A One-Stop Christmas for Dawdlers By DAVID COLMAN

December 24, 2009
Critical Shopper | Mxyplyzyk
A One-Stop Christmas for Dawdlers By DAVID COLMAN

AT this 11th hour of the wild Christmas goose chase — and this is true whether the economy is bustling or bristling — most normal people are afflicted with that weird state of anxiety, anticipation, dread and panic that the Germans call shopenfreude.

O.K., so they don't — but I do.

Unfortunately, the usual cure for shopenfreude is running through an egregious amount of time, money and wrapping paper in the quest for perfect presents. This usually results in a secondary condition known as Spendhal Syndrome, characterized by a severe depletion of energy, money and good will, especially toward those who don't appreciate those presents.

And for what? A few Christmases back, I had put off shopping until the 24th, when I was to go upstate to see family and friends. In a rare trance of efficiency, I packed my bags, took a cab to Mxyplyzyk (Mix-ee-PLIZ-ik) in the West Village and emerged 20 minutes later, heavier in luggage and lighter in spirit.

Ever since, I have wondered why everyone doesn't just do the same. You can spend a lot or a little, and you leave this completely modern gift shop with a couple of bags full of sweet, smart, funny, stylish items that everyone will like better than the things you spent so much time and money on.

It comes down to this: Christmas does not have to be so worrisome. Why agonize over whether this book or scarf or bowl has that ethereal quality of giftiness, being something the giftee would want but never buy for herself or himself. There's no need. There is already an entire gift industry, a virtual North Pole, with actual trade shows — the New York International Gift Fair hits town in just over a month. Why look for things that would make a good gift? Perfectly good gifts already exist, designed and certified by people who know what they're doing.

And there are stores that are not the gift shops of yore, filled with Dresden china shepherdesses, picture frames and eau de cologne, but of today, like Alphabets and Lancelotti in the East Village, Fred Flare in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, and, the luxury version, Moss in SoHo.

But for me, Mxyplyzyk, which opened in 1992, its name inspired by Mr. Mxyzptlk, an early, quirky Superman villain, defined the concept. A young man I encountered shopping at Mxyplyzyk last week put it perfectly. "It almost doesn't matter what you buy," he said. "You can pretty much grab anything from here and people are going to love it."

I could not agree more. People always say I'm hard to shop for, but I would be perfectly happy with anything from this place, from the high end, like the World Clock ($210), a map that glows with 24 LED readouts of the hour in every time zone, to the low, like a packet of retro click-open ballpoint pens ($5.95) or a set of little candles styled to look like cartoonish black bombs and labeled "Kaboom!" ($9.95).

There are hundreds of items in the store's carefully edited mix that range from the sincere to the sarcastic, from the organic to the artificial, from the disposable to the heirloom. There are things both useful and playful: a lighter in the shape of a giant match ($9.95), a plastic tape dispenser in the shape of a recumbent cartoon figure ($22.95), delicate crystal bottles cast to look like plastic mineral water bottles ($38).

There are great design addict items, like a multicolor plastic mixing bowl set ($55), a small spherical loudspeaker that can attach to an MP3 player ($50) and coffee mugs decorated with a square of bright color and the relevant Pantone color information ($12.95).

There are lightly whimsical items of décor, like a clear glass piggy bank ($28), wood-laminate trays with photo-collaged images of extravagantly dressed birds ($185) and a porcelain lamp in the shape of an owl ($135). And there are simple, nice items with no trace of humor: a coppery glazed organic vase ($68), a roughly hewn wood lamp with a steel cage shade barely shielding the artisanal bare bulb inside and simple crystal hourglasses ($22 and $28).

Mxyplyzyk was around before the midcentury craze hit and made "design" such a coveted (and pricey) category. But the shop has always been about a great item at a great price — "taking something common and giving it a unique, unexpected twist," in the words of Kevin Brynan, the owner. In the 1980s, he and his partner owned Dot Zero, a "more austere museum-quality" store, as he called it, and he wanted Mxyplyzyk to be less pretentious, less expensive and more fun.

It is certainly that. One of the best aspects of the store is its stock of things for specific tastes and obsessions: The people who have everything don't have this stuff. A small set of soapstone cubes ($22.95) are made to be frozen and served with Scotch or bourbon, which they will chill but not dilute as ice cubes do. (Dad will approve.) There are handmade pear candles in several grandmother-approved colors ($5.95). And for the recycling enthusiast, for whom the orgy of Christmas is one long cringe-athon, there is a ingenious folding basket made of recycled chopsticks ($28) and a clutch studded with keys from old computer keyboards ($35).

There are books for children, like the old-fashioned and useful "Pictorial Webster's" ($35). There are gifts for celebrators of other holidays, like a little green menorah in the shape of a Christmas tree. And there are gifts for the children of celebrators of other holidays, like the book "Yiddish With Dick and Jane" ($14.95).

There are gifts for those skeptical of mankind's appeal, like "In My Humble Opinion" ($20), a calendar featuring hilariously misanthropic quotes, and there are gifts for fans of man's appeal, like "Turkish Wrestling" ($12), a photo book devoted to what can only be described as a highly photogenic sport.

The only drawback to the merchandise is heard in the comment that Mr. Brynan gets from some of his customers. "People say, 'You sell all this stuff that nobody needs, but we buy it anyway,' " he said. "But everything here does work, whether it just makes you smile or it actually does something."

Besides, Christmas isn't about needing. It's about giving.

MXYPLYZYK

125 Greenwich Avenue (near 13th Street); (212) 989-4300.

THE MODERN CURIOSITY SHOP Unlike the many spartan and sparkling design emporiums, Mxyplyzyk is cozy and friendly. Nothing is artfully presented or spotlighted. The place is cluttered with knickknacks and pristine design pieces alike.

SERVICE WITH A WINK The sales staff is witty, efficient and personable, but not intrusive.

LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION The store recently opened a kiosk in the Time Warner Center and fills

orders via telephone and its Web site. The Web site is frustrating, though; there isn't even a search field. Plus, many of the fanciful items should be seen and felt to be evaluated.
Critical Shopper - Mxyplyzyk - Mxyplyzyk in the West Village Is a One-Stop Christmas Shop - NYTimes.com (26 December 2009)
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/24/fashion/24CRITIC.html?sq=MXyplyzyk&st=Search&scp=1&pagewanted=print
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