STORY Presents: Home for the Holidays

STORY, the ever-changing Chelsea retail concept presents HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS, open today through December 31st. With the support of American Express, the founding partner of Small Business Saturday and supporter of the nationwide Shop Small movement, STORY designs a holiday shopping experience to both engage and inspire; its 2000-square foot home celebrating the stories of small businesses across the country. STORY brings the ease of shopping online offline, creating a dynamic, living gift guide that proves when you Shop Small®, you find the perfect gift for everyone on your list.

To transform its holiday STORY into a true home, STORY turns to SoHo based interior designer Jason D. Bell who envisions the Chelsea storefront as a modern, urban-inspired dwelling. Juxtaposing industrial materials with metallic accents, Jason creates a warm and easy-to-shop environment with something for everyone - from a handsome bar stocked with must-haves for him to a dining room filled with tasteful picks for the at-home chef and playful presents for the creative kiddo. It’s an inviting antidote to holiday shopping as usual, where you can just as easily pop in to pick up a present on the way to the party or belly up to the bar and stay awhile.

The full STORY comes together through a well-edited merchandise assortment that builds on a commitment to celebrating small businesses and supporting local makers. Since its opening in December 2011, STORY has worked with 568 small businesses and hosts its signature Pitch Night events, which invite the maker community in to pitch their products to be sold at STORY and be exposed to other retail and media partners. Home for the Holidays will feature more than 150 independent brands - ranging from small-batch leather accessories maker, TM1985 to gourmet edibles from Spoon NYC - with signage highlighting the unique points of many of the businesses.

As a digital complement to its in-store storytelling, STORY collaborator Perch Interactive leverages its technologies and expertise for its first ever vertical, interactive, display. It’s offline engagement, when visitors pick up a product from Quirky, Marshall Headphones or Juniper Ridge and experience the story behind each small business.

To echo the in-store experience and support the nationwide movement to Shop Small, STORY will celebrate and participate in Small Business Saturday by hosting a number of events aimed at bringing in the local community to meet and mingle with the stories of small businesses across the country - including its own. It’s a STORY by one small business for others, told now because the holidays are a time to invite friends into your home, support your neighbors, and celebrate their unique gifts.

EVENT HIGHLIGHTS:

Saturday NOV. 30: Small Business Saturday

To kick off holiday shopping season and celebrate Small Business Saturday, STORY is throwing a good, old-fashioned neighborhood block party. Get up early to shop small from the over 200 independent brands currently featured in-story. A line-up of local food favorites will attend to fueling needs - including city favorite MILK grilled cheese truck and Sweet Loren’s founder, Loren Brill who will be baking her famous cookies on-site. Inside STORY will hosts a few of its favorite makers, including Brooklyn jewelry designer Beth Macri who will be personalizing her “Hidden Messages.” This Saturday was meant for spending at Home for the Holidays.

Katz’s Deli Party and Book Signing

In celebration of those eight crazy nights, the authors of Katz’s newly released book, Autobiography of a Delicatessen, are breaking into the recipe vault and dishing the secrets behind the deli’s renowned latkes. Learn how to put a special spin on your potato pancakes while sampling holiday favorites.

Here’s to Brooklyn

Raise a glass and learn to craft your drink of choice with two of Brooklyn’s best (over 21) beverage makers. For the beer aficionado, the artisan distillers behind Bitter And Esters will be teaching a how to homebrew, spilling the secrets to making keg-quality IPA in your closet. Across the store, cocktail connoisseurs will be able to learn bartending basics from the mixologists behind Hella Bitter, a line of craft bitters. Because make your own is the new BYOB.

Holiday Crafter-Noon with Children’s Museum of the Arts

Spend the afternoon at STORY and make something merry. The Children’s Museum of the Arts will be on hand to help little ones with holiday decorating, preparing a seasonal project for all ages.

Merchandise Highlights + Exclusive:

Beth Macri: Jewelry

Brooklyn-based designer Beth Macri, takes an understated approach to statement jewelry, crafting unique “Hidden Message” necklaces that can be personalized to reveal an intimate message to its wearer.

Spoon NYC: Gourmet Treats

Recreate one of NYC’s best brunches at home with gourmet edibles from this family owned café started by Melissa Chmelar - from fresh berry jams to perfect pancake mixes.

Verloop NYC: Knits for Her

Cozy up to handcrafted knitwear from Verloop, a contemporary knitwear studio known for modern take on classic textile craft that include touchscreen-friendly colorblocked gloves made of non-conductive yarn.

Image Republic: Home Decor

Exclusive to STORY, this Parisian studio channels your favorite TV show - Sex and the City to True Blood - in a range of graphic prints that are a perfect gift for the serial DVR-er in your life.

Wurkin Stiffs: Style for Him

Founded by Jon Boos, this Florida-based brand’s punched up take on practical will upgrade his day in day out essentials - from the revolutionary magnetic collar stays that earned it a place on ABC’s “Shark Tank” to its new RIFD-blocking money clips.

Soma: Online Goes Offline

Sustainable and smart-looking, Soma's innovative water filters will be available for the first time offline at STORY. The San Francisco based start-up, a favorite on kickstarter, is quickly refining the H20 filtration formula with its blend of functional design , and eco-conscious methods.

LOCATION + DETAILS

ABOUT STORY:

STORY is rewriting the rule by integrating the conventions of retail and media in its 2000-square foot space in Manhattan’s burgeoning 10th Ave. retail corridor. Editorial and ever-changing, STORY's concept shop takes the point of view of a magazine, changes like a gallery, and sells things like a store. Every four to eight weeks, “STORY” changes out all merchandise and interior design to reinvent the store around a different plot line. STORY follows the successful soft launch of Rachel Shechtman’s widely lauded beta exhibit “A Startup Store” in December 2011 and since opening has presented eleven retail experiences, highlighted by Project Pop Up NYC, part of Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s Fashion 2020 initiative, Making Things, a do-it-yourself experience presented with GE Garages, and Made in America, a timely exploration of American manufacturing. On behalf of STORY and its innovative model, Shechtman has been included in the June 2012 issue of “Fast Company’s 100 Most Creative People in Business,” Fortune Magazine's 40 Under 40 list for 2013 and was a featured speaker at TED X Hollywood.