Kikkerland Shop NYC

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When Kevin Brynan’s specialty gift shop Mxyplyzyk closed its West Village location in January 2013, it left a quirky-wall-clock-size hole in its place. Luckily, Kikkerland Design, Jan van der Lande’s catalogue�cum��online kitsch supplier, filled the void with its first storefront: He brought Brynan onboard to help launch the 1,000-square-foot shop of wind-up curiosities. (Just shy of too-little-too-late for Kikkerland, which has been headquartered in the city for over 20 years.) Gag gifts such as solar-powered Queen Elizabeths wave from their perch on pegboard walls, alongside stocking stuffers like rubberized luchador bottle openers, whose arms bend in a series of Mexican-wrestling lock-hold positions. The numerous Euro imports�think Davy Grosemans watering cans and a wooden, whale-shaped nail brush by Elisabeth Krenkler�have been at the heart of van der Lande’s business since it was founded on an Upper West Side houseboat in 1992. But here, the décor is half of the fun. The brainchild of interior designers FormNation, it’s accented with shelving units shaped like cartoon apartment buildings, and a bright-red ladder that displays tiny toys on every step. — Emma Whitford