The Local Stores We’re Supporting During the Coronavirus Outbreak

I absolutely love Big Bud Press: Its jumpsuits come in a rainbow of colors and go up to a size 6XL. Despite closing its Los Angeles store, it made a commitment not to lay off any employees or cut salaries, so there’s never been a better time to splurge on one of its pieces. If that wasn’t admirable enough, it’s also currently collecting donations to repurpose its production space to make face masks.

The one thing I’ve been dreaming about as I eat yet another bowl of cannellini beans is a Bernie’s burger — chased with a Martini and a grasshopper sundae. It’s asking people to donate to its employee fund or buy gift cards, but there’s also the option to buy some cool merch. It’s selling hoodies and hats, including a bucket hat, but I’m a fan of this hand-dyed polo. My plan is to get a large and wear it as groovy sloungewear.

I’m sure I’m not going to be the only Strategist team member to bring up Greenlight Bookstore here. [Editors’ note: She’s right. You’ll see.] It hosts the best events. You’re crammed in like sardines but no one cares because you’re having such intimate conversations while also looking out the big windows onto the leafy Fort Greene streets. One of my favorite essayists, Dinah Lenney, was scheduled for one for her upcoming book called Coffee. It’s part of Bloomsbury’s beautifully designed Object Lessons series — a collection dedicated to “the hidden lives of ordinary things.” Dinah is able to capture those hidden lives better than anyone I know — and I’m not just saying that because she taught me in the Bennington MFA program and I cried like a toddler when I had to leave her. The writer Phillip Lopate describes Lenney’s prose as “caffeinated, zany yet serene and habit-forming.” That sounds like exactly the kind of drug we need to get us through a quarantine.

I have a lot of favorite bookstores in the city, but now that I’ve lived in the Fort Greene, Clinton Hill, Bed-Stuy area for the last couple of years, I’ve been spending a whole lot of time at Greenlight Bookstore. It’s such a good bookstore. It’s well stocked, with a deeply knowledgeable and helpful (but never overbearing) staff. It’s, roomy but still cozy. And it allows dogs to wander around inside. My book club is moving to Zoom, and I’m ordering our next read — Things in Jars — from Greenlight.

When stocking up for quarantine I misjudged what really is essential. Luckily, my local liquor store, Bed-Vyne, is still doing delivery and pickup, and I think this bottle of tequila will be great to have for at-home happy hours.

I would also be happy to own this kumquat-colored top.

This is the time of year when I start to yearn for new jeans. So even though it’s hard to imagine anyone but my fiancé, my dog, and our pet bird seeing me anytime soon, I am pretty excited about this pair of white jeans with blue contrast stitching from the Los Angeles shop Rudy Jude, which makes everything with natural dyes.

Tuesday Bassen makes clothing in sizes up to 6X from dead-stock fabric in Los Angeles. She is also a fantastic illustrator whom I find incredibly inspiring. I picked up a pair of socks that say “women’s sports” on them at her Echo Park store a while back and to this day they are one of my favorite items of clothing.

As more than a few of my colleagues have mentioned, Greenlight is still fulfilling online orders. Disney War is an insider chronicle of the “back-stabbing, narcissism, and greed” during two decades of life at the Walt Disney Company? Sign me up.

Note: Disney War is currently on back order, but you can buy the e-book version from Greenlight here.

I’ve waited too long to read my first Anne Tyler. I know they say not to judge a book by it’s cover, but is it okay if you want to read it just because of its name?

Edwin Muir had the strange fortune of being at the center of some of the most traumatic and momentous events of the early 20th century. It feels like the right time to read about living through a historic moment.

Note: An Autobiography is currently on back order, but you can buy the e-book version from Greenlight here.

I was about to finally take a trip to the famed Red Hook vintage store Wooden Sleepers just as the city shut down. For months, I’d spotted it’s name among the marginalia of magazines I read, podcasts I listen to, and the Instagram accounts of men whose taste I admire, and I was so excited to get to play around in its collection of expertly curated dead stock and vintage Brooks Brothers, Woolrich, Carhartt, and more.

Once you try the raspberry granola from Raspberry Fields Farm — a Hudson Valley–based company — you’ll never be able to eat another brand again. My family always has at least one bag in our house.

Bank Square is a deeply sentimental place to me — I’ve been going there every week for years — so to show my support in a tough time like this, I’m buying its organic, fair-trade, and truly delicious coffee for my machine at home.

I’ve been admiring Beacon Candle Company for quite some time, and in particular, its carved rose candle. I think it might even make a really beautiful gift for someone in the future.

