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New York City has more stores than anyone could physically tackle, but somehow we always keep returning to the usual suspects. To break out of the rut, we've asked some of local shopping and fashion gurus to provide their hidden retail gems—those unique stores around our fantastic city that we might not all know about. Cue the Beatles: We're about to get a little help from our friends.
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Image via Flickr
BKLYN Dry Goods is the brainchild of Jahn Hall and Kurt Uhlendorf, who launched their company to combat the rampant overpricing of vintage clothing in NYC. They ditched the tradition of a brick and mortar shop and decided instead to host monthly pop-up events throughout New York offering a collection of tightly curated menswear, found objects, and other unique pieces. When Hall wanted business cards for the company, he went straight to his Shopping Confidential recommendation: Richard Meneely, letterpress pro.—Yale Breslin
Making the rounds at various markets around NYC (Hester Street Market, Brooklyn Flea, etc), Richard Meneely has been taking his antique letterpress on the road every week, making business cards on the go for years. Using everything from balsa wood to recycled cereal boxes, he hand-makes every card for little more than you might pay some big-shot printer.
I came across Richard by accident, as I happened to be in the market for business cards. I was totally impressed by the romantic notion that he lugs this machine around all over the city. He's an interesting guy to chat with (even if you aren't in the market for cards) and while I've had cards made by him a few times now, I inevitably take a picture of the process as if I'd never seen him do it before. It's kind of amazing to watch. He's got these binders filled with fonts and random icons, flourishes, etc to customize your card.
What's probably most charming about the way Richard does business is that this past winter, he sent me two tickets to see a show at Carnegie Hall as a 'thank you' for my patronage. It wasn't like I was some high roller. It seemed like it was something he did for all his customers. People, much less businesses, don't operate like that any more. I've been trying to get him on Twitter (even offered him a tutorial)—anything to make it easier for me to find him when I need to.
· Letterpress Business Cards [Official Site]
· BKLYN Dry Goods [Official Site]