What funky stores should I go to in NYC?

November 9, 2007 2:53 PM

Shopping in NYCfilter. Any good suggestions for artsy/eclectic stores in either Manhattan or Brooklyn?

I'm going to be doing some Christmas shopping and am going to be looking for some gifts. I'm not interested in clothing, just housewares, jewelry and other chotchkes.

posted by hazyspring to Shopping (17 answers total)

7th and 5th avenues in brooklyn, between flatbush and 15th street, are both full of stores like that. (it's about a 20-block stretch, and they're only a block apart.)
posted by thinkingwoman at 2:55 PM on November 9, 2007

or how about the meat packing district and far west village - village tannery is one of my favorites in fact i have a custom laptop bag from them sitting next to me at this moment.

here is the meat packing district guide - too many cool shops to list.

http://www.meatpacking-district.com/flash.html

the flash is a little insane but it is comprehensive.
posted by specialk420 at 3:19 PM on November 9, 2007

A shop called Kiosk in Soho is what you want. The owners feature objects from one country for 3 to 5 months at a time. They pick only smallish affordable things that are commonly used in that country but unavailable here. The current country is Finland.

I picked this and this up recently, and am going to go back for other things soon.

The joy is that these are everyday products. In other words, they're not only cool, but incredibly useful. It's like walking into a store that has a bunch of things you could actually use, today, to, say, open a jar or clean your tub, or soften your hands, or give to your kids. But these things are not available aywhere else in this country, and so are great gifts as well as useful objects.

The owners wrote (somewhere, I can't find it right this second) about how, before they decide if an item should be included, they ask everyone they meet in that country they're visiting/buying from if they actually use the product, and how useful it is. Form & function.
posted by minervous at 3:39 PM on November 9, 2007 [3 favorites]

(Gosh, I sound like an employee, don't I? Not shilling, I promise. Just a happy customer.)
posted by minervous at 3:40 PM on November 9, 2007

mxyplyzyk on greenwich ave is great for all kinds of random gifts

also flight 001 is down the block, more specific but lots of great stuff
posted by beckish at 3:40 PM on November 9, 2007

There's always the Union Square Holiday Market too.
posted by lannanh at 3:48 PM on November 9, 2007

Housewares and chotchkes: Global Table is a nice place.
posted by spec80 at 4:55 PM on November 9, 2007

Smith Street in Brooklyn has a lot of great gift stores (F at Bergen lets you off right there)
posted by Shebear at 5:10 PM on November 9, 2007

Cog and Pearl in Park Slope. 5th Ave and Berkeley. Really classy, quirky, pretty stuff made by local folks (predominantly), and in a wide range of prices ($20-150). Fancy handbags made of car upholstery, grasshoppers made of electonics, bracelets made of antique watch faces, ceramic plates with Polaroid transfers of Coney Island.
posted by unknowncommand at 5:24 PM on November 9, 2007

exit 9 is one, on Avenue A, and there a bunch of those types of shops a couple blocks north on the same street.

giant robot is also nearby.
posted by ethel at 5:32 PM on November 9, 2007

826NYC superhero supply store.
posted by roll truck roll at 5:43 PM on November 9, 2007 [1 favorite]

Moss, on Greene Street -- haute design-y housewares.
posted by thinkpiece at 6:36 PM on November 9, 2007

I recommend the MoMA Store.
posted by upplepop at 7:07 PM on November 9, 2007

Moss is neat, but very expensive. More on Moss and other design stores in the same vein.

I 2nd the MoMA store (especially the housewares store across the street from MoMA), Kiosk, Pearl River Mart, Exit 9, 826 NYC, Giant Robot, Mxyplyzyk, and Flight 001. I'd also throw in Kid Robot, Pylones, Takashimaya, Rare Device, Marchand de Legumes, Maxilla and Mandible, the shop at the MTA's museum, and Kinokuniya (for stationary, paper goods).

The holiday markets at Union Square, Grand Central, Bryant Park, etc. are need but tend to be repetitive.
posted by kathryn at 9:13 PM on November 9, 2007

Seconding Pearl River and Giant Robot. In Brooklyn, try Matter on 5th Avenue in Park Slope.
posted by billtron at 9:51 PM on November 9, 2007

A lot of shops like what you're looking for have popped up right around the first stop on the L in Brooklyn (Williamsburg, Bedford Avenue.) Try searching through these two sites: http://www.billburg.com/ and http://www.freewilliamsburg.com/.
posted by Silverlantern at 11:23 AM on November 10, 2007

Maixiilia and mandible
posted by lalochezia at 11:34 PM on November 10, 2007