Shop Listener 2024: The Suburbs

Title: Shop Listener 2024: The Suburbs

Brian Lehrer: Brian Lehrer on WNYC. We'll end today by continuing our annual holiday gifting series, Shop Listener. If you're selling gifts from the New York City suburbs, you are up today. For our purposes, that means anybody who owns a business on Long island or in New Jersey or Connecticut or Westchester or Rockland or other points north, and we'll say suburbs very loosely defined as, you know, the biggest definition of the greater New York area, even if it's an exurb or another metro city, Newark, Greenwich, whatever, just not in the five boroughs for today. 212-433-WNYC, 212-433-9692. This is a pretty straightforward invitation, right? If you own a business in any suburb of New York City, loosely defined in a way that I just did, and you sell items that would make great holiday gifts, you can call us right now for a shot to promote your business on the air. 2212-433-WNYC, 212-433-9692. If you're new to this, what is Shop Listener? Well, every year for a number of years now, when the holiday season rolls around, we run this series in which we invite those of you, mostly small business owners listening to call and promote yourself if you're a WNYC listener.

It's just one way we try to give back to our community of listeners by allowing you to promote your holiday gift business to other listeners. You get the idea. For everyone else, if you haven't gone gift shopping yet for the holidays or have more to do, consider buying from a fellow Brian Lehrer Show or WNYC listener. Everybody can post your store or web address and everybody can go shopping, browsing to see what the listeners with things to sell are posting at wnyc.org/shoplistener.

It's not just for on the air. Anybody with holiday gifts to sell who's a listener, you can go and post. Anybody who wants to browse the list and the map. We also have a map of brick and mortar stores in this project. Go to wnyc.org/shoplistener and we'll take your calls from anywhere other than the five boroughs today right after this.

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Brian Lehrer: Brian Lehrer on WNYC. Now to Shop Listener, our holiday season gift guide, Suburbia Edition. Josh in Mineola, you're on WNYC. Hi, Josh.

Josh: Hi, Brian. Thank you so much for taking my call. I'd like to shout out our coffee shop New York Gourmet Coffee. We're located in Mineola on Jericho Turnpike, just east of Willis Avenue.

Brian Lehrer: How do people gift coffee?

Josh: Oh, it's simple. They could either purchase it and wrap it up in a box or they can buy a gift card or they can just give it as a wonderful beverage. We have-- It's a little harder to keep the coffee hot going out the door-

Brian Lehrer: I was going to say show up with a hot mug [chuckles].

Josh: -but we do provide coffee to go.

Brian Lehrer: Josh, thank you very much. That's New York Gourmet Coffee in Mineola. Dean in Point Pleasant, you're on WNYC. Hi, Dean. How are things down the shore?

Dean: Cold but beautiful and sunny, so, yes, lovely. I have a store called Globetrotter. It's in Point Pleasant beach and it's at 300 Richmond Avenue, which is also Route 35. I've been a traveler for the last 45 years, traveling around the world. The last 30 years I've had this business and I have 40 to 50 countries in the store and we do jewelry, furniture, giftware, sculpture, art. It's all fair trade, cottage industry. It's experiential in that the wander through it is really lovely. Jersey's Best magazine did an article.

If I've piqued anybody's curiosity, they could look up Jersey's Best and there's an article which is "New Jersey Store Shatters Retail Norms as an Unapologetic Homage to Travel."

Brian Lehrer: Nice. Globetrotter. Dean, thank you very much. Go post it wnyc.org/shoplistener as well. Kathleen in Rockland County, you're on WNYC. Hi, Kathleen.

Kathleen: Hi, how are you? I'm calling about a business called Murphy Wood Art and their website is murphywoodart.com. They're a husband and wife team. They make handcrafted items and they've made some beautiful pieces for us. They've made-- we have friends that have a ski house and we had them make a mountain piece for them and it came out great. They make some ocean-inspired decor. They make American flags. They'll make flags for schools, for colleges or for whatever country you're from. I mean, they have beautiful pieces.

Brian Lehrer: Murphy Wood Art. Kathleen, thank you very much. Let's see, so far we've gotten Nassau county in the house. We've gotten Point Pleasant, Jersey Shore in the house. We had Rockland there from Kathleen. Let's get a Westchester caller in here. Janet in Bronxville, you're on WNYC. Hi, Janet.

