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Brian Lehrer: It's the Brian Lehrer Show on WNYC. Good morning again, everyone. Coming up at 11:30, our final Ask The Mayor segment with Mayor Bill de Blasio. My questions and yours on being mayor during the pandemic. It'll be a specific topic call-in again for Mayor de Blasio. We've done a number of these over his final weeks looking at the eight years, in this case, mostly the two years, but with a little surprise at the beginning of that segment. We'll invite your calls only on being mayor during the pandemic for the final Ask The Mayor coming up at 11:30.

Right now, it's time for our last Shop Listener call-in before Christmas and since there's just a little over a week left until Christmas day, we're now going to spotlight physical locations. Brick and mortar shops which means, you can skip a few links in the mail order or order on an app supply chain that could possibly keep those gifts from arriving in time. If you run a small business with a physical location, anywhere in our listening area, which is really anywhere you are while you're listening to this program, you can be in South Africa. You can be anywhere.

You are now invited to call in and tell us about your store and some holiday gifts that you sell. 212-433-WNYC 212-433-9692. If you have already been on in a previous week of Shop Listener, let other people have the lines, but anyone else who has a brick and mortar store and is selling holiday gifts and you have them in stock 212-433-WNYC. Now, for those of you who haven't heard any of this year's Shop Listener segment so far, what are we talking about? Well, it's kind of a spinoff of the concept of shop local, but with a little public radio spin because we know that folks in our listening community, some of you run businesses, and wouldn't it be nice the rest of you to pass along those holiday dollars to a fellow listener's business.

For a small business these days we know it's hard out there competing with eCommerce conglomerates like the A-word and other big-box retailers that are brick and mortar, not to mention the supply chain issues and other trappings of the pandemic economy. For you, we hope Shop Listener gives a little extra boost to those small businesses that Brian Lehrer Show listeners own. If you're on the buying side of the holiday shopping equation maybe you feel a little better knowing that you're giving your money not to a faceless corporation, but someone who is a fellow listener whose voice you might have heard on our air or at least someone who shares in the public radio values of this listening community if we can put it that way.

I'll tell you as the calls are coming in that for the shoppers among you, we have a feature on our website that is the Shop Listener gift guide, the 2021 Shop Listener gift guide. You can all go to that to browse a little bit before you decide what to buy at wnyc.org/shoplistener. We even have a map as part of that feature that you can use to see where some of the businesses are physically located. Others are seller gifts online and you can decide with that person if there's enough time for that purchase still. The calling right now because we're just days away from Christmas, days away from Kwanzaa and this is the last call-in that we're going to do it.

Sorry, you missed Hanukkah, but we started early this year in part so we could get in two Shop Listener call-ins within Hanukkah, as early as Hanukkah was this year starting at the end of Thanksgiving weekend. We did those and now with a few days left before Christmas and Kwanzaa, the last Shop Listener call-ins here is for those of you with brick and mortar stores so people can run out and grab stuff. How about Craig in Brooklyn to start out? Hi, Craig. You're on WNYC. Craig are you there?

Craig: Yes. Hi, Brian. Good morning.

Brian: Hi, there. Good morning. What you got for holiday gifts? What's your place?

Craig: Brian, I'm the owner of the Williamsburg School of Music on Bedford Avenue in Brooklyn. It's a local independently owned family business and we teach all ages, all skill levels, and all styles on just about every instrument in private and group lessons. We are offering a holiday special three-pack from now until the end of the year. You can get three half-hour lessons on any instrument for $150. It comes with a t-shirt and a nice certificate and a gift bag and you can pick one up at the school or you can visit us at williamsburgschoolofmusic.net.

Brian: Very nice. Are all the lessons in person or can people in this day and age do virtual lessons, Zoom lessons, things like that?

Craig: That's a great question. We offer both and you can change it last minute if you would prefer to do a virtual lesson. If you wake up and you're not feeling well and you want to do it virtually instead, it's not a problem.

Brian: Craig, thank you very much. Williamsburg's School of Music. Jordan in Richfield Connecticut. You're on WNYC. Hi, Jordan.

Jordan: Hi, Brian. Thanks for having me on. I own a bakery. We have a bakery in Ridgefield, Connecticut and Westport, Connecticut called THE CAKE BOX. We specialize in cakes, cupcakes, cookies, coffee. We also have party wear and we're a nut-free bakery and we offer gluten-free and vegan options as well.

Brian: Very nice. The CAKE BOX in Richfield, Connecticut. Kay in Harlem. You're on WNYC. Hi, Kay.

Kay: Hi, I'm calling in to shout out, SoHarlem, which is an amazing cultural industries incubator, in addition to having an incredible array of goods made by our designers and our artisans ranging from women's clothing, men's clothing. A wide assortment of handbags, incredible streetwear made by our young designers, some of whom have won awards at Harlem Fashion Week and other competitions in the city.

