COFFEE DATE #2: RAINYSUNDAYMORNING HOUSE WITH NAHEE | HOLIDAY 2025
A cloudy Saturday afternoon spent at my favorite store in my neighborhood.
A little over a month ago, I was walking to the pottery studio, doing my usual route down Essex Street. I stumbled upon a little storefront, right where the scaffolding begins between Hester and Canal, celebrating their grand opening.
Inside, I was transported away from the Lower East Side and into a tiny cottage, full of warmth and trinkets galore that aligned greatly with my personal identity—kitschy soaps, patterned cloths, gemstone jewelry, ceramics, and stationary—the perfect place to find a gift.
It was RainySundayMorning House, a shop owned by Nahee who curated it to feature over thirty Korean artisans and makers, bringing a piece of home to the city she’s spent 10 years in now. After my inaugural visit, I messaged the store to see if they’d be featured for this gifting series, to which they generously obliged. Read my interview with Nahee below and shop her picks!
Rainy Sunday Morning
13 Essex Street
Open every day until 8 PM
Where do you source from?
The whole concept of this store is about Korean makers and their stories. We call it a home for stories together. I’m from Korea and wanted to highlight people from there as well. 90% of our merchandise comes from makers based in Seoul and the countryside, the rest are here in the US. I didn’t know any of them before opening the shop, but wanted to meet independent artists. I did that through networking on Instagram, some people literally just walked into the store.
Last time I came in, you were having your Grand Re-Opening, how long in total have you been in business?
We were in the last space down the block for 7 months, and now this will be our first month in the new space.
You very clearly have your own aesthetic—the reason I came in at first was because I had never seen a shop like this in the neighborhood. It has such a specific feeling.
That was the idea, no matter who you are or where you’re from, I want everyone who walks in to feel that same feeling you’re talking about. I’m super super grateful that I don’t have to explain how you should feel, people just feel it.
Do you prefer to give or receive a gift?
I’m a giver.
Do you have a go-to gift?
This might sound kind of crazy, but a pack of nice, three or four-layer toilet paper. It’s a traditional Korean gift. TP is important and expensive. Your skin is important. We all need it.
A note from the editor: please give me toilet paper moving forward if you’re coming to my apartment for a special occasion.
What’s the best gift you’ve ever been given, maybe in the last 5 years or one that stands out because it’s a heavy question.
I want to be really honest about this…my new iPhone? My boyfriend got it for me a few years ago. I thought that was very thoughtful. The most thoughtful gift I’ve gotten is from my best friend, Soli, she is my biggest supporter, without her I wouldn’t be able to do all of this. She’s Korean as well, and when she was last in Korea, she collected a little trinket from all of the places she went and put it in a box for me. It took so much time and showed she thought of me on every stop.
I couldn’t help but express to Nahee multiple times throughout our conversation how cozy the store felt. Like an extension of someone’s home. She said she was thrilled with how many people picked up on this, that all the time customers mentioned the welcoming environment. How could you miss it, I wondered. It’s a space that truly speaks for itself.
The walk home from RSM was short, but when I arrived I had the feeling of opening a gift someone had gotten me, even though I knew the contents. Nahee’s wrapping is so thoughtful and delicate that it makes even the things you got yourself a special experience.
Nahee is a giver and prefers to gift rather to receive. This was apparent when she insisted on sending me home with a Madcat, a tiny little figurine we further explain in the guide below. He now sits proudly on my mantle and reminds me to take a deep breath when I’m feeling particularly angsty.
Her warmth and generosity made me grow even further attached to this neighborhood spot of mine, and I warned her that I will not be a stranger.
I also came home with a bracelet for myself and a gift for someone else who reads this so I cannot say. Bracelets are very hard to put on if you live alone. I debated on waiting until the dinner reservation I had that night to ask my friend Eliza for help, but I was so motivated to put it on, I powered through. The power of Moonstone as a June baby.
Nahee’s Rainy Sunday Morning Gift Guide
All of these are available at Rainy Sunday Morning, located at 13 Essex Street.
Soap by House of Soobido ($25)
I went home with this soap after the grand opening. It has toys inside to turn into a keychain once you use it. It’s so fragrant that it fills up my bathroom with the scent of sweet lavender without getting wet. Something Nahee said that I found adorable was that people often try to pick out one that looks the most like their friend they’re buying for, which I understood immediately.
MADCAT figurine by Seongmin Han ($37-55)
Nahee told me that Seongmin was going through a period of time where they felt really mad and needed a way to express it. Out came these MADCAT figurines, tiny little ceramic cats with their middle fingers up and brows furrowed. My friend Nicholson brought a tiny sardine figurine from il Buco Vita which I found to be a spectacular host/hostess gift one time. He can give sardines and I can give MADCATS.
Customizable mugs by YeonKyung Park & coasters
YeonKyung Park is a very talented painter who in collaboration with Nahee is making these customizable mugs exclusively available at Rainy Sunday Morning. I love the idea of a gift set with things that are from different makers, and Nahee recommends pairing the mug with one of the handmade coasters found in the shop’s linen section.
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