No Plan, No Fear, No Quitting: Julie Gaines on Running NYC’s Coolest Store & Giving MS the Finger

She dug through filthy sub-basements in the Bowery looking for discarded restaurant ware — and built one of New York's most beloved stores. Julie Gaines, co-founder of Fishs Eddy, joins Maryam on the blue couch to talk about 40 years of messy parts: the husband who cheated and left for Florida (then Thailand), the three CEOs who didn't work out, and the MS diagnosis she now calls a "dignity thief." Julie doesn't sugarcoat any of it. She's blunt, she's funny, and she's still working through it all. If you've ever wondered what it actually takes to survive four decades in business and life, this one's for you.

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00:00 - "Talk About a Messy Part You Have No Control Over" 🦽
Julie opens with a cold, honest gut-punch about her MS diagnosis and the slow shift from cane to walker to wheelchair, setting the tone for an episode that doesn't flinch.

02:41 - How Julie Met Dave and Found Her Store 💘
A chance walk down a West Village street, a movie date, and a shared obsession with funky glassware. Julie recounts the meet-cute that would eventually become Fishs Eddy.

04:48 - Digging Through Bowery Basements for Treasure 🕯️
Julie describes the filthy, dimly lit sub-basements packed with abandoned restaurant ware where she and Dave built the foundation of their business.

09:50 - "It Just Felt Like Opportunity" — '80s New York Nostalgia 🗽
Julie reflects on the grittier, more affordable New York she came up in, and how different that landscape feels from the city today.

14:41 - "What Do I Have to Lose?" The Cynthia Rowley & Caroline Kennedy Collabs 📞
Julie explains her fearless, cold-outreach philosophy that landed her collaborations and a memorably awkward first call with Caroline Kennedy.

19:14 - Three CEOs and the Problem With "We're All Family" 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦
Julie gets candid about burning through outside hires because she and Dave couldn't stop treating employees like family, even the ones who didn't deserve it.

23:07 - Her Daughter's Phone Reveals the Affair 💔
Julie recounts the exact moment her daughter showed her the texts that ended her 30-year marriage, and the phone call to Dave that confirmed it was over.

25:22 - "He Clipped My Wings" ✂️
Her son's blunt assessment of what Julie’s marriage had cost her, and how those words still stick with her today.

29:59 - "I Was Devastated" — the MS Diagnosis 🩺
Julie walks through the early days of her MS diagnosis, the doctor's chilling advice to "go home and enjoy your family," and how the disease has progressed since.