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Foreign.
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This is all of it on wnyc. I'm Alison Stewart. Go local is the name of our series about keeping your cash in the community. This holiday season, we've partnered up with Caroline Weaver, AKA the locavore, whose new book, the locavore guide to shopping New York city, is the perfect guide for city shopping. Each Monday, we're going to have Caroline on the show to share her thoughts about the five boroughs. Last week we did Staten island. This week we're talking Manhattan. Welcome, Caroline.
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Thanks for having me.
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Listeners, get in on this conversation. Where do you like to spend your money locally? Is there a store that sings to you in Manhattan? What do you get when you go there? Our Phone number is 2124-3396-9221-2433. WNYC. This is for shoppers only, not store owners. Brian is handling that. We want to know where you shop when you shop in Manhattan. For the perfect gift, give us a call. 2124-3396-9221-2433. WNYC. Caroline, I am going to give you a moment to shout out your store, which is in Manhattan, the locavore. Because you didn't mention it on your list. I notice. And it's a really. It's really a. Give me the elevator pitch for your store. And. Yeah, give me the elevator pitch for the locavore.
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A
All right. My shop is the locavore variety store, and it is on 6th Avenue between 9th and 10th street in the village. And it is. I like to describe it as a wacky little general store. We sell everything. We have a barrel full of pickles. You can get a pickle to eat while you're shopping. We sell. We sell pantry items. We sell health and beauty. But the thing about all of it is that everything in the store is made within about 100 miles of new York city by an independently owned brand. So we stock, I probably about 200 different small businesses in our store covering as many categories as I can possibly find. We even sell screwdrivers, if you can believe it.
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B
What gift would you like to get from your store?
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A
From my own store? Yeah. Ooh, that is a really, really hard question. Well, okay, I'm a cyclist. And one thing that we sell that I love, that I don't personally own, which I should because it's perfect for me. There is somebody in Queens, a brand called mugshot, and it's owned by a man named Gene, and he makes these valve caps that you screw onto your bike. Valve like where you put the air in your tire and they're 3D printed. And there is one that looks like a Greek Anthora coffee cup.
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B
Oh, my gosh, that's so great.
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They're amazing. And he figured out a way to thread it for Presta and Schrader valves. So no matter what kind of bike you have, it will fit. And they're. I think they're like $17.
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B
That's a great gift.
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A
Yeah.
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B
All right. Because Manhattan has so much to choose from, I asked you to put these into categories. Your best friend, your work spouse, your real life partner. Self gifting. A few streets you might want to check out. But first we're going to start with the kids. Young kids. What did you do? Where do you go when you want to get something that's different than what's in the big box? Stores.
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A
Yeah. There are lots of really special toy stores in New York City and it is a dying type of shop because especially with tariffs, so much of this is made in China. So it's getting harder and harder to sell toys. But there's a shop just west of Union Square called Kidding around. And it is a classic toy store. You walk in and it is packed full of toys. And the people who work there are so knowledgeable. If you don't have children and you're buying for kids, they can answer all your questions about what is age appropriate, what is cool, what the kids will love. They have a huge selection of calico critters, which are my favorite. They're those little animals with the little outfits. They have a great New York City section. There is a New York City bingo set there that I have bought probably 10 times to give to a kid. It is just a wonderful classic toy store with something for everybody in any age.
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B
Is it a store where it's a fun place or is it a store where you learn stuff?
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Oh, it is absolutely the most fun.
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B
I remember when my kid was little, I spent a lot of time in kidding Around. It's been around that long. And they used to do free wrapping. Do you know if that still happens during the holiday season?
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A
Good question. I would bet that they do.
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B
It was such, it was such a win, win as a new parent to have the package wrapped right then. It was a pretty great thing. So hopefully Kidding around still does free wrapping. Your other one, it's so new. It's not in your book.
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Yeah.
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At 147 Sullivan Street. What is it?
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Okay, Spiral Books is, I think it opened two weeks ago, maybe two and a half weeks ago and it's on Sullivan street in Soho and it is the loveliest, tiniest little children's bookstore. And it has natural wood shelves with a built in nook that's like this tiny little nook with curtains for kids to hide in. And they have. They don't have everything, which I think is nice. It's a very well edited selection of classics. Like I saw one called the Salamander Room which I had not seen for 20 years. That was one of my favorites as a child. But then they have more contemporary titles like this great book called Bodies are cool that's about all types of bodies and a really wonderful selection of super clean, non toxic art supplies. And it's just nice to go into a store sometimes and just trust the good taste of the person who owns the store. It's. It makes it easier to make decisions.
