šŸ¬ Sugary Scoop: EĢtudes of Gratitude (Part I)

Where you belong when work is done :)

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Welcome to the Sugary Scoop, my free biweekly newsletter where we help you see and experience the magic of NYC that I love so much through curated events, experiences, artists, and community stories.

Letā€™s get to this weekā€™s Scoop!

UPCOMING SUGARY EVENTS

Wednesday šŸ¬ 12.11

  • 7:00pm (Midtown): Sugary & Joust's Upscale Game Night - Sugary is proud to team up with the folks at Joust for an incredible night of gaming amongst peers and total strangers. We've taken over a part of a hotel to play in style with food and drink available for purchase all night and festive tunes of the season spinning in the background.

    So whether you're a novice or a seasoned pro, DO pass GO, DO Uno reverse your plans to stay in, and definitely know that it was Colonel Mustard in the kitchen with the candlestick!  

  • Joust (@joustsociety) hosts upscale game nights in hotels and lounges all over New York City. Join us for an intimate game night to cap off the year.

    Expect a line-up of:

    • ā€‹Party/social games like Codenames, Wavelength and Taboo

    • ā€‹Familiar favs like Uno, Monopoly Deal and your favorite card games

    • ā€‹A few classics like Catan, Clue and more

    • Dress code: "Knives Out": cardigans, turtlenecks... just watch the movie

  • (Social Battery Level: Medium Ambivert - Crowd Size 40-60). RSVP HERE

Thursday šŸ¬ 12.19

  • 7:00pm (Brooklyn): Fine Folk: The Holiday Party - Our final party of the year! Come join us for some holiday cheer in in good company. An exceptional evening for people of exceptional character.

    As with every Fine Folk gathering, the rules are simpleā€¦ 

    If your rsvp is accepted, you are allowed 1 guest.

    Two Rules:

    1. You must know the guest for at least 1+ years

    2. You must share a real account of how your guest showed up in your life that meant EVERYTHING to you.

    No casual relationships at these gatherings.

  • (Social Battery Level: Medium Extrovert - Crowd Size 60-80). RSVP HERE

(Space is very limited for each of these events so if youā€™d like to attend to any of these events, please hit the RSVP button below sooner than later!)

NOTABLE NYC EVENTS FROM FRIENDS

ThursdayšŸ¬ 12.05

  • 7:00pm (Tribeca): Community Builder Winter Social - ā€‹ā€‹Join us for our Community Builder Winter Social, hosted with Fabrik, Led By Community and Tightknit! This night is designed for community builders to network and exchange ideas with fellow change-makers.

    Enjoy a fun selection of wine and small bites as you mingle and learn from one another. Bring your fellow community enthusiasts and let's build stronger networks together.

  • 6:00pm (Soho): Creator Economy Presents: Content to Commerce Mixer & Panel with Shopify - ā€‹ā€‹ā€‹For our final event of 2024, weā€™re stoked to be partnering with our friends at Shopify for a mixer and panel focused on content to commerce.

    ā€‹Weā€™ll be sitting down with leading creators ā€” Brett Conti, Elliot Choy and AmandaRachLee, who have launched ā€” or are in the process of building ā€” their own brands on Shopify, diving into the tactics, strategies, and insights that turn audiences into customers.

Wednesday šŸ¬ 12.11

  • 6:00pm (Midtown): Arootah Presents: Festive Holiday Networking Event - ā€‹ā€‹Celebrate the season with an evening, featuring an executive dialogue on Mastering Strategic Communicationā€”a perfect blend of networking, professional growth, and holiday cheer! Join NYCā€™s top high performers to connect with like-minded professionals while gaining powerful insights into mastering communication.

    Enjoy a festive atmosphere of dinner and drinks as you mingle with fellow ambitious New Yorkers. Donā€™t miss this chance to expand your network and leave inspired, ready to start the new year with confidence and clarity. Spots are limitedā€”reserve yours today!

  • RSVP HERE (First 20 RSVPS ARE FREE, REG TIX $100)

Letā€™s Build Together: A New Kind of Community + Creator Event

In a world where itā€™s all too easy to get trapped in our own silos, itā€™s time to come together with purpose. This upcoming event isnā€™t just about building communityā€”itā€™s about creating spaces for honest exchange, where curiosity thrives and connections go beyond the surface.

We're gathering NYCā€™s brightest community + creator minds for an event thatā€™s all about transforming how people connect, engage, and grow together. If you're serious about making an impact and making $$$ at the same time, take our survey to help shape this one-of-a-kind experience.

Who this is for: NYCā€™s Vibrant Community Builders & Creators

When & Where: Jan 25th 2025 in Tribeca (Fabrik NYC)

Hosted by: DK & Sugary

Spots are limited, so let us know what youā€™d bring to the table to help one another.

Know someone whoā€™d be a great fit?

Share this with friends and colleagues who might want in!

