Deck the Halls
A festive marketplace by Meghan Folsom and Terrific Mag
Having launched their delightfully titled online magazine, Terrific nearly a year ago, Rachel Kichler and Blair Pfander seem to have mastered a winning formula, supplementing solidly smart content highlighting local and international music, art and fashion talent with parties.
This summer a stellar roster of independent local-NYC designers—mostly pulled from Terrific’s virtual pages—gathered at Union Pool in Williamsburg, Brooklyn for their inaugural marketplace, “Pool Supplies,” kicking back with margaritas and a taco truck in the spirit of supporting small artisanal businesses.
As the holidays gain steam the Terrific girls are back, and in partnership with fashion editor-turned-consultant Meghan Folsom are throwing “Deck the Halls,” 12 days of shopping beginning 10 December 2011 with another roll-out of apparel, accessories and jewelry designers in an old school—a venue officially called The Old School—in Nolita. Applying an editorial eye to the selection of goods as well as to the charmingly kitschy setting, Folsom, Pfander and Kichler were primarily motivated by the seasonal spirit of giving. Not only does Deck the Halls offer a piece of the extremely pricey Nolita real estate pie to these mostly smaller-scale designers, the market ventures to take the stress out of December shopping.
“Holiday shopping is hell,” says Folsom,” but here, you can drink wine, hear music and chill out and buy gifts from some of the most talented people in New York City.” Plus, adds Pfander, “because designers are customizing each of their spaces, walking through the market will feel a little bit like being inside a magical, indie mall—just with lots of cool gear instead of Annie’s Pretzels. Oh, and cookies. Lots of cookies.”
Among the designers who will be peddling their wares over the 12-day stint will be Mociun, Baggu, Outlier, Shabd, AANDD, DLC Brooklyn and several others. “Terrific focuses primarily on up-and-coming, New York-based designers, ranging from the bigger guys like Timo Weiland to relative newbies like Beatrixe,” says Kichler. She also gives credit to the events they’ve held in sustaining their word-of-mouth model to uncovering the best talent. “The best part, we’ve found, is that because it’s such a tight-knit community, a lot of introductions seem to happen very organically—lots of friends of friends.”
We spoke with one of the event’s headliners, Caitlin Mociun, who told us that Deck the Halls will serve as a “mini-debut” of her forthcoming first boutique. “I am in the works of opening my own store,” she reveals. “It will showcase my textile and jewelry designs as well as the work of other jewelry, accessory and home product designers whose work I love. Being in the NYC design world for six years with my own line I have gotten an amazing response from other designers wanting to be part of my new endeavor. I was eager to get the ball rolling.” As a gift celebrating her store sneak preview, she’ll be sending Mociun purchases home in a free Mociun Baggu bag.
“Deck the Halls” starts 10 December 2011 at The Old School. Check out their Deck the Halls Tumblr for more of what will be up for sale.