Also, I wanted to shout out the workforce development programs at SoHarlem, that provide training for our neighbors who are underemployed or unemployed. I want people to know that everything and anything that they buy at SoHarlem through next Thursday was actually made by somebody who works in our studio or who uses our studio as a creative entrepreneur and that we're open for business and we practice very strict COVID protocol.

Brian: That's great. Say the name of it one more time and the location.

Kay: It's also a beautiful space in the Mink Building in the Manhattanville Factory District, where SoHarlem has been based for almost 11 years now. Come one, come all we're there from 11:00 to 4:00.

Brian: SoHarlem SEW. SoHarlem. Here's something old school. Marjorie in Red Bank. You're on WNYC. Hi, Marjorie.

Marjorie: Hi Brian. Nice to hear you on my telephone.

Brian: What you got? Nice to hear you in my headphones.

Marjorie: Oh, okay good. I have a knife sharpening business in Chelsea market. I'm there every Saturday as I have been since the mid-90s. Was gone for a little while because of COVID, but I'm back and I have gift certificates. As I said, I'm there every Saturday noon to 5:30. Sharpen scissors, garden tools, serrated knives, regular knives.

Brian: Do you find that people don't get these things sharpened as much as they used to like they just throw them out in our disposable society and buy new ones?

Marjorie: It's true but I do have a lot of customers that value their knives and they buy really good quality ones and I sharpen them by hand. That's the other thing. People with really good knives bring them to me I also sharpen all kinds of knives. My prices are very reasonable. They range from $4 for a little knife up to $8 or $9 for a big one.

Brian: That's great. Marjorie's knife sharpening business in Chelsea Market. Dana in Manhattan. You're at WNYC. Hi, Dana.

Dana: Hi, Brian. Thanks for taking my call. It's so nice to talk to you.

Brian: And you. What you got? Go ahead.

Dana: I'm physically in Manhattan right now, but my business is in Brooklyn in Williamsburg. We just celebrated 22 years in Williamsburg. Our store is called Shoe Market NYC. We have a really wonderful curated selection of shoes for men and women, as well as accessories like hats and scarves and bags and amazing socks. We also have gift certificates, if you don't know what somebody wants they can pick it out for themselves and then I'm sure they'll find something they love.

Brian: Are there certain kinds of shoes that have been selling during the pandemic particularly?

Dana: Last year when everyone was really sheltering at home, we were selling a lot of slippers.

Brian: That makes sense.

Dana: Willy kind of comfy shoes. Now, there's a lot of people that are starting to venture out, they're going to weddings that have been postponed, and parties. We're actually selling a lot of dressier styles.

Brian: Dana, thank you very much at Shoe Market NYC. We'll go next to Sara in Terrytown. Sara, you're on WNYC. Hi, there. Happy holidays.

Sara: Hi Brian. Thank you so much for taking my call.

Brian: What you got?

Sara: My store is called The Swan’s House. We sell a really eclectic mix of vintage, home decor, and furniture as well as really fun ornaments. We have a Dr. Fauci ornament, Prince, Madonna, Cher, all kinds of pastries and hamburgers and hot dogs, you name it. It's a really fun, unique store with vintage items as well.

Brian: Can I ask, what kind of expression does Dr. Fauci have on his face on that ornament?

Sara: A pretty somber expression. Yes. He has his lab coat on with a little name badge and he looks very true to life. It's a good conversation piece. We even have mask ornaments, sparkly mask ornaments as if we needed more reminders about COVID.

Brian: What are people buying? What's really selling?

Sara: We got a lot of the Fauci because we had him last year and we sold a huge amount and I got a lot of stick because we sold out and people were really disappointed. I got more this year, but we have Ruth Bader Ginsburg ornaments which are very popular, black and white cookies, I feel like there's a lot of things that have an emotional connection to people. They'll spot the ranch dressing ornament and immediately think of, "Ah, Uncle Joe loves ranch dressing?"

Brian: So cute. The Swan House in Terrytown. Where in Terrytown?

Sara: The Swan's House.

Brian: The Swan's.

Sara: It's on North Broadway. 37 North Broadway, yes. My last name is Swan. That's where the name originates from, The Swan's House.

Brian: One N or two?

Sara: Just the one. We have an online presence as well, but the brick-and-mortar store will be open every day until Christmas Eve.

Brian: Sara, thank you very much. Dan, on City Island, you're on WNYC. Hi, Dan?

Dan: Hi, how are you?

Brian: Good. How are you? What you got?

Dan: Oh, I'm good. I'm sorry. My name is Dan Treiber. My wife Reina Brill and I, we run 239 Play, which is the brick and mortar home of dAN's Parents' House on City Island Avenue. We do wax packs and trading cards and star wars and transformers. Basically, anything from 1890 to 1990. Specialize in things that you can play with. For the holidays, we did these mystery boxes, which are 1970s popcorn boxes that are filled with patches, pins, stickers, or anything else in the store that people can play with.

Brian: Did you say it's on City Island?

Dan: It's dAN's Parents' House. We did the Brooklyn flee for 13 years, but we opened up a brick and mortar store that-- we're on 239 City Island Avenue. It's in an 1860s building that we rescued from being knocked down. Essentially, we salvaged the building, and then we opened up our storefront. We've been there for just over five years.