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B
We're talking holiday shopping in Manhattan. It's part of our Go local series about keeping your money in the community during holiday season. We are talking about Manhattan stores and where to find a great gift. If you have a place you like to go to pick up that gift, give us a call. 2124-3396-9221-2433. WNYC a shout out. What is your favorite place to get a gift? Or Our guest is Caroline Weaver, the owner of the Locavore variety shop on 6th and 10th and you can find her on Instagram and TikTok. What's your handle?
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Helocavore NYC.
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Thelocavorenyc. All right. We're going into the harder group to shop for teens and tweens. They're a tough group. You suggest a place on Mott Street?
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Yes.
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What's the. It used to have an old name. It's got a new name.
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It was called like 00, 35 millimeter or something. I don't even know how to say it.
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B
That was it, I think.
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Yeah, yeah, it's. And they became very well known because when sheet masks first became very trendy in the skin care space about 10 years ago, that was the place to go. And it's now called Centi Centi. They have a location in Chinatown, their original one, and they also have one in Williamsburg and they specialize in Asian skincare. And so you can go there and find whatever like the hot Korean in skincare from TikTok is. They will have it in stock and they will be able to tell you what it is. So I mean, teens love skincare. That was not what it was like When I was a teen. So this is baffling to me. But teens love skincare and makeup and so this is a great place to go if you just, even if you don't know anything, you can go there and tell them I'm shopping for a 14 year old who is on TikTok. What's the thing that's going to make me look cool? And they can tell you I saw.
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C
Some really cool masks on the website that were like little zoo masks.
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They had like looked like a little giraffe you could wear. They were really cute.
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Yeah, they're. I've bought those ones for sleepovers before. Adult sleepovers.
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C
What are you talking in terms of price range?
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The lowest, the highest.
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You go to a really high end there. Or what's, what's, what are you thinking?
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Yeah. Like even in terms of their amazing selection of sheet masks, you can get something for $4 or you could get something for 14. They really have something for, for everybody at any price range.
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B
We have got a text that says you need to go to Magpie Amsterdam between 83rd and 84th Street. Great gift shop. Things for both kids and adults. One of a kind. Enjoy. Also on your list for our older teens is Mr. Throwback. It's at 437 E. 9th St. And a reviewer said this at the place store is awesome. Fully stocked apparel. Most importantly, all teams are accepted. Go Jets. That's all the review said. So what kind of sports paraphernalia will I be able to find there?
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Well, the reviewer is correct. You can find something for any team in this store. It is such a quirky and cool vintage store because they really only have sports gear and it's organized by sport and then kind of by color. So you have like. I'm a New York Mets fan so I always make a beeline to the bright blue because I know I will find my team there. But I, I even just bought an amazing shirt from the 1980s in mint condition with this crazy illustra of the whole team for the Oakland A's. For a friend who was an A's fan. Like they really have every team. So no matter who you're shopping for, where they live in the country, you will find something really unique and cool that they can't get at the stadium shop.
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Are they helpful? Is it the kind of thing that you need to know what you want to get before you go in or do you need to talk to the guys?
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Oh, the guys there. Mike, Tony and Jay. They are so cool.
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Tony and Jay.
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They are so Fun and cool and just a total. A total blast to shop with.
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B
All right, we're going to move on to the work spouse. This is a very specific relationship. It's a person at work, and you have a special, close, platonic relationship with. If you know, you know, right, You've got one. So it might be some thing. You get a little extra for them outside of the, you know, the grab bag you suggest. Sof Chefs at 104 Avenue B. Who does the store cater to? SOS Chefs.
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Well, they do indeed cater to chefs. They also cater to people who just like to cook. And they import and repackage all sorts of spices and specialty provisions for your kitchen. And they all come in these lovely jars. So you can go. Go there and buy whatever might appeal to the person you're shopping for. I chose this because I feel like with your work spouse, you probably know a lot about what they like to eat or what they like to cook or what they aspire to learn how to cook. And so this is a nice place to start because there's something special that they've certainly never heard of. I saw that they have a product that I think is new called Spice Paint, which comes in a beautiful jar, and it is a mixture of spices and oils, and it comes with a paintbrush. So the idea is that you have everything you need to make something really well seasoned and flavorful in this jar, and you can just paint it on and put it in the oven.
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B
That sounds awesome.
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Yeah. Doesn't it?
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Let's talk to eli from Manhattan Online. 1. Hey, Eli, thanks for taking the time to call all of it.
