I first caught a glimpse of the clever goods at HiO when scouting for the Tribeca Citizen Shopping Guide. It was the two-foot resin monkey on a rope holding a light bulb that grabbed my attention. That’s just the tip of the iceberg. It’s the kind of place where you may never see the same thing twice.

UPDATE: The store is now operating online until the last quarter of the year, when it will reopen.

Sever Garcia has been selling to department stores for 20 years, since he moved from his native Barcelona, representing 850 brands from Europe. A few years ago, he decided to use a brick and mortar to test brands in an IRL market place. The first HiO was a popup in Toronto in December 2017; it was an instant hit. Before the retail nightmare that is covid, he had 11 stores, including locations in Brooklyn, Queens and D.C. He’s now gone exclusively online with shopping only in person here in Tribeca.

“Our first two stores in Toronto went crazy,” Garcia said. “The consumer loves to explore, they love to discover. That’s how we organize the store. We want everything mixed up so there are little surprises.” (Online you can shop by brand or by category.)

There are Azzul embroidered suede mule flats handmade in Portugal ($325); MYJK sunglasses with exchangeable stems ($150); Varenna workout gear from the Lake Como area (a top for $120); an Seletti folding chair from Italy ($69); a stainless and leather letter opener ($19). Nothing is priced in the crazy range (well, the monkey is $350 but totally worth it); the idea is to be high in value and high in design.

“In Latin,” Garcia said, “hio means amazing. This is a place to be amazed.”

HiO Tribeca
37 Lispenard | Church & Broadway
info@thehiolife.com
Personal shopping services by appointment only till the end of covid