My Cousin Noah
Noah!
There’s gonna be a lot to say in the coming months about Fishs Eddy turning 40 years old-but the best place to start is with Noah ♥️.
You must have met Noah in Fishs Eddy at some point - looks like he’s on a mission? Awesome hair? Resembles Seth Meyers?
YESSS! That’s him!
Always comfortable getting his hands dirty!
Noah has been at Fishs Eddy since the way early days, in fact, one could say the seed for Fishs Eddy was planted (even before we opened the doors 40 years ago) in a dingy-ish little shop that belonged to Noah’s father called the Wooden Indian on Perry Street.
Noah's mother and father outside the Wooden Indian
Noah grew up in his father‘s shop - skate boarding through the aisles and helping his dad restock. The store was filled with everyday glassware and quirky finds.
Sound familiar? Keep reading!
Noah getting ready to work (or play) in his father's store
I had just moved to the end of the block, walked in and met Noah’s older cousin who was working the register. We dated, then we opened up our own shop, and then we got married.
First Fishs Eddy!
Shortly after, Noah grew up and came to work with us at Fishs Eddy. But there was always some essence of the Wooden Indian that stuck with us, after all, it was (and still is) in Noah’s blood.
So there we were, Noah and my husband and I - growing a business (sometimes in spite of ourselves 😬) but taking it to places even we couldn’t believe. We were the Mod Squad, The Three Amigos, The Three Musketeers … and sometimes we were just a three ring circus 🤭
But the three of us were on a crazy roller coaster ride - passionately building a store that people from all over the world loved to visit.
Leader of the pack!
Then about 10 years ago, my partner left, he left my marriage and he left our team. I suppose he was tired of doing dishes 😥.
Now it was just Noah and I to figure things out at a time when business became very challenging.
…the two amigos, the two musketeers 🫤
Me and Noah and nobody else
But in the face of adversity, Noah and I moved mountains together! We climbed out of Covid and climbed out of the red! The only thing saddling us was a tremendous debt my partner led us into years earlier 😖. It was more than saddling us. It was a ten million pound weight that we couldn’t lift without help.
And just then, because maybe just maybe Noah and I deserved a little luck, in walked some partners and investors…some nice ones actually!
They were able to get product back on the floor, open new stores, and share our passion for growing Fishs Eddy into the wide shadow that it casts.
(so stay tuned for all of that.)
New store in Chelsea Market
At our 40 year anniversary, I am a lucky shopgirl. Despite an unfortunate diagnosis of MS, the seismic shift in my personal life, and the compromises I’m still learning to make when there are partners….
I get to keep doing dishes alongside Noah, I get to speed around the stores in my super fast electric wheels🦼 (channeling my inner Noah as a kid on his skateboard).
And forty years later, Noah is still one of the best things to happen to Fishs Eddy!
And me 😁!