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D
Oh, this has been a great show. I've enjoyed listening to it, and I made some notes. But I think something you might not know about because it's only been there for 40 years, is Eat Gifts at 1062 or. I just looked it up. It's between 80th and 81st on Madison Avenue. It's a treasure trove of about, you know, it's a large store of a million little things and big things from things you'd find that you want to give new parents all the way up to, like, adults and intellectuals. It's an amazing place. And I don't know, it's in the neighborhood and it's. It's a terrific spot.
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C
Is there anything special that you want, Eli? This is your opportunity to let people know.
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D
Well, you know, it's so seasonal that I haven't been. I haven't been in there in a week or two, so I don't know what Christmas looks like, but Thanksgiving was amazing with bears and all kinds of things like that. It's hard to really describe, but put it in your book.
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C
All right.
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B
Thank you so much for calling Eat gifts. Are you aware of it?
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I am. And you're right. I should put them in the book.
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Let's talk to George from Manhattan. Hi, George. Thanks for calling, all of it.
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Hi, Alison. Thank you.
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Yeah.
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I'm calling about my favorite shop in Manhattan, Maison 10 at 4 West 29th street in Flatiron. It's run by Tom and Henri. They have gifts and art in 10 categories that they offer for 10 weeks by 10 artists and give 10% of their proceeds to nonprofits, hence their name, Maison 10. And they've got silver and gold and perfume and candles and queer pride love. And they're just terrific neighbors. And it's a great experience. And if you ask, they'll give you a glass of wine between us.
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B
That sounds great. I've walked by there. It looks amazing.
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It's gorgeous. Yeah.
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B
Before we leave our work spouse, there's one other place you wanted to mention. Nikki Kehoe, 49 East 10th Street. That's not one person, by the way.
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No, it's not. It's an interiors. It's a big company. They do interior design. They have furniture. They have all sorts of things. But they also have a shop called Household by Nikki Kehoe. It's in the downstairs of the this gorgeous townhouse in the village. And it's very aspirational. It feels like you're walking into the mudroom of your fanciest friend. But everything is extremely utilitarian. They have like, I use a pencil every day and I always have pencil shavings all over my desk. So I would want a hand broom. They have lovely, lovely hand brooms. They have my favorite Japanese rubber bands that come in a little tin. It's perfect for gifts like under $50 that are so thoughtful and utilitarian and specific. There's that's American made that they sell there. It's one of the only places I know to get it called handi aid. And it has very retro packaging. And it is a rubber jar opener that is so useful and it really, really works.
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B
Good to know. That's Nikki Kehoe at 49 East 10th Street. My guest is Caroline Weaver, aka the locavore. We are doing holiday shopping in Manhattan. It's part of our go local series. After the break, we'll talk about real partners and best friends. You're listening to all of it on wnyc. I'm Alison Stewart. It is Go Local, our series about keeping money in the community during the holiday season. We are going by borough by borough. Today we are talking about Manhattan. Our guest is Caroline Weaver, the owner of the locavore. Our Instagram and TikTok is helocavorenyc. All right, we've broken this up into different categories. Let's talk about our real partners. We talked about our work spouses. Let's talk about our real partners. You have suggested Poetry of material things at 220 Columbus Avenue. It looks like amazing jewelry.
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A
It's amazing. And what I like about Poetry of Material Things is that you feel very welcome when you go there. You don't have everything hiding behind cases. And it's friendly. They have, oh, goodness, probably at least 24 designers at any given time in a variety of price ranges. You can get something really special by an independent maker for $200, or you can get a beautiful diamond necklace for upwards of $2,000. So it's. And thinking about buying for a partner, you probably want something special. And I think a lot of people consider fancy jewelry a little bit of a cop out, but I don't think that's the truth. If you're going to a place like this where everything is just so unique and there's something for every style, little bits and bobs for the home, too. So there's other things as well.
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Are the owners on site usually?
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I believe so, yeah.
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I think one of the owners or one of the owner's good friends is on our Instagram and I see him everywhere and I'm so infatuated with him. So. Hello, Luca, if you're listening right now, the next thing you suggest is creel and Gao. Am I saying it correctly?
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You are. Yeah.
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That's at 131 East 70th Street. All I saw on its website, but the word that was used was unique.
