House of Cards & Curiosities

RIP this place was fun while it lasted. Prices weren’t the best, but it was a lovely novelty that a place like this lasted as long as it did. You’ll be missed in the neighborhood!

I am beyond sad to learn you are closing! For the last 10 years this has been my go to for cool cards and interesting gifts.
Dear NYC, I love you, but you’re breaking my heart. I get it, I get it, the rents have to keep going up/​but if we loose all that makes this city so wonderful– what’s the point?!

Just got back from my first visit to the shop. Interesting items, but I just realized that they overcharged me about $ 4 with tax already accounted for, and the receipt isn’t itemized. Must have tacked it on for using my credit card – not really worth going back for, but if this is a regular business practice, maybe it’s a good thing they’re closing.

Hurry up, because this store is closing in the next two weeks or so!
50% OFF! (except for postcards).
You won’t find Little Nell here, but it is a cute little shop with all sorts of curiosities: skeleton cookie cutters, skull beads, bits of glittery rocks, circular playing cards, tarot cards, bird skeletons encased in plastic, tattoo oven mitts, teeny tiny plastic animal menagerie, a ceiling full of Chinese lanterns and tin devils/​angels along with several displays of arty, smarmy and snarky postcards.
Whee!

As far as stores go, the store from the outside is very inviting. The two owners however are a different story! Upon entering the store they told me to take my bag off because it would knock things off the shelf. Despite having a small bag, I did as they asked without question. As I browsed the store, they two owners gossiped audibly and rudley about me which in turn, made me decide to leave the store without purchasing anything. Terrible experience and completely uncalled for.

I love this store, it’s very cute and filled with tons of interesting trinkets from DIY music boxes to worry dolls! I specifically love the little gifts from South America that come with little cards that tell you the purpose and background of the objects. However, the store space is limited and very hard to walk through if someone else is in the aisle. The items are also pretty expensive, but there are some small items that can be relatively cheap ($ 5 – 15). Would recommend going even if you’re not looking to buy, it’s a really fun shop!

unfriendly and actually rude. they have an incredible selection of interesting items, but I would not buy anything from the shop because of the attitude of the man behind the counter.

The house of cards & curiosities is cute and quaint but also very pretentious and expensive. A few dollars for a finger puppet I used to get for 25 cents when I was in elementary school seems as curious as this house of curiosities. It is fun to walk through and see all the tchotchkes they have. It was a throw back! A lot of random silly kids things from the 90s that people usually throw out. They take it and sell it for 5 times the price. It’s actually pretty genius. I just wish the guy behind the register didn’t look like he was eternally miserable. Even when speaking with him, he was frowning. The House of Cards & Curiosity should be treated the way you go to a free museum. Walk through to see some interesting stuff and then leave… it’s not worth paying money for something you might find in your childhood desk in your parent’s house!

I agree with a lot of the reviews on here about the ‘nice’ customer service. There is nothing nice about it. I’m super sad with the whole idea because I do love their cards and when I need to find a unique funny gift for a friend, I come here. I feel awkward as soon as I step through the door. Even if I’m the only one in there, I don’t get a ‘hello’. It is tiny and cramped, so it’s not like they can’t see me. If I smile, I’m the one in the wrong. So, alas– I will probably have to find another weird card shop to spend too much money on knick knack gift things.

Fifteen dollars for an old postcard? Really?

This is a really cute tiny store packed with all sorts of interesting gadgets that I’m sure you will not find anywhere else. They specialize in these outrageous cards, so if you ever get tired of the same old greeting card, this place will wipe away that ennui. It’s like stepping into a shop from a Harry Potter set. Quirky, unique and utterly enchanting.

Interesting shop packed floor-​to-​ceiling with knick-​knacks.
Worth stopping in if you’re walking by and have a few minutes to kill.

I love this unique little boutique. And when I mean little, I mean you can barely turn around without knocking something over. They have unusual and funny cards, funky gifts, party decorations, trinkets and objets d’art from all over the world, and even framed bugs and skulls. If you have a quirky taste in home décor, I highly recommend this spot.
One thing to remember… this place ain’t cheap, so bring a fat wallet!