Brian: That's why it's 239 Play because it's 239 City Island Avenue.

Dan: That is correct. It's 239 Play. A quick backstory. We started the business because I bought my childhood home, started selling stuff out of the attic as a joke. It was the most successful thing we've ever done. That was 13 years and change ago. This building on City Island Avenue, we wanted to rescue. We didn't want it knocked down because it's one of our favorite buildings on the avenue. We bought it, opened up our store, and here we are.

Brian: For people who have never made the trip, it's a great little piece of tourism within New York City to drive up if you have a car or there are some bus lines that go there, at least one bus line that goes there.

Dan: The Bx29 bus, that's correct.

Brian: Yes. To go on to City Island, it's like you're in another world, but you're within New York City. There are great seafood restaurants there along the water. You want to do 15 seconds more of just the City Island pitch for people who've never made the trip?

Dan: Yes. City Island's in the Northern Eastern tip of the Bronx. It's three blocks wide by a mile and a half long. Essentially, if you stand on your doorstep pretty much anywhere on City Island, you'll see water at the end. Come visit. We're easy to find. We're right on the main dragon. Just dAN's Parents' House on Instagram is the way to find photos of a lot of what we do so you can see it as a little more tactile. Thank you so much for having us. We appreciate it.

Brian: Thank you so much for your call. Allison in Mattituck, you're on WNYC our Shop Listener segment. Hi, Allison?

Allison: Hi, Brian. I am a long-time listener. Thanks for taking my call.

Brian: Whoops. Did we lose you, Allison?

Allison: Hi, I'm here. Can you hear me?

Brian: I'm sorry. Yes, I lost you for just a second. Were you starting to talk about prepared food and pastry shop?

Allison: I am. I'm just a long-time listener. Thanks for taking my call. We are a prepared food and bakery. Before COVID, my husband didn't work with me, but once COVID hit, he lost his job. He came to work with me in the shop and we stayed open during the pandemic and we did curbside service out on the North Fork of Long Island in Mattituck. Our store is called Ali Katz Kitchen. We do a lot of baked goods, a lot of soups, and chilies, and things to go, but we also sell local farmers' products and we make products for the farmers to sell at the farmer's markets. Then in the front, we have a lot of small artists who do ceramics, and pottery, and tea towels, and just different gifts for people to buy.

Brian: What are people buying this year?

Allison: A lot of cookies as always, but then we do ornaments, we do holiday cards, and a lot of the pottery, which is great because during the pandemic, we couldn't order from our small vendors because we weren't selling because no one was coming into the shop. Now, people are back buying all that kind of stuff and we sell Long Island roasted coffee and we sell our own hot cocoa mix. It's a great little gift like a handmade pottery mug and one of those, a bag of coffee beans, or a jar of hot cocoa mix to go with the mug. It's a nice little gift. People are doing that. Cookies are the best seller though I got to say during the holidays so we're baking a lot.

Brian: Which means, I guess you really want to be open a lot of hours on December 24th. Those cookies are ready for Christmas, right?

Allison: Yes, exactly.

Brian: Name of the store again in Mattituck is?

Allison: It's called Ali Katz Kitchen. It's on Middle Road in Mattituck.

Brian: Thank you very much. Happy holidays. Anjali in East Harlem, you're on WNYC. Hi, Anjali.

Anjali: Hi. How are you? So nice to be on air with you.

Brian: Glad you're on. What you got?

Anjali: I've recently rebranded my company to Anjali's Cup and I have a few offerings. My signature product is Resilience Turmeric Elixir, which is a sustainably sourced minimally processed turmeric drink mix. It's used at Joe Coffee Company to make their delicious turmeric lattes. They can be used at home for making many comforting drinks. I make a chai masala which is a spice blend that you can add to your cup of tea to make a beautiful cup of masala chai. That's made with another local company Burlap & Barrel Spices. I have a collaborative hot sauce made with another local company, Cantina Royale and that features my Turmeric Elixir and all of those things make great gifts.

I do mostly sell online at anjaliscup.com, but I will be selling tonight at Harlem Night Market at La Marqueta. This weekend, I'll be at Third Market in Brooklyn, at 190 Court Street and that's from 11:00 to 6:00 both days.

Brian: Very nice. Anjali, thank you very much. Good luck with it and happy holidays. That concludes our Shop Listeners Series for this year. Listeners who have gifts to sell, who are Brian Lehrer Show listeners, thank you for calling up with so many cool items and experiences that you have. Other Brian Lehrer Show listeners, it's up to you, of course, but consider buying from your fellow listeners who've called in or listed on our website for Shop Listener. I'll tell you one more time how to do that. If you have a business and you still want to post on our website, you can go to wnyc.org Shop Listener signup, wnyc.org/shoplistenersignup.

If you want to go online and browse what our listeners are posting for online orders or the brick and mortar stores, go to wnyc.org/shoplistener2021, wnyc.org/shoplistener 2021.

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