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Oh, that is certainly the truth. This store is full of curiosities from the natural world and really amazing. Just objects collected on the owner's travels. And it's almost like a little natural history museum. I don't know if it's still there, but in the entrance they used to have this articulated blue lobster in a vitrine that I think was definitely a price upon request type of item. But they have other more accessible things. And just this sort of stuff that you walk into somebody's home and you see it and you ask where it is from and there's a story. That's all that it's that kind of store. They have 19th century French apothecary jars that are hand painted that are just stunning. They have. My favorite thing that they have are these silvered vegetables. They're silver plated like cast metal vegetables that range from $50 to about 250. But there's just this lovely to scale chestnut. They have fennel, they have corn. They're just these amazing objects. They have crystal bowls. So if you have somebody in your life who's a little bit woo woo, but they care about interior design, that's something that you could get them. It's just a lot of fun to look around and it does feel like you're in a tiny little museum.
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C
Those are for your real life partners. Let's take some more calls. Rita from the lower east side. Hey Rita, thank you so much for calling all of it. You're on the air.
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E
Hi, thank you for taking my call. So I am calling about for your chess loving friends. This is Fred Wilson Chessbooks at 41 Union Square West. Fred only sells chess books, just chess books. Very knowledgeable guy. And that is your place for your chess loving friend, grandson, granddaughter, niece, nephew, buddy or for you. Thanks for taking my call and have a great day.
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A
Thanks, Rita.
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C
Let's talk to Serena who's calling from Harlem. Hey Serena, thank you so much for making time to call all of it.
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E
Thank you for putting me on. I need to tell you guys about a shop uptown so please come to Harlem. The shop is called meloo n I l U. It's on Malcolm X&1 20th. I'm not sure the exact number address but it is a great shop. It's locally owned. It has so many gifts for like people learning about Harlem or just loving authors and artists. I always get my James Baldwin gear there. So check it out. It has lots of fun postcards and posters and. And I'm sure they have new stuff for Christmas. I haven't checked but it's a lovely place. And also grandma's place is also in Harlem on Lenox and about the same area. Super local, locally owned again and super fun.
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C
Thanks so much. By the way, the address for Nilou is 191Malcolm X Boulevard. And for our listeners, I'm talking to you, Eli. We are going to have transcripts of this segment so you can go back and you can find the names and the addresses of all the places we are talking about. All right. Caroline Weaver AKA the locavore. You can't forget your bff. You gotta remember your best friend you suggest John Darien. This is sort of. It's all over New York. It's like a lot of little different locations.
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Currently they have three storefronts next to each other. That's what's happening on Second Street. And they all have slightly different specialties though. At Christmas time they turn one entire store into an ornament wonderland. It is so much fun. If you want to get like I have a friend who in her family, they go there every year and each member of the family picks out one ornament at John Darien. And that's the special thing that they do. But they also have one thing that I love at John Darien are these decoupage plates, which is one of the things that he's known for. But what's cool about them is that they are so specific. You can get a decoupage plate with a piece of like a 19th century map of a specific neighborhood in New York City.
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B
Oh, cool.
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So I've given those as gifts to friends who are moving away and I want them to remember their old neighborhood or something like that. But they also have incredible like beautifully printed hand bound notebooks and Japanese watercolors. There are all these wonderful art supplies that are sourced from a very special shop in London called Choosing Keeping. So you get a little taste of that shop in John Darien. It's a really wonderful shop and it's on a street with great shops. There's an amazing record store. There is Bonnie Slotnick Cookbooks. On that same block. There's a shop called Salter House. Il Buco is there. So if you want to just do some shopping, that's a great block to go to.
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B
Mast Book, 72 Avenue A. This kind of looks like. Is it an art bookstore?
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A
It is an art bookstore, but they also sell books from many other categories of culture. There are a lot of great books on cinema. There are books on music theory. And it's a really nice selection of newly printed small press books and rare and out of print books. And so if you have a friend who's an intellectual or they're into something or they're into something creative, this is a wonderful place where you can go and probably find something that they're not going to find someplace else. There's an Agna Varda book that I bought that's I think called Director's Inspiration for a couple of friends who are cinemaphiles. There's a really amazing book by the producer Rick Rubin that I think I've bought like six times at this store called I Think it's called Ways of Being. It's this little linen bag. Tiny, tiny, tiny little circle in the front. Yeah, exactly. That's an amazing gift for a creative person. If you don't know what to get them, they always have them in stock at Master Books.
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B
Let's talk to Judy from Brooklyn. Hi, Judy. Thank you so much for calling, all of it.
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A
Hi.
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E
Thank you. The museum in Bowling Green, the National Museum of American Indian, has a wonderful gift shop. Some expensive jewelry, but also stuff for kids. I bought very cheap worry beads necklace. And if you remember, it's 10% off.
