Exit 9 Gift Emporium

Great unique gift shop. Some very random items, from funny books to games and puzzles, trinkets, bags, toys, you name it. Really cool jewelry as well. Fun place just to browse as well. Prices are a little on the expensive side, but it is a specialty store so it’s kind of expected.

An amusement park for curious minds. Exit 9 is a small, high-​grade novelty shop located on a restaurant-​and-​bar-​studded avenue. I brushed upon this gem after having brunch at a local restaurant. Exit 9 is chock-​full of fun little books, toys, and tchotchkes (among other novelties). They have fun little retro stuff, too. A real haven for young-​hearted adults.

What I love about being back in my hometown area of Northwestern CT (and close to the southern Berkshires) is the amount of homey and awesome gift shops and home stores. With the amount of stores in Manhattan, especially, stores of that ilk are seemingly few and far between, at least in my opinion. Exit 9 really filled that empty void for me.
Upon entering, I felt that I was home immediately. Rows of candles and jewelry led further back to trinkets, odd and awesome gifts, and loads of fun children’s items. I really marveled and carefully looked at everything a few times over as I spent an enjoyable amount of time here. (The fact that they had the Gorillaz’s first album playing in track order the entire time I was there made it even harder to leave, admittedly.) I left with some lovely Christmas presents in the forms of books and children’s art kits for my friend’s two kids, having to restrain myself from going too overboard. I could have left with a bunch of things for myself as well. Perhaps, another time. ‘Tis the season to spoil others, not myself. ;-)
I’m truly in love with this store!
I will not harp on candles being overpriced. Let’s be honest, people: The cheapest candles all of us can find are Glade candles at your local Duane Reade for $ 4.99. The next cheapest are the $ 14 ones at Urban Outfitters. Anywhere else, seemingly, sell candles for at least $ 20. Haha. I’ll pay good money for a quality soy-​based organic rosemary fig orange verbena candle, anyways. Bring it on!

This place reminds me of a place I saw on South St in Philly that also had tons of random trinkets and things you’d see on someone’s coffee table and think, «cool».
At the moment, they’re having a crazy inventory reduction sale, with price cuts of anywhere from 35% to 80% (check out my photo here for the Feb 2014 schedule:
)
It’s not really a place you could visit every week, but it’s a great place for finding gift ideas, or for furnishing a new place with unique knick knacks. It has a very strong Brooklyn vibe as well.

On the occasion when I have to work Saturday AND Sunday, getting out early on Saturday because a client didn’t show is like busting out of jail. To maximize my parole before my lunch appointment, I meandered in and out of stores on Smith Street and wandered into this winner.
Exit 9 stocks varied kinds of interesting gifts, from gag gifts like funny glasses with google eyes to cards. I found really cute wallets with animal appliques on the front in different colors that I haven’t seen sold anywhere else, some brain stimulating kits for kids (section in the back), beautiful candles and unusual glassware. Exit 9 had a mug with a funny message about coffee and another with the message ”I love (heart) to fart” that had me chuckling. What a great gift for that officious colleague or to present to your boss if you got a lousy raise and plan to leave your company. The staff here is laid back and won’t bother you if you browse because they know it’s that kind of place. You will be entertained as you shop. Prices vary. The wallets weren’t leather but for $ 24 and for the cute designs, I thought they were a steal. The trick with this place would be to have the self restraint to keep from showering yourself with so many quirky items.

This store is great for small gifts and finding unique items! The staff was very nice and a bit outgoing emerging for everyone!

Yet another one of Smith street’s awesome gift shops that are so great to wander into on a rainy day, or when searching for a last minute gift that doesn’t seem so last minute. Their candle selection is amazing. I’ve bought three of them so far and have probably spent hours of my life over the past few years smelling each and every one of them in the store. They also have some great mugs in the back, including ones with images that morph when liquid is added! I will be back for one of these for sure, some day.

LOVE LOVE LOVE this store! It’s my go to place for unique gifts. Lots of «Brooklyn» accoutramonts. Very cute «Brooklyn» baby clothes. Awesome cards and the best selection of candles. I always have so much fun in this store! And never walk away without a truly great gift for someone.

a great local gem! if you’re in need of a fun gift for a person who’s hard to buy gifts for… this might be a great location to check! they have such odds and ends for gifts, but they truly seem to have something for everyone!
cards, socks, kids items and toys, home accoutrements (ice trays, decorative pillows, fun mugs/​cups, etc), fashion items, books, jewelry, candles, pretty much EVERYTHING! check em out!
sometimes, the staff is kind of non-​existent… but i dont mind that for a shop like this. i dont mind that i’m not greeted EVERY time i come in, it’s more of a browsing-​store to me… but staff is always helpful when i need it.
even though a staff member lied to me once (i purchased a cup from a set and asked if it was the only set… mainly b/​c i only had enough money for one, so i wanted to know if i needed to return ASAP to get the other… but when i returned, i saw that they restocked! lol… i wouldn’t have rushed so much if she was honest… but it’s okay… i understand she probably just wanted me to buy it, i did haha. just sayin, i prefer when people are honest :)) i still highly recommend this store to anyone and everyone!

