Dept. of Small Gems. Forget the riots over Tompkins Square park, the East Village is full of pretty things and people who just want to nest. Lancelotti Housewares is a small store that is blazing a trail towards home improvement with fashionable housewares for urban dwellers. MGR
Reader SG says: Lancelotti packs more desirable things of varing degrees of utility per square inch than any other homewares store I can think of.
The style is colorful, fresh, mostly mod. They stock a good supply of Mrs. Meyer's great smelling, cutely packaged, all natural cleaning products, Dwell sheets, wood veneer lamps and tons more. Lots of affordable luxuries and small splurges packed in from floor to ceiling.
Warning, the cornicopia effect of all this in such a small space makes you forget that these prices can add up.
NYMag says: The focus here is stylish New York apartment living.
Other AT Readers say: Vote and Comment below...
Lancelotti is yet another amazing gem by the woman who brought you the relentlessly entertaining store(s), Alphabets (and the long-lamented Pharmacy restaurant at 9th and A). Honestly, just walking into the store makes me want to streamline! upgrade! colorize! cook! entertain! buy! even though I generally dislike shopping.
The merchandise is very nice, but it never changes at all. It's a tiny store, so that makes it a little old after your second visit.
I struggle like a Puritan, design envy vs. utilitarian (broke ass) asceticism. On occasion, I've been able to resolve this dialectic at Lancelotti. 1. giving great gifts makes me feel like a good person. 2. there are splurges, but also legitimate Quality of Life issues- the wisdom to know the difference. 3. cute staff (where'd my waify crush clerkboy go?).
Just for the record, I do know how to spell varying and cornucopia.
can we say fabulous? this store does so much its hard to really put it into a few words. its a favorite amongst everyone i know and i always recommend it to all my co-workers and friends. lancelotti really is the only place the neighborhood to find not only housewares but great gifts (particularly for weddings). it is always new and exciting to me even if I do stop in twice a week for those delicious candles. i really adore the intimate set-up and refreshingly helpful staff, the large corporate stores could really learn something from these guys...
I bought an Angela Adam's rug from this store a few months ago and it was the best purchase I have ever made. The variety is quite unique and they definitely do Live Large in a Small Space.
The worst attitude I've ever experienced in a store - and I shop a LOT, mostly in NYC and LA, so I've seen attitude on every level. Nothing tops this shop. This place is overpriced, and doesn't carry anything you can't find elsewhere... These people are nasty, end of story. NOT WORTH IT.
really great store and i have always had a good experience with the staff, very helpful. it is totally worth it and i always find new things there! highly recommended!
i agree with the person above, i shop quite a bit from 99 cent stores to upscale boutiques and i've never seen sales people with such snotty attitudes, specifically the girl that works there. you'd think that i was offending her just by walking into her store from the way she treated me and my friends. even though i like the stuff, i'm going to try to boycott it and find cute stuff somewhere else, just not worth the headache....
The staff is horrible and the product is overpriced. I've seen things that they sell for $20 for $5 in chinatown. there's a much cooler place that just opened on Avenue B and 13th called live it up. They have stuff I've never seen before and I don't feel like I'm getting mugged when I buy something there.
I have shopped at this store many times, I buy most of my wedding presents there. Last Saturday was the first time I have had a bad experience there--the guy working there was horrible. I asked him to giftwrap something for me--which I have had done there before--and he's like "all we have is this tissue paper," and I said, "that's fine." He clearly did not want to wrap it & had wanted me to say no. Why didn't he just say, "We don't wrap anymore?" I thanked him sincerely after he had wrapped it & he did not even respond. Honestly, it was bizarre. I don't expect sales people to kiss my ass--in fact, I prefer a hands off approach, and I will not let that experience ruin the place for me yet--but if I get treated that way again, I will not go back.
The customer service in this place is horrible and the sales people are unethical. I recently inquired about purchasing a high price ticket item and was quoted one price. When I went to pay for it, the manager of this place said the wrong price was put into the register and the item actually cost $100 more. NOT! The manager said I mistaken in what I heard quoted. People, when you're paying hundreds of dollars for something, you hear the price correctly. The item purchased was the last in stock and the perfect gift so I paid the extra bucks. But I will never, never shop there again or encourage anyone else to shop there.
People there used to be nice. Now they are mean. They quoted me a price for a blanket which translated to my ears as "in your dreams." I don't know what makes them think I can't afford their effing merino wool, but they are mistaken. I also saw a shelf there that was significantly marked up from what it cost at Bed, Bath and Beyond. It's good for design inspiration, but the actual shopping experience is potentially humiliating.