Lovely and inventive greeting cards and curios. With a huge selection of gay themed cards. They do need better sympathy cards and kid cards.
The one big drawback here is the owner, who has a hugely paraniod and grumpy demeanor. This man is a committedly dour guy. You almost hate to give him business sometimes. I’ve been coming here for 25 years. Do you think that would garner a smile, or even a hello? Nope.
If only the owner were nicer I’d spend more money, give him five stars and enjoy going there, instead of always having to take a deep breath before i enter, and buying what i need fast and getting out, pronto. I don’t browse as he doesn’t encourage it, which is too bad as he has lots of interestings items. Oh well…

This minuscule shop on 8^th Avenue and Jane caught my eye yesterday and it being Mother’s Day and all, I thought I’d take a peek. And peek I did. Not much larger than a walk-​in closet, HOC is jammed to the gills with unique greeting cards and knick knack gifts galore. It’s easily to waste your money on Hallmark Holidays — what with the $ 5 price tag on Anne Geddes baby pimping paper, mini wind-​up hearts and themed refrigerator magnet poetry it’s really no wonder we Americans generate roughly 4.6lbs of garbage per person each day.
Not to say that these little gems won’t bring a smile to grandma’s lips or that you won’t find that perfect gift for the West Villager who has everything. Best to satiate your curiosity and risk a trip through. After all, it won’t take more than 60 seconds to take the tour.

Resin-​cast fruit bats, yodeling pickle pens, gorilla erasers and T-​Rex belt buckles. Like a Spencers with savoir faire, HCC purveys relevant kitsch in synch to modern tastes.
No f@*+ jokes here, and a surprisingly refreshing turn from an overwhelmingly Fred or Accoutrement novelties stash make it a fun walk through for passers-​by. Just keep it snappy: there’s only room for six in the store, a cluttered attic labyrinth of bumping shoulders and squeezing past.
The card selection is tremendous and I wanted to take a few home if I had any inkling of what important dates approached. And I’m not the type to by cards «just in case» — that’s Martha Stewart antics, not D. Of notice as well, the array of critters (parts and whole) frozen in transparent plastic, similar to what Gomez Addams would keep in his cubicle when he eventually joins the corporate world as a CPA. This biggest draw is also the biggest downfall; a quick Google search on Comparative Animal Hearts showed the same mass-​produced item being sold on eBay at a third of the price here. An extra buck or two for a craft card is fine, but a differential of $ 100 on a catalog item?
Something’s gotta pay the rent, I guess. Just won’t be me.

Stopped in here today after a great brunch down the block.
While I didn’t purchase anything, this place has the funniest greeting cards for all occasions that I’ve seen anywhere.
Like the «Wicked itch of the Yeast», picturing a cartoon witch straddling a broom and scratching her hoo hoo madly.
In addition they have a wide assortment of «day of the dead» skeletons and hand carved small bone pieces in various skull like or scary formats.
Just fun and friendly, if you’re into that kind of stuff. It’s a nice diversion.
It’s a little tight in here, but they are friendly, and cram a lot of stuff into a small space.

This is totally unique and tiny shop that delivers in showing you plenty of curiosities. They’ve got lots of vintage inspired toys and cards and items with made with animals and insects (animal skeletons, preserved insects, fossils, and so on). But you can get a better selection of the cards and nick nacks at Exit 9 in Brooklyn, and the other organic items at the Evolution Store in Soho. Where this place excels (besides having such a wide selection) is their bone/​ivory carved items and their day of the dead wooden artwork. The ivory is actually historic mammoth ivory which makes it the only ivory legally able to be bought and sold in the country.
The prices of everything here is really high but as I have no idea the going rate of a wooden dead of the dead statue made in Mexico or an skull carved from a mammoth bone I have no idea if it’s over priced or not. Either way it’s fun to browse this little shop

FINALLY, a place that made me feel like a little kid again. Yup, I know… it’s been quite some time… but this place is simply stocked with metal wind-​up toys and unique paraphanelia that you would not typically find in a regular retail store.
And that’s what makes it awesome.
For those of us who have been there… I know I know… it’s small inside. But personally, I think it’s what makes it charming and cool.
This store carries a great selection of cards and wrapping paper for any occassion, as well as gift items, trinkets and gadgets that makes me want to stay in there and play all day.
I just can’t wait to work my way down to the West Village to check out the latest selections!

I send myself greeting cards. Is that weird? When I travel I mail myself a letter. Each birthday I send greetings about aging being a positive thing. I love getting holiday wishes from myself and yes I’m my most faithful Valentine. Getting mail that’s not a bill, catalog or advertisement — it’s fun. The envelope arrives and for a split second I actually forget that I sent it and my eyes widen with anticipation. Ok, maybe this is a little weird, but no matter.
Looking for something to send myself for Valentines is what took me to House of Cards and Curiosities. A small neighborhood store it’s packed with greetings, novelties and items so useless that you have to have them and I love them for it.
The cards are pricy, but they are also worth it (well I’m worth it). There is a lot of hand made stuff and originality that actually feels original. My only complaint would be that there is so much stuff packed into every crevice of the place I couldn’t reach many cards or even get to some of them because they were behind even more stuff.
Supporting shops like this, the places that give a neighborhood its character, is important. Just as important is buying yourself a little reminder that you are your biggest fan.