The Break is a wonderfully curated vintage store that sells incredible clothing, shoes, jewelry, and home goods. I’ve bought some of my most prized possessions there: my ornate, dainty blue wineglasses; my brown corduroy blazer; and my pair of white cowboy boots. Also, everyone who works there is so kind, helpful, and funny.

I’m always talking about this place because it truly is so special to me. Oo35mm is a tiny gem of a shop tucked away on Canal and Mott, jam packed with all kinds of K-beauty wonders. If you love beauty it’s a must. It has endless sheet masks, is up to date on all the latest skin-care innovations from Seoul, and most importantly, has kind and thoughtful staff members who are always willing to help you find products that work for your skin type. It’s offering gift cards as well as online orders, so please show this store some love!

Vine Wine in Williamsburg specializes in natural wines — a category that it breaks down into certified organic and certified biodynamic — and each bottle comes with hilarious-yet-informative handwritten tasting notes that makes browsing the shelves a fun and approachable experience. Plus, sometimes, if you’re lucky, the shop smells like freshly baked granola. And though I’m not sure the next time I’ll be able to be smacked in the face by the scent of cinnamon, I do still have the luxury of reading those handwritten notes and buying bottles online. Vine Wine is offering pickup only, so you’ve got to be in the neighborhood to buy, but I’m certainly going to be supporting as much as I can, starting with this bottle of Kermit Lynch–imported Beaujolais.

Kids are tough when there’s not a worldwide pandemic, but they’re especially tough right now, when we’re all cooped up at home and childcare is a fond and still-expensive memory. No matter how stressful these past two weeks have been, though, one guaranteed moment of joy each day (along with the unsolicited running hugs and realizing it’s almost nap time) is getting our daughter dressed in the morning. She just looks so cute, especially when she’s in an outfit we haven’t seen her in before, and especially when that outfit is an adorably stylish pick from The Getalong — a Nashville-based collective of women-owned brands that our friend co-founded early last year. As someone who has to remind himself to be budget-conscious before going into Carters, I can’t shop there as often as I want to, but I’m always grateful for an excuse. Scout Baby (one of the fourteen vendors at the Getalong) finds clothes that are softer and much more stylish than anything I’ve ever owned. And they’re responsibly made, which is not something I can say about the $8 jeans we’ve found for her at big-box stores.

When the tornadoes hit Tennessee in early March, the guys behind this brand were handing out blankets to anyone in Nashville who needed them.

Mekelburg’s is one of my favorite bars in Brooklyn, but it’s so much more than a bar. It’s also a specialty store with an unparalleled beer selection, interesting snacks, excellent chocolate bars, and the best babka I’ve had (which can be shipped anywhere).

Nearly all of my jewelry is from In God We Trust — especially its semi-annual sample sales — but it have a constantly evolving selection of clothing you can’t seem to find anywhere else (and, also, a solid stock of Levi’s). I have several of its custom necklaces, and I always want more.

Keeping in line with the home décor theme, I’m also sourcing art for my apartment. It was really important for me to center black artists and art in my home and Blk Mkt Vintage has been an incredible resource to do that. Its stock tends to rotate quickly (it’s very popular) but right now I have my eye on this vintage NAACP poster that recently went on sale. The colors are good, and the NAACP as an organization has such a rich history. I also interned for the NAACP’s legislative branch in high school, so I feel connected to the piece.

I live a two-minute walk from the Tribeca Maman, a mini-chain in NYC (with locations in Montreal and Toronto too) known for casual French fare and Oprah-approved nutty chocolate chip cookies. It’s a great spot for brunch — I love the quiche and breakfast sandwiches — but the cookies are what I’m missing most during quarantine. They have a soft and gooey inside and a just-crisp-enough exterior — not quite as intimidating in size as Levain cookies but just as rich and delicious. I’ll buy one for an afternoon pick-me-up or buy a box to bring to a dinner party. Deliveries are currently on hold due to coronavirus but you can preorder now to have something to look forward to when things are back to normal.

When I don’t feel like leaving Brooklyn to browse John Derian, I get my beautiful-things fix at Catbird’s Williamsburg store. While the company may be better known for its personal jewelry, its co-creative directors (one of whom, Leigh Plessner, is also a Strategist contributor) have built up a selection of décor and other items that may be smaller than Derian’s, but rivals his inventory in terms of sheer delight. While Catbird has currently paused all of its operations — including shipping — the business is still taking orders that it says will ship “as soon as New York State lifts its restrictions.” Among my most favorite products are its house line of candles, which come in several scents and seem to last longer than their pricier competitors. (This is not a scientific fact, but from personal experience, my Catbird candles seem to burn slower than like-size ones from Diptyque.) I’ve been burning Summer in Italy on and off since getting it in December, though that “on” time has definitely increased lately for obvious reasons.