C’est si bon with Claire and Odile at WantedDesign

At WantedDesign Manhattan in May 2022, Odile Hainaut (center) and Claire Pijoulat (right), Co-Founders of WantedDesign, initiating the Emerging Designers Showcase hosted by Amy Devers| Jenna Bascom Photography Two extremely stylish polyglot ladies are at the helm of our next featured women-owned business client, the design fair WantedDesign: Odile Hainaut and Claire Pijoulat. As if we needed any more proof that Canva and its ilk (hiss) will never hold a candle to living, breathing pro...
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Why did colonists burn down NYC in 1776? Joyce Gold will tell you, on a walking tour

Uruguayan writer Eduardo Galeano once recounted an African proverb: “Until the gazelles write their own history, the lions will be the heroes of the hunt.” All the more reason to find out what’s gone down in this capital city of world finance by booking a historic walking tour! Joyce Gold runs Joyce Gold History Tours of New York, another Benchmark client who is a fellow woman-owned business. She is a New York history teacher at New York University and The New School. She has...
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Minority woman-owned Pavilion on the Terrace makes events SO AMAZING!

Our next featured Minority & Women Owned Business Enterprise is Pavilion on the Terrace. Owner Kecia Weaver was already running a law practice when she took on the task of transforming one of the last remaining Greek Revival mansions, on Staten Island’s North Shore, into a premier event venue. Over six years, Kecia painstakingly renovated the Pavilion to its former glory and prestige. Pavilion hosts weddings, anniversaries, retirement parties, Sweet 16s, quinceañeras, Bar / Bat Mitzva...
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Rossana Russo keeps Lunella’s a family-run, autentico affair

Ready for date night? Ready for Little Italy, fritto di calamari, homemade gnocchi, and the perfect espresso to pick you back up? Well, you can satisfy that with a woman-owned business – Lunella Ristorante Italiano. Restaurateur Rossana Russo’s Italian immigrant family has owned and operated various restaurants on Mulberry Street for generations. Lunella’s is located on a narrow block of Nolita (North Little Italy) that evokes old times. There’s the reassuring 1950s-style moon o...
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Green Top Farms links local ag to school meals and deals with pandemic hunger

During the pandemic, many Benchmark customers scaled down their production in 2020.  For Al Raddock at Green Top Farms, it was the opposite.  Their food distribution of local, seasonal ingredients ramped up in the face of expanding food insecurity.  Working families' livelihoods evaporated for lack of a public health system strong enough to prevent disease outbreak and to take swift, unified action at critical times.   In schools, Green Top Farms provides food that me...
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Interview With María Perales, Owner of Benchmark Signaats by Realty Collective

Originally published on Realty Collective. We recently spoke with María Perales, owner of Benchmark Signaats, as part of our women-owned series. As you know we are committed to supporting and promoting our fellow female-owned local businesses and we are pleased to share María’s inspiring words with you today. Please enjoy the interview and check out her business info and brochure below that! What woman inspires you and why? My mother passed away 17 years ago, but she still inspires me today. ...
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