Feild Trip Friday: Pearl River Mart, Soho

This place was one of my favorite new discoveries in New York: Pearl River Mart. (Many thanks to Nicole for the suggestion! This and many other great New York suggestions!) This place is also located in Soho, at 477 Broadway, really close to Purl Soho.  (If you are going to New York, Purl has this really cute map of Soho featuring some of the highlights close by.)

UPDATE: Pearl River Mart has moved to a new location! Check out their Facebook page for info and address.

This store was so much fun! Full of tons of fabulous imports from China.

Awesome collection of funky, nylon shopping bags.  My favorite was this kitschy “First Lady of Fabulous” with Michelle Obama on a swing next to a cutesy deer with the White House floating away on a parachute. You can order a First Lady of Fabulous bag for yourself at the Pearl River website. By the way – the Pearl River website is amazing.  It has all their amazing stuff at great prices, is really well organized, and just may test your will-power. I’m excited about it because I loved all the paper lanterns they carried, but worried about getting them home without getting them ruined.  Now I’ll just order online when I want some!

Another favorite thing for me was their ginormous collection of rice bowls.  Why do I love these so much? Maybe it’s just their endearing, petiteness.  The children’s collection was adorable.  I loved this little froggy guy.

Their fabric collection: lots of incredible Chinese silks.  Also (top left-hand) rolls of great oil cloth prints. I was sorely tempted, until I remembered I had only brought one carry-on size suitcase.

But, I didn’t walk away totally empty-handed. Too many fun, cheap things, like fans for my girls, or rubber, squirting puffer fish for my boys.  And I succumbed to some of those pretty rice bowls.

I also brought home this pretty stack of Chiyogami paper. A big, fat stack for only $3.95. I love the prints. I wish some of them were fabric. Don’t they look like quilt squares?

And these are the rice bowls I bought. That turquoise lotus? Couldn’t resist.  Also, the one with the tomato! The other’s have a purpose as well.  I’ll give you a hint:

See? There had to be some sewing tie-in.

Monday I’ll show you how I made this cute little pincushion.

UPDATE: the Pearl River Mart store is temporarily closed, but still has an online presence.

Happy weekend!