Super cute/​silly gift shop, but man, the short haired girl working was super b*tchy when I inquired about an item.
Also, Paper Source across the street has similar goods but are a little cheaper in price. I’d love to support local businesses like Exit 9, but when the employees behind them don’t treat you nicely, it’s hard to stay loyal.

I love this store. They have an awesome selection of shit you don’t need. I love window shopping here and compiling a mental shopping list of things I find there to purchase for much less on Amazon. :)
No shame in wanting to save a few bucks!

Cute things — sort of reminds me of Pylones crossed with that tea shop in West Village.
They have cute tea accessories here and not to mention a Hello Kitty bow ring.

This is one of those places you might pass by every single day for 3 years and never go inside, and you’d me making a tragedy.
The windows are full of high-​end airport’esque merchandise so it can lead you to believe that you might not need anything they have to offer. But I’d bet your bottom dollar you’d be wrong.
They have a great selection of reasonably priced leather goods (purses, bags, wallets, some luggage, etc…) stationary, letter openers, and a variety of cute little necessities. It’s a great place to pick up gifts that won’t get returned or regifted.
Plus the staff is really helpful, patient and friendly, and they gave me a killer discount on a bag I love. Go Exit 9! Well actually YOU should go, Exit 9 should stay right where is it.

I like their cards… they are funny (but kind of spendy!).
I also like the buttons they had on the counter the other day when I was buying cards. One said «I like pigs»…another one said «I like teachers». Being a fan of both teachers and pigs, I was smitten.
Fun stuff, nice staff, a lot of things you don’t really need but will like. Also good music.
That is all.

We stopped by this store today when en route to the Atlantic Antic Festival and they have lots of interesting & somewhat offbeat small items, in addition to some «Brooklyn» things. I was surprised about some other peoples’ negative comments concerning the staff, as both of the staff I talked to were very friendly. One of them also told me they’ve recently opened a store in the East Village.

I’ve gotten wallets here for myself and friends over the past few years. I love their wallet selection.
However, the dozen times I’ve gone, most of the time the people who work there have been just plain snooty. So I think it’s time to shop elsewhere.
Dude you sell plastic and pleather wallets for a living. Enough with the sass yo.

Don’t you hate it when workers tell you to be careful with an item because it could break? Yeah, that’s exactly what I was told here. Did she think we were two? That we’d just start playing catch with the item in the store?
I don’t know. But it annoyed me to the point that I just had to leave. Exit 9 is basically like Pylones, just not as colorful and not as cool.

There’s more than kitsch here, but not much more.
I did notice some appealing, non-​ironic wallets in addition to the inevitable ironic wallets. Some interesting kitchen gear toward the back. And the overpriced candles, of course. You need to ask for help to see most of the jewelry.
The only staffer there spent my whole visit chatting with a customer and her disturbingly precocious child, but this is Brooklyn, after all. The store itself is tidy, attractive, and easy to navigate, but I wish they would branch out a little, merchandise-​wise. Once you’ve received your first package of bacon bandaids, etc, etc.

4.5 stars…
This is the coolest little gift store I’ve been to in a very long time. Not overly pretensious or specialized in any one particular type of thing, theme, or price range, this place has something for everyone. Everything they have here is completely unique, from robot ice cube trays, to cupcake flavored floss, to bacon shaped bandaids, to lego jewelry, to unique art books, and toys for both adults and kids, they have it all.
Unfortunately the prices here are pretty high. This ranges from just a couple dollars more than you’d expect something to be to whoa just put it down gently. Really, who’s going to pay $ 40 for a 4GB USB drive shaped like R2D2 ($ 8 – 10 is the going rate for 4GB drives at the moment)?? Luckily they’re not cash only though. I’m taking off ½ star because of the prices and because the guy working there was really the only thing that didn’t seem to fit in the store.

Tripped over this store while wandering around. The staff was really friendly but didn’t stalk us.
I came very close to buying a change purse shaped like a cassette that said «love song mix». Too small for all the change I seem to inadvertently carry. I almost bought a few novelty items (a yoda memory stick, bacon and egg bandages, stuffed microbes)
They have great cards/​stationery here, excellent giftage and just oddball things only you would buy. And you know you want to.

I walked in on a whim, and they were playing Stir it Up (Steve Biko) by A Tribe Called Quest, which was enough to get me to stick around for at least the duration of the song. And I’m so glad I did.
Exit 9 seems like a regular old gift shop at first, but it turns out they have a great mix of humorous gifts and useful items.
A few things I saw:
-«I’m Savin’ Up for Jesus» piggy bank, complete with an afro-​tastic man on the cover with a twinkle in his smile.
–Spliffigami gift set. (You can roll the 35 Greatest Joints of All Time!)
-«Things You Do That Really Piss Me Off» note pad; there were at least a hundred items to check off, and at the bottom you could select (1) But It’s Cute, (2) Please Stop, or (3) We’re Through.
I didn’t purchase any of these, but I did end up buying a quality corkscrew, because that was something I needed.
And thanks to Exit 9, next holiday season you people can expect to receive some Instant Swedish Accent breathspray, AKA the Ultimate Sex Toy, courtesy of yours truly.