Shop Talk: Fishs Eddy, NYC

There's probably a good chance you've heard about Fishs Eddy.

Either you've stumbled upon this dish-ware wonderland while strolling the streets of New York, or you've binge purchased some of their specialty collections such as Todd Oldham & Charley Harper (guilty!)...ooooor you've been given something from the shop without even knowing it.

Fishs Eddy is your one stop for feel good, slightly quirky (might I add perfectly gift-able) home goods. Every inch is crammed with glasses, vintage china, tea towels simple staples and colorful graphic pieces. This place is particularly perfect if you dabble in the table top styling arts...they have all your basics and then some. In a word...be warned. It's a dangerous place to just pop into and browse. You will NOT leave empty handed.

We chat with the Fishs Eddy team to learn how this business stays so personable after 25 and why it's charm has us continuing to add to our already large collection. Spoiler alert....this solo brick and mortar is planing on opening more shops in a city near you...which has us giddy!

Shop: Fishs Eddy

Where: New York, NY

Fishs Eddy started off as a much smaller operation 25 years ago, but continues to produce edgy and playful products. Can you tell us a little about how things have changed and grown over the last few years and what key personality traits remain as the creative focus for the brand?

Well we still think that we’re a lot bigger than we actually are. We started by rescuing old restaurant-ware from barns upstate and the basements of the restaurant supply district in New York City. Eventually we began designing our own dishes and that’s when the fun really began! We try to stay true to ourselves and what we believe in – our cheeky tag lines, we have a lot of fun here.

Fishs Eddy | Store Profile | Dine X Design

What is your objective when it comes to retail and interior design of the store? How often do you switch things up to keep things looking fresh on the shelves?

It’s always changing! Seriously, Anitra, our visual merchandiser, is always running around making changes. We try to make all of our collections look at home – like when we got in our Sloshed glasses (they’re literally slanted), I knew the perfect cabinet for them – it was one that was always getting pushed around until it developed it’s own slant. After years of going to flea markets we almost have the perfect cabinet for everything! You should see the warehouse.

What is the creative process like to introduce new product to your inventory? Could you give us an idea of the creative steps taken from concept to on the shelf?

Oh they come from everywhere – things we see on the street, in our backyards, think up while riding the subway. Some of our most favorite patterns come from our annual design competition with Pratt Institute. We give them a theme, and everyone designs something that fits into it – sometimes very literally and sometimes not.

Fishs Eddy has a strong sense of collaboration on some of your products and have worked with some impressive talents such as Todd Oldham & Amy Sedaris - tell us a little about how those relationships come together, what the development process is like.

Todd Oldham’s an amazing designer that we’ve always admired. When we approached him and he said yes, it was one of the most exciting times in Fishs Eddy history! And then he actually introduced us to Amy Sedaris! When we work with artists we love to give them an empty canvas – especially because they’re so talented!

You've got quite a hefty vintage and sample items in your inventory - how are those items found and brought into the store?

We’ve been collecting for over 30 years! When we started collecting from the basements of the restaurant supply district – the dishes had already been sitting there for 50 years! They come from all over the place. A lot of the dishes are from the archives of various American dish ware factories that have closed down over the past 15 years.

What’s next!? Are there any new collaborations or plans with the shop we can look forward to?

Yes – stay tuned! We’re planning on expanding and opening more stores in other cities soon! We’ve also been designing collections for West Elm. The summer collection is already out and Fall will be here soon! Oh – and we’re very excited about our latest collaboration with Alan Cumming! While in Cabaret he would throw these after parties in his dressing room he would call Club Cumming – so we’re doing a barware collection around that!