Closing Day

Sadly, it's the last day of The Holiday Shops at Bryant Park. But you can keep in touch with all your favorite shops online. Check out their websites listed on the blog and the venue guide (hover over the name and click). Some shops have online stores and show where they'll be appearing in 2008.

Meanwhile, we'll be missing all the shops, like splash!organics (where one devoted customer visited during an awful rain storm to stock up on her yearly supply and extol the virtues of splash's soaps), lina's shop and her beautiful, delicate jewelry and Asian jackets, and Home Fields' 3-D replica stadiums, the perfect gift for a devoted sports fan's desk. And we can't wait to see Parable Ink, James Young, pip-squeak chapeau, Indonesia Beautiful, Metal Park, and all the rest again next holiday season. Happy New Year!

Indonesia is Beautiful

Do you think when tourists go to Bali they know there are 13,676 other islands in Indonesia? Hmm, doubtful. They probably also don't know there are 350 different languages on this archipelago republic, so it's not surprising that the creative culture is rich. And Indonesia Beautiful in The Holiday Shops at Bryant Park proves it. Each of their lovely scarves, batiks, and sachets, are one-of-a-kind items handmade by Indonesian artisans. And all of the profits go back to Indonesia Beautiful's cultural center in Woodside, Queens to help continue their arts programs, art education, and cultural activity.

Scarf prices run from $29 to $300 for those stunning collector pieces on the bottom.

Indonesia Beautiful, D21 on the venue guide