Announcing the first ever East Village Gift Guide

A guide to the best holiday gifts from East Village Merchants
The East Village Gift Guide presents 36 unique items found locally that make great gifts for this
holiday season. These items are all from independently owned businesses throughout the East
Village, a neighborhood on the Lower East Side of Manhattan.

This guide -­ the first of its kind -­ is the product of the East Village Community Coalition (EVCC),
an organization at work to recognize, sustain, and support the architectural and cultural
character of the East Village. For seven years, EVCC has been producing the “Get Local! Guide
to East Village Shops,” a printed directory of over four hundred shops in the East Village. The
East Village Gift Guide expands upon this “Get Local!” campaign by helping people shop locally
during the holidays. The gift guide invites East Villagers, New Yorkers and visitors from all over to
discover stores of the East Village and their one-­of-­a-­kind products, all of which distinguish East
Village shops from the rest of the city.

In addition to showcasing the unique items from East Village merchants, this guide is one of the
first initiatives aimed at increasing the collaboration between local businesses. Over the last
three months, EVCC has been working with small business owners to form a
neighborhood-­wide merchants association that will help promote and advocate for the small and
independent businesses in the East Village. Using funding from AvenueNYC, a program of the
NYC Department of Small Business Services, and the Manhattan Chamber of Commerce,
EVCC is working to develop a merchants association. A Steering Committee of local merchants
has given the association its official name, the East Village Independent Merchants Association
(EVIMA), and is planning the inaugural meeting for EVIMA at the end of January.

Copies of the East Village Gift Guide are available in both digital or print formats. Digital copies of
the guide are available at this link or on EVCC’s website. Printed copies are available at
participating stores (listed below), EVCC’s office (143 Avenue B) and the FUNKtional Art Fair, a
holiday fair located La Plaza Cultural Community garden at Avenue C and 9th Street. Visit one of
these locations to pick up your very own gift guide!

If you would like to know more about EVCC and EVIMA or help us spread word about the guide,
please visit this website, www.evccnyc.org, or send an email to info@evccnyc.org.

List of Participating Merchants:

1. Barbara Feinman Millinery
2. Dusty Buttons
3. rena REBORN
4. Random Accessories
5. Cloak & Dagger
6. Sailor Rose
7. The Wild Ivy
8. Marjory Warren Boutique
9. Fragance Shop
10. Enzs
11. Dejavu Boutique
12. Eileen Fisher
13. Gallery Vercon
14. CADET
15. RUDY VOLCANO
16. Russian & Turkish Baths
17. Yoga East
18. Shamburger’s Chinese Hawaiian Kenpo Academy
19. Parlor
20. Swing Organic Hair Salon
21. Ruff Club
22. Social Tees Animal Rescue
23. Pink Olive
24. Goat-­Milk Kidwear
25. Jane’s Exchange
26. Dinosaur Hill
27. Keshav Music Imports
28. Tinkersphere
29. Pageant Print Shop
30. A Repeat Performance
31. Anthony Aiden Opticians
32. Dorian Grey Gallery
33. Love Shine
34. Butter Lane Bakery
35. Physical GraffiTEA
36. Clayworks Pottery

The East Village Community Coalition works to recognize, support, and sustain the built and
cultural character of the East Village. This character includes a diverse population;; low-­rise,
human scale blocks and affordable buildings with historic and architectural significance;; a
multitude of community gardens;; indigenous stores and businesses;; and the neighborhood’s
history and ongoing tradition as a haven for those seeking freedom to express artistic, creative,
and social concerns.