The best New York City take-homes didn’t find me as they have in other cities on our global grand tour. Because I have to confess that like New York City itself, I find shopping in Manhattan overwhelming and the sheer choice somewhat maddening that I often can’t be bothered even browsing. I prefer moving at a much slower pace compared to the frenetic speed that city office-workers move in peak hours and lunch breaks. That’s part of the problem.
I’ve always loved the laidback village-style shopping of inner city neighbourhoods rather than the bustling downtown areas. Even in my hometown of Sydney, I always preferred shopping in the inner-city suburbs of Paddington, Surry Hills, Newtown, and Glebe, which were much more fun and more relaxed to shop than in Sydney’s busy CBD (central business district).
Which is why I prefer shopping in cities such as Paris, London, Barcelona, Amsterdam, Antwerp, and Milan, which are cities that feel like they’re really just a conglomeration of villages, compared to many sprawling, towering metropolises, including one of my new favourite cities, Tokyo. Though having said that, I still managed to write four Take-Home posts for Tokyo.
If you stay away from the most hectic parts of Manhattan, such as the business districts and Wall Street, and do as we’ve done this trip, you’ll also discover that parts of New York City feel like a series of villages.
Which is why we decided to focus on New York City‘s neighbourhoods of the East Village and Lower East Side this trip. I’ve been loving wandering the leafy streets as I’ve been seeking our New York take-homes for you, browsing the vintage stores here, and young designer-ran boutiques and jewellery shops in Nolita.
As we’re in the middle of our yearlong global grand tour dedicated to slow travel, local travel and experiential travel, I’ve got no room in my baggage for clothes or accessories, so I’m limited to purchasing the only practical things a travel writer should sensibly buy: local guidebooks, notebooks and stationery.
And if you’ve been reading my ‘Take Homes’ series on unique souvenirs from the places we’re settling into on this trip, you know I’ve got a bit of an obsession with notebooks and stationery, primarily because I go through so much of the stuff.
Just six months into our global grand tour and I’ve already filled seven notebooks, not to mention countless pens. I find the old-fashioned way of writing with a pen on paper so much quicker and easier when it comes to doing interviews and jotting down notes on walking tours, and in shops and restaurants.
There are some wonderful gift shops and stationery stores here, too, that have loads of lovely and often quirky New York souvenirs. But there was one shop I fell in love with, as much for its absorbing selection of books on Manhattan, as for its impeccable curation of gifts and souvenirs that scream New York.
The best New York City take-homes include everything from umbrellas with subway maps printed on them to a beautiful line of Brooklyn-made products, as well as some cute notebooks, pencils, postcards and cards, such as the New Yorker magazine series (above).
The shop is the gift store of the Tenement Museum on the Lower East Side. Make sure you set aside some time to browse the store for New York mementoes before you buy tickets or at the end of your tour. Click through for more on the wonderful Tenement Museum tour. If you’re not heading to New York City soon, check out their online store.
Tenement Museum Shop
108 Orchard Street
Lower East Side
New York City
T 212 982 8420
www.tenement.org
