If you like Trader Joe’s and wish Ikea had a Manhattan outpost, check out the month-old Flying Tiger Copenhagen in the Flatiron.
A minimalist Danish export with original whimsical accessories for home, office, school, and travel, Flying Tiger’s prices are equally minimalist—90 percent of products ring in at under $10.
Well-priced yoga accessories, $8 sun hats, $3 egg timers (shaped like eggs–and ice cream cones), $2 passport holders and suitcase tags as well as $1 toothbrush holders and nail brushes, 50-cent greeting cards, carrot sharpeners, and a Yoko Ono Conceptual Photography book fill the shelves. New stock rotates in every six to eight weeks.
Not to sound sexist, but many offerings are girly in nature—seriously, will many 5th grade boys jones for the $4 strawberry flip-flops? But there were enough wobble boards ($8), giant wooden paper clips ($1 to $3), iPhone accessories, chocolate-bar note pads ($3) and $3 pig-shaped tape dispensers to have 11-year-old Andy digging into his allowance. [Editor’s note: See the slideshow below for more fun products from the store.]
While Flying Tiger’s offerings aren’t sturdy enough to save for the grandkids, they mesh with the shift toward trendy, inexpensive, one- or two-season hits like those that can be found at H&M, Zara, and Uniqlo.
Flying Tiger has 450 stores in 27 countries. The Flatiron is its first U.S. location, albeit one that looks a lot like a pop-up, in keeping with the minimalist Nordic theme.
It’s located at 920 Broadway at 21st Street.
Hillary Chura writes our Le$$er Parenting column. Follow her on Twitter @hillarychura for NYC bargain tips.
