“Moss, Moss, and Moss,” said Eric Zim when I asked which stores influenced his tiny new shop, Scissor, at 80 Varick. I would’ve thrown in Kiosk and Partners & Spade, because Zim likes quirk—his business card reads “I’m Eric.” (I was so close to being able to reuse it) and he had postcards made with random sentences, such as “Danish people had a lot of scratches before.”

The shop is nominally for fathers and sons: “Kids’ stuff is too safe,” said Zim, who lives in Williamsburg. “I wanted edge, that father-and-son vitality.” But the high-design merchandise would appeal to anyone. Zim might change things up in a few months—à la Kiosk—but the next theme is a secret. In the rear is a gallery nook, currently a show of photos by Wolfgang Wesener, alternating portraits of kids and punk musicians.

The vibe is anti-Moss in its casualness—one wall is a white curtain, with the co-tenant’s office on the other side—and Zim’s salesmanship is low-key, to say the least. As I was leaving, a British woman walked in. She was clearly in a mood to buy, but she was concerned everything was too heavy for her to schlep on the plane. She gravitated toward a teddy bear, and asked how much it costs. “It’s kind of a lot,” said Zim, apologetically.

Note: Scissor is currently open Thursday through Sunday Wednesday through Saturday from 1 p.m. to 8 p.m.; 80 Varick (between Watts and Grand), 347-662-3600; yelp.com/biz/scissor-new-york.

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