Longtime East Village Shop Katinka Raising Funds To Save Store

EAST VILLAGE, NY — Katinka opened in the East Village in 1979 — when Jimmy Carter was president of the United States, Margaret Thatcher had just been elected as Prime Minister in the United Kingdon and SONY had just released the Walkman.

Now, the longtime neighborhood store at 303 E. Ninth Street, which sells goods from India, is asking the community for help staying open.

Owner Jane Williams recently created a GoFundMe looking to raise $15,000 for back rent incurred during the COVID-19 pandemic and help in continuing to support the Lasksh Foundation, an NGO in Mangar Village, India, that she's worked with for over a decade.

"For the last 14 years, I have been working with a self-empowerment project teaching and producing products to sell in my store, and in craft markets in India," reads a description on the Katinka GoFundMe. "I travel to India twice a year, paying my own plane fare and volunteering my design services and supplies to educate about 40 to 50 women in the village of Mangar, New Delhi, India."

So far, 125 people have raised $8,691 of the $15,000 goal.

Williams runs the business with her partner Billy Lyles. The store prides itself on not selling anything that is factory-produced and offering many items that are one of a kind.

"Jane and Billy are icons of the lower east side," one donator wrote on the GoFundMe. "Their presence is precious to us all."

Katinka released a video in 2021 explaining its experience during the pandemic, which gives you a better idea of the store and the people that run it.