The Merchant

Reflections on a rainy (but busy!) Small Business Saturday. We all talk about the importance of shopping at small business. But why really? Here are 11 reasons. 1. Small is quality. Curating awesomeness is a small retailer’s superpower. Small shops can’t phone it in and just buy stuff off of a catalogue. They investigate, sample, test, reject, re-examine, collaborate...

I have some exciting news I wanted you to be the first to know about. We’re re-opening The Meadow in New York City! After 10 years in the West Village of New York City, we had to close our doors during the pandemic. But we lucked into an insanely cool new space in on Mulberry Street between Spring and Prince—the neighborhood of Nolita (North of Little Italy). Which brings me to you. You are part of us. Our shelves are your shelves. Our shop is your shop.

Behind every spice is a story. Within every story is a meaning. Locked up in every meaning is a sliver of intimacy between you and the surrounding world.  When we understand spice this way, as connection, we cook food more lovingly, share more deeply, and enjoy flavor more lustily...

Travel to Japan with me! I've wanted to organize an adventure with you for years now, and we're finally making it happen. Of all the places I’ve been over the years, Japan is at the top of the list of places I’d love to explore with lovers of The Meadow. How could the timing be better, since we've been bottled up for going a year now. This trip is going to be insane, and I hope you will seriously consider coming. Let's travel together! --Mark

The bonds that make up salt are a wonder. Free floating in the great oceans, untold trillions of ions, each charged with its own individual energy. The extra electron in every anion is a burning invitation to some oppositely charged cation to come hither, yet drifting around out there in the watery vastness, each is oblivious to the invitation of the other...

Life now is inconceivable without that part of my heart still tied to the warm floor of the coop where I sat administering medicine to 50 cuddly and highly conversational Barbary ducks.... This pandemic-enforced distancing from the world around has helped us to feel more keenly how connected we are to people and place. 

Dear You, “The Meadow” lettering above is made with 24k lemon and orange gold leaf. The flowers are copper. We scoured Amish country to reclaim old barn timbers of hemlock and yellow pine cut 200 years ago from a primeval forest. I toiled for four months to reveal, repair, and enhance the character of a tiny shop in a landmark building...

Together we raised $1,092.01 to aid in the struggle for criminal justice reform and racial justice!  Together we are doing our small part. By sharing proceeds with the Equal Justice Initiative, we are contributing our voices and our dollars to the task of forging a better society.

March 15 we closed our doors to shelter in place and respect social distancing recommendations, and in so doing fourteen years of uninterrupted service in our little shops came to an abrupt halt.