Grand Central Holiday Market Is Open, Brimming With Color

The Grand Central Holiday Market, which has been delighting commuters and locals alike since 1993, is once again open to the world. Located just inside the terminal’s East 42nd Street entrance, across from Pershing Square, the market is already bustling as of Nov. 11.

During a tour provided to Straus News by the MTA, it was evident that this year’s final sales figures will likely be quite hefty. The market is arranged as three rows of small vending stalls (two on the end, one in the middle), and a dedicated shopper could easily spend hours perusing them for bespoke festive gifts.

Crucially, however, the exterior of the market may be the draw for some stop-ins; this is solely due to the presence of three “mini print vending machines” pioneered by Inciardi Prints, which has a stall just around the way.

For the price of a golden dollar coin, the machines pump out collectible prints, which have become a NYC souvenir par excellence (although the machines have spread nationwide in just a few years, as Inciardi Prints founder Ana Inciardi notes on her website).

Last year, there was only one machine—which soon went viral on TikTok. An MTA spokesperson told Straus that it netted around $80,000, and now that there are two additional ones, a line is practically always in motion from the door to the machines.

Within the market itself, various proprietors were eager to share what made their stalls popular draws. For one, Craftspring—which sells ornaments and other holiday trinkets, that radiate a pleasingly snug vibe—gets an array of repeat shoppers, due to what employee Alex Jamieson called a “Macy’s window destination experience.”

”It’s very cute,” she added. “It’s very whimsical. I love seeing adult faces light up, just as much as their kids’, when they see our ornaments.” Jamieson noted that she was an artist herself, as were Craftspring’s other employees, which means that she brings her “love of craftsmanship” to her work.

The Glass Haus booth, which was being manned by company employee Matthew Kane, is also chock-full of delightful handmade ornaments. These are unsurprisingly all made of glass, whether kiln-fired or blown, Kane noted. “It’s been 22 years that The Glass Haus has been part of the holiday show,” he said. It was a wholesale business before then, dealing in European ornaments.

“We’ve been lucky to have some repeat customers, year after year.” This year’s international selections come from Switzerland, Ukraine, the United Kingdom, and Canada; domestic craftwork is represented by states such as Indiana and Vermont.

Louise Baldwin, the brains behind the artisanal jewelry company in2 design, mans her business’s holiday market booth herself: “It’s so flattering. . . . I’ve had so many of my old customers, who I obviously emailed, come by and say “Oh my god, you’re back!”

“This is the highlight of my season,” Baldwin said. “I sell mostly wholesale, and I do the trade shows, and this is my only retail venue. You build up friendships. They call me ‘The Pearl Girl.’ I make stuff for them.”