Judy Suh says just one year after she and a friend were browsing the more than 100 booths at Bank of America’s Winter Village at Bryant Park, she now has her own area.
“These make really good gifts,” Suh, a ceramics artist who lives on Staten Island, said as she spoke to a customer. “You can write a little note and put it inside of the fortune cookie, and gift it to someone, and they can hang it up.”
What You Need To Know
Bank of America’s Small Business Spotlight is now in its sixth year at Bryant Park’s Winter Village
The program allows four rotating small businesses, typically those that have a digital footprint, to get a feel for what it’s like to run a storefront
Each Small Business Spotlight recipient gets to use their booth rent-free, while other vendors pay tens of thousands of dollars to be featured at the popular holiday market
Suh creates all the pieces for Jay Ceramics at her studio in New Dorp. After several years of selling her products online or at pop-up events, she is getting a feel for what it’s like to run a daily retail space.
Shop owners pay tens of thousands of dollars to rent the temporary space, but Suh’s business, Jay Ceramics, secured a booth rent-free.
“It’s such a special opportunity to be here as part of the BOA Small Business Spotlight Booth,” Suh said. “I don’t have to worry about the rent fees! I can focus on creating my products and showcasing them to a new audience.”
For 18 days, her business is operating in rotation with three other local businesses selected for Bank of America’s 6th Annual Small Business Spotlight.
“We know that small businesses are the lifeblood to NYC and our economy,” Sean Callan, NYC community relations manager for Bank of America, said. “So, we want to make sure we empower them with the resources they need.”
In addition to providing lighting, shelving, and heat, Bank of America connects these entrepreneurs with specialists, who can provide guidance to help them leverage and understand the nuances of how to build out business plans. They can also assist in the search to start for lending opportunities.
Officials say the more than 180 holiday shops at Bryant Park generated approximately $50 million in sales last year. Contributing to that success was Kalsang Pottery, co-owned by Woodside resident Tenzin Tseyang and her husband Kalsang, who makes the pieces.
“Another best-seller of ours — these mugs — we are calling it the thumb mug,” Tseyang said. “You put your thumb in like this, for tea, or wine even.”
Kalsang Pottery has rented out space at the holiday market every year since 2022, after being featured in the Small Business Spotlight the previous year.
“That gave us such a boost,” Tseyang said. “Not just in terms of exposure to the world, but our own confidence in starting a new business.”
Tseyang says their family business has grown and is now, literally, a mom and pop shop.
This year, she gave birth to their first child around the same time that Kalsang Pottery opened its first-ever storefront in the East Village.