Janet: Hi, Brian, longtime listener. Love you. Shall I tell you what I am offering today?

Brian Lehrer: Yes.

Janet: Okay. I'm a psychic medium and I am offering gift certificates for the holiday for psychic readings, mediumship readings or past life regressions. These can take place in person, in Westchester or via Zoom. The results are the same, equally accurate in person or via Zoom. For your listeners, if you mention Brian Lehrer and purchase a gift certificate between now and Christmas, you'll get a 25% discount. I can give you my website.

Brian Lehrer: Please, do.

Janet: Is that okay?

Brian Lehrer: Yes, you can.

Janet: Okay, it is, www.janetgoldcort.com. I'm very ethical and reputable, well-trained. You can check out my bio at janetgoldcort.com.

Brian Lehrer: You're the reader, right? You're the psychic reader.

Janet: I am a psychic medium, yes. I've studied with the most, 10 top famous and reputable mediums internationally. I work globally as well.

Brian Lehrer: Do you think you're actually channeling something that is psychic, whatever we mean by that word, or do you think you're just kind of really perceptive about people on first impressions and can help them channel things for themselves?

Janet: Well, I would say both, to be fair. However, I'm very science-based. I give workshops at libraries and adult ed schools. I believe this is science. There's intuitive, but we do-- As a psychic, we read the energy and the soul of our clients. With mediumship, I alter my brainwaves from beta to alpha and I'm able to communicate with spirits who had carnate lives, so the loved ones of my clients. I give evidence. I'm an evidential mediumship medium. I don't just say, oh, your mother loved you. No, I will tell you all about your mother so you know that she's there.

Brian Lehrer: Okay, Janet, thank you very much. You want to give the web address again?

Janet: Thank you, Brian. It is JanetGoldCort.com. Check me out and see what you think.

Brian Lehrer: Thank you very much. Donna in Fairfield county, as we get Connecticut in the house here. Hi, Donna.

Donna: Hi. Hi, how are you? This is 180 degree turn. That sounds wonderful, but these are my family's business. Aitoro's Appliance Company. That's A-I as an artificial intelligence, T-O-R-O, Appliance Company. My grandfather's founded it back in the-- during the depression. It's big stuff. It's more kitchenware. Not kitchenware, kitchens, the durable goods, the big stuff. Also things like water filters. If your water was like mine. It's got too much chlorine in it. Then there's other things like, of course, plasma televisions to really give you. You know what? Expand your mind. Okay.

Brian Lehrer: What do you find that people buy from an appliance store commonly as a gift? If you can identify anything.

Donna: Well, it's more things like retro kinds of gas grills, retro kinds of appliances in funky colors from the '70s. The thing that my family has done is they've built seven showrooms around New York, designers' best kitchens, and we put our best appliances and it's really kind of fun. There's always social events and community events there too. A lot of having to do with food in the showroom. Just stop by--

Brian Lehrer: Aitoro is A-I-T-O-R-O. Did I get that right?

Donna: That's correct. Yes, that's correct. Aitoro's Appliance Company. 75 years. Thank you for the plug. I didn't know if this was a call to action, but love your show. Thanks. Bye.

Brian Lehrer: Thank you, Donna. Thank you very much. All right, we have time for one more. Aria in Morris county, you'll have to do it in about 30 seconds. Hey, Aria.

Aria: Hi, Brian. How are you?

Brian Lehrer: Good.

Aria: My sister Oma and I-- Sorry.

Brian Lehrer: Go ahead, go ahead.

Aria: Okay. My sister Oma and I are in high school and we love numbers. We have created a card game called Primes. P-R-I-M-E-S. Primes is a fun pocket sized game and it's good for all ages, 10 to 127. Rules are simple. You can play with friends or solo.

Brian Lehrer: How do people buy it? How do people--? We're out of time, so tell everybody how to buy it.

Aria: Right. You can buy on Amazon or you can buy on our website, primesgame.com/

Brian Lehrer: primesgame.com. Made up by you and your sister who are both in high school. Did I hear you right?

Aria: Yes, you are correct.

Brian Lehrer: That is awesome. Good luck with it. I hope you make a billion dollars. That's Shop Listener for today. We have more segments to do between now and Christmas and Hanukkah and Kwanzaa. Meanwhile, you can all go and post your wares or go shopping at wnyc.org/shoplistener. Have a great weekend.

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