WHATā€™S NEW?

Iā€™ve missed you too, NYCā€¦ 
Photo by Juan PatiƱo

I am finally back in town! After about a month and a half, Iā€™ve returned back to the land of burgers, pizzas and fries and have taken full advantage of that fact in ravenous fashion.

But on a real note Iā€™m thrilled to be home, to be back in the rhythm of the city, to see my friends again.  Itā€™s all been quite healing.

With Black Friday around the corner, weā€™re offering a rare discount on our whole line of empathy tees until Dec 3rd so definitely take this opportunity to grab or gift a shirt if you havenā€™t already!

Artists Empathy Tees - BOGO Deal - Buy Now (discount applied at checkout)

Original Empathy Tees - 30% off - Buy Now (discount applied at checkout)

THE SUGARY EFFECT

Holding onā€¦for dear lifeā€¦

Ɖtudes of Gratitude (Part I)ā€¦

With the advent of Thanksgiving around the corner, I wanted to share some reflections on gratitude that my recent trip to Asia inspired. May these nuanced notations provide food for thought this holiday seasonā€¦ 

I celebrated my birthday upon my return from Taiwan this past Friday. 

Amidst the revelry during the actual celebration and in the days leading up to it, an understandable question that kept coming up among my friends was, 

ā€œHow was your trip to see your mom?ā€

What I have told everyone is that it was probably physically and emotionally one of the hardest trips I have ever experienced on many levels, yet in a moment of gratitudeā€¦

I was grateful for the fact that I had the chance to see my parents.

What do I mean by that?  

My experience, which I suspect is a shared one, is that we all have the luxury of timeā€¦until we donā€™t, and almost inevitably we take time for granted until the sand begins its final sinking swirl around the neck.

The knowledge but more importantly the internalization that my time with my parents is within the realm of single digit prospects is a grievous one.

This realization was hallmarked in  sobering fashion by another unexpected development leading up to my trip that threw me for a loop and it was surprisingly not about my mom and her cancer diagnosisā€¦

ā€¦but rather my dad.

In the weeks leading up to my trip I was wrapping up an activation in LA having hosted a rooftop concert for my artists Movie Night when I received an unexpected call from my parentsā€™ line at an unexpected time.

When I picked it up it was neither my mom or my dad, it was the neighborā€™s daughterā€¦

There, as I sat in the Hertz rental car lot returning my car, I had to take in this newsā€¦

ā€¦I was told my father had collapsed and suffered a Covid induced cerebral infarctionā€¦or in laymanā€™s terms, my dad had a mild stroke sometime in the early hours of September 17thā€¦the day of the mid autumn festivalā€¦turns out it wasnā€™t so festive after all.

I have not shared this with many people until now, mainly because it was all happening quite suddenly and I was just in the frenzy of preparing for my trip which somehow became more ominous as my flight approached and struggling to maintain my own mental balance in the midst of this chaos.

Without any warning what was already going to be a difficult trip to see my mother became a double whammy that amounted to the sensation of getting clubbed in the back of the head while you were already down.

When it rains, it fuckinā€™ poursā€¦or in this case it just floods you right out.

Yet in the midst of this turmoil, I discovered my next moment of gratitudeā€¦

It could have been worseā€¦way worse.

Had my father remained undiscovered in the adjacent room by my mother, who knows how much more his stroke conditions would have advanced.  The doctors said it was nothing short of a miracle that my mother just happened to get up to use the bathroom and discovered my father listless on the hardwood floor as soon as she did or perhaps I might have been coming home to a funeral and not just an extended stay.

In an instant my trip became so much more than a visit of duty, it became a visit of critical and compassionate care for my mother who was now isolated and so very alone. 

I still think about the absurd serendipity of this chain of events.

As I awaited boarding, I reflected on my upcoming trip in the final moment before I crossed the Pacific towards whatever challenges lay before meā€¦ 

I honestly didnā€™t know what to expect. My mind was a maelstrom of thoughts ranging from trepidation, to obligation, to genuine grief.  

What was conspicuously missing in this cocktail, was the anger and resentment I held onto for all these years towards my parents.

I guess none of that mattered nowā€¦

ā€¦I was grateful for clarity of purpose.

I wasnā€™t going to see my parents because I HAD to, I was going there to see my parents because I WANTED to

ā€¦and I hadnā€™t felt that sensation in a long long timeā€¦

TO BE CONTINUEDā€¦

PAST EVENTS

Nov. 22nd: Make A Wish: A Very Sugary Potluck - About 75 of you joined me to celebrateā€¦wellā€¦me. šŸ˜Š Well it was a fabulous evening and I was grateful that so many of you came out to offer your love and support as I began my next orbit around the sun.  Have a lot to be grateful for and it begins and ends with all of you so THANK YOU!!!

Nov. 24th: Make A Wish: A Simple Thanksgiving Potluck - About 40 of you came out to break bread in the spirit of the season! It was nothing but great eats and a beautiful gathering of community to help kick off Thanksgiving week!

Great food, great companyā€¦zero pretense.

AND DONā€™T SAY I DIDNā€™T TELL YOU ABOUTā€¦

An analog proposition for a digital worldā€¦

Creator Economy NYC

NYC just got a whole lot closer for creators seeking to find a sense of community here.

Creator Economy NYC is an incredible community that you should pay attention to. 

Founder in 2023 by Brett Dashevsky, the community has grown tremendously becoming a hub for the entire creator ecosystem.  

By itā€™s own words, the purpose of Creator Economy NyC is ā€œTo foster relationships and build a thriving community that drives the creator economy forwardā€.

And it is community specifically, not an audience per se.  One of Dashevskyā€™s aims is to make NYC the preeminent capital for the creator economy eclipsing the standard bearing city of Los Angeles.  I couldnā€™t agree more with this mission.

To achieve this, Dashevsky and his team curate monthly IRL events that range from mixers to panel discussions and everything in-between.

Having attended several of these events I can personally attest to not only the quality of the content and featured speakers but also the vibrancy of the community.

At any given gathering, hobbyists intersect with career influencers who mix with digital/analog services who then collide with brands of all types.

It truly makes for a thrilling and insightful time and I absolutely urge you to check them out and perhaps discover your own creative inspiration along the way.

Creator Economyā€™s final event of the year will be on 12/5. You can register HERE or below.

ARTIST SPOTLIGHT

Beyond gifted. Utterly brilliant.  I give you Hailey Knox.

Hailey Knox

Wunderkind. 

What does it mean? In shortā€¦genius.

And that is what you have embodied in the diminutively framed yet expansively minded Hailey Knox.

I first encountered Hailey at a showcase she performed for NMPA and right then and there I knew that I was in the presence of greatness.

I immediately connected with her and asked her to perform for my Fine Folk salon which she agreed to.

Iā€™m so grateful I did that.

Because since that point, Hailey has taken the world by storm with her R&B stylings, disarming charm and playful demeanor.  Sheā€™s grown by leaps and bounds with her talent, producing content that has amassed tens of millions of views and attracted the association and collaboration of artists far more established than her.

To watch Hailey in her element is to watch a force of nature. You just savor the moment and hold on tight.  

There is an innate sense of craft and it all feels so natural and so effortless. 

Itā€™s like Hailey IS the music.  

She tackles complicated runs with childlike ease while presenting a lyricism advanced well beyond her years, all the while being a gifted savant at an array of instruments.

Itā€™s been SUCH a joy to see Haileyā€™s artistry grow year after year by leaps and bounds.

Please do yourself a huge favor and check out Haileyā€™s work.  She is definitely an artist that is bound for the stars and only growing brighter with each passing second.

Fabrik Community Space in Tribeca

Connect IRL. Experience Fabrik.

Get in touch with NYCā€™s brightest communities and make new friends.

Fabrik is a home for communities and where everyone has a place to belong. With spaces designed to feel more like your living room than your office, Fabrikā€™s 'third spaces' are vibrant hubs where you can come together in real life, explore interests, forge meaningful connections, and enjoy a sense of community.

Sign-up here to experience a day pass at Fabrik.

Week of Nov 11th events at Fabrik HERE

Located in Flatiron, NYC

Othership offers immersive sauna and ice bath experiences that help human beings feel good now. A sanctuary for social self-care to move you from city buzz to inner calm.

Dive into the largest performance saunas in North America, experience otherworldly ice bath spaces and connect in an intimate amphitheater-style tea lounge surrounding a cozy fire place for socializing.

Expect towel-waving performances, aromatherapy, guided breathwork, visualizations, and somatic release to help you shift your state and regulate your emotions, in a world that canā€™t be regulated.

The founders of Othership have gifted us a New York 2 for 1 Deal. Get yours while they last!

EMPATHY PROJECT

Support the Empathy Project by purchasing any of the items from the collection. Be a part of a unique initiative that empowers seven diverse artists to create one-of-a-kind empathy-inspired t-shirts. These shirts serve as iconography tied to our identity, promoting compassion-driven societal impact. 

Each artist picked a 501(c)3 charity of their choice to donate a portion of the sales of their t-shirt design. Your purchase also empowers voices, amplifies the message of empathy, supports charities, and elevates storytelling within our communities, all while building a network for compassion-driven societal change. Join us in making a lasting impact through art and empathy.

You can check out and purchase the 7 different empathy tees HERE

Thank you for taking the time to read to the end!

I hope you found something inspiring and meaningful in my content and until next time, explore the possibilities of NYC.

-Sugary

šŸ°šŸ­šŸ©šŸ¦šŸ«šŸŖšŸØšŸ§

PS. Donā€™t be shy and hit reply and tell me how youā€™re doing!

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