two gifts in one. And the eclectic selection at the two-storey Soho boutique makes it easy. Edgy-to-luxe accessories and imaginative housewares mingle with cool clothes for adults and kids and fun finds like album cover jigsaw puzzles.
For a sampling of New York’s artisans, head to the Artists and Fleas holiday pop-up bazaar in Chelsea Market, where a rotating cast of vendors are selling their wares, such as printed totes, jewellery and leather bags, daily through 31 December. And back in Brooklyn, the Brooklyn Flea, a year-round, weekend-only market presenting a curated mix of indie designers, regional food producers and vintage collectors, has moved indoors for winter, sprawling over three floors of a former bank in Fort Greene. Snap up old-fashioned ornaments, antique maps and locally crafted items, ranging from cutting boards and soaps to coffee beans and bowties, before Christmas and into the new year.