With just a few days left before the holidays begin, New Yorkers may find themselves scrambling to get the perfect gift for their loved ones. With no time to spare, heading to the right shop is everything—that’s why we’ve put together our own list of NYC small businesses to shop from.
But now, especially during the holidays, we get by with a little help from our friends to find the best of the best. We teamed up with Meta’s Nicola Mendelsohn, the VP for its Global Business Group, to pinpoint five great small businesses that have found big followings on Facebook and Instagram where you’ll find great gifts this season.
Mendelsohn’s job is literally to support small businesses here in NYC by giving them the tools and training they need to grow online. She also comes from a family of small business owners and grew up seeing what it takes to run one at close range, she says. Her grandparents ran a haberdashery business and her parents ran a catering firm. Her history and her career make her a great person to talk to about what shops are worth heading to this month.
“The heart of New York is grit and resilience,” she tells us. “New York is truly a city of dreams and a city of immigrants. It embodies the American dream, which is reflected in the city’s creative, dynamic and innovative small businesses. People come from all over the world to shop here and set up shop here—and to find the kind of unique point of view that is only possible in a city where so many cultures and creative minds collide. I know I did. And so many of the businesses I’ve met are connected so deeply to their origin story in this city.”
“For example, one of the first people I met was Teri Johnson, the owner of Harlem Candle, up at lunch with a bunch of other small businesses from the neighborhood,” she says. “Growing up in the U.K., I was a theater kid—and a literature fanatic—so the mystique of the Apollo and legends of the Harlem Renaissance and the imagery of people like Langston Hughes and the Dance Theater of Harlem were foundational to how I pictured New York. So, when I came across Harlem Candle, which pays homage to that legacy with scents based on legends Langston Hughes and Josephine Baker, I really felt like this summed up New York’s small business community: one-of-a-kind and steeped in neighborhood pride.”
So many of the businesses she works with have grown, even through the pandemic on Instagram and Facebook. From Economy Candy to Brooklyn Tea, they were able to showcase their new products and connect with their customers. These days, it’s become a common story but in the grand scheme of things, it’s a novel idea.
“New York’s vibrant communities, its strong business economy, and diverse talent base—along with access to arts, culture, media and commerce—are what first attracted us to the city in 2007,” she says. “Of course, small businesses are an important part of that, and we want to do our part to make sure that they remain part of the essential fabric of the city for years to come.”
Below, find her top five picks for NYC holiday shopping.