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B
Thank you so much for calling. We appreciate it. This text says we've gotten two texts.
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C
For one place, so I'll read Sarah's first.
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B
This is Sarah from Stuytown. Irving Green is a gorgeous new homeware store in the east village on East 9th between 1st and 2nd Avenue. And they stock handmade Irish homewares that you can't find anywhere else in the city. Candles throws arts utensils, really gorgeous Christmas decorations. It's run by Alison Doyle, an Irish woman and longtime East Village resident. Go in before Christmas.
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C
It is very festive.
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A
It is. I was just there the other day. It's new to my guidebook. Irving Green, that's also a great block that 9th street between 1st and 2nd. Really great shot shop.
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C
Let's talk to Gail from the Upper west side.
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B
Hi, Gail. Thanks for calling, all of it.
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E
Hello?
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D
Hello?
- [23:31]
E
Yes, hello, Allison. I'm calling about Pictor Gallery, which is at 547 W. 27th St. And we have a thing that we do every December called Art for Grabs. So it's all artwork, a lot of artists. It's a collective, and you can just pick something off the wall. Everything is under $800. And we have an opening on December 4, Thursday, December 4. And it goes from, I think the show is from December 2nd until the 27th.
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C
Thank you so much, Gail.
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A
All right.
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B
I asked you to put on your.
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C
List self gifting because I think this is really important.
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B
Just have a little gift for yourself.
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C
Maybe you save it until January 6th.
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B
Till Three Kings Day. You open it when you're. You're putting away your decorations. Where would you go for self gifting?
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A
Well, I chose two of my personal favorites where I have bought myself gifts. And the first one is called Stel, and it is a perfume shop. They have two locations. The one in Manhattan is in Nolita, and it is stunning. Everything is marble. The owners of this store actually started as designers of marble objects, and they were using perfume to style Their objects. And then they realized, oh, perfume is really interesting, too. And so they started selling perfume. And they only sell all of these smaller independent perfume brands. And there is one by a brand called the bath of gods, which is what I will be buying myself for Christmas. But they spritz all of the perfumes on these little clay chips that retain the fragrance so well. I don't know how it works. It's magic. But you can walk around and pick up all the little clay chips and smell them yourself. And so it's very welcoming. It's very interactive. And they have really special fragrances.
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C
And the next one, Big night. Big Night. Just like grew overnight. There were so many of them everywhere. But the one we're talking about is at 236 W. 10th St. Yeah, they.
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A
Just opened their third location on the Upper east side. And Catherine, who owns Big night, is a friend of mine. And I shop there often. And one thing that I bought myself a couple of years ago there that I think is the coolest, most frivolous little gift is the brand sabre. They make cutlery and flatware. They make this butter knife that is so heavy, it just like feels expensive when you hold it. And it's 28 doll, so it is. It's a good price for something that feels so luxurious and expensive. And I don't need a fancy butter knife, but do I love using it every day? Absolutely.
- [26:04]
C
We've got about a minute left. And you and I talked about how certain areas are like getting a glow up. And the Upper east side is one of the areas that people have been shopping in. What would you suggest if you just want to window shop on the Upper east side?
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A
Yeah. There is a big boom happening with fashion brands, especially opening second locations there. Kallmeier's there. Big night is there. Susan Alexandra's opening there. One of my favorite old school shops up there is called Scully and Scully. They've been around since 1935 and they have all sorts of trinkets and porcelain things and silver things. If you have a fancy grandmother, that.
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B
Is where you go.
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A
It's fun window shopping on the Upper east side these days.
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C
And on the lower east side, it's Orchard street, which was named one of the coolest streets ever.
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A
And I agree, if you are a young fashion designer in New York city, that is where you are opening a shop. There is so much happening and it is so inspiring.
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C
Caroline Weaver, you know her as the locavore. She is our guide for our go local series. Caroline, thanks for joining us. We'll talk to you next Monday.
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A
See you then.
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C
The holiday season means many bakers are rare and to go. Coming up on tomorrow's show, we'll speak with Ron Vreeland, AKA the Cookie Man. He's the author of the new cookbook the Best Recipes for the Perfect Anytime Treatment Treat. Do join us. I'm Alison Stewart. I appreciate you listening and I appreciate you. I'll meet you back here next time.
- [27:28]
B
Suffering from dry, tired, irritated eyes? Don't let dry eyes win.
- [27:32]
A
Use Sustain Pro. It hydrates, restores and protects dry eyes for up to 12 hours.
- [27:37]
B
Sustain Pro Triple Action Dry Eye Relief.
- [27:40]
C
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