Getting seriously ready to tackle your holiday shopping?
Here are nine Harlem spots where you're sure to find loads of irresistible gifts—and they're all in the neighborhood.
From south to north:
1. Malcolm Shabazz Harlem Market
52 W 116th St between Fifth and Lenox Aves
Lined with vendors selling goods from all across sub-Saharan Africa, this lively open-air market on 116th Street is the perfect destination for gifts like shea butter, beaded jewelry, and colorful Senegalese baskets.
2. Silvana
300 W 116th St between Frederick Douglass Blvd and Manhattan Ave
Silvana's bohemian cafe on 116th Street doubles as a shop with gifts from places near and far. Think colorful necklaces from Senegal next to saguaro cactus soaps—plus what is probably the neighborhood's best selection of notecards.
3. Plant Corner
183 Malcolm X Blvd between W 119th and W 120th Sts
This exotic plant shop located in a Harlem brownstone has a lot more than greenery on its shelves: Look for hand poured candles, jewelry, and home accessories including plant-themed pillows and vases.
4. NiLu
191 Lenox between W 119th and W 120th Sts
This treasure-filled gift store offers a little bit of everything—from stylish coffee table books to luxury candles—with a strong focus on Black makers. Here's where to get that "365 Days of Black History" calendar.
2217 Frederick Douglass Blvd between W 119th and W 120th Sts
Grab a graphic Harlem-themed tee or two—in a range of colors, styles and sizes—at this friendly neighborhood shop that's been around since 1998.
515 Malcolm X Blvd and W 135th St
This light-filled shop at the Schomburg Center is the idyllic place to find books and gifts related to the Black experience, from Radical Dreams' clever lapel pins depicting modern-day icons like Michelle Obama to reproductions of "The Negro Motorist Green-Book," a mid-century guide for African-Americans traveling through the segregated United States.
2363 Adam Clayton Powell Jr Blvd between W 138th and W 139th Sts
Resembling an elegant Strivers' Row parlor, this small chocolate shop specializes in color-splashed truffles with evocative names like First Nite on Lenox (filled with smoked peach jam caramel) and chocolate bars molded to resemble Harlem brownstones—one of Oprah's Favorite Things in 2020.
8. The Oma Shop
1707 Amsterdam Ave between W 144th and W 145th Sts
Grab a latte at this cool little coffee-shop-meets-boutique while you check out the eye-catching wares on the shelves, from sculptural glass vases and mugs to inclusive beauty and skincare.
9. Moonlab 42
405 W 145th St between St. Nicholas and Convent Aves
Looking for something you very likely won't find anywhere else? This sliver of a storefront run by a Georgian-American couple features art and objects made by their creative friends, including ceramics, candles, soaps, tote bags, jewelry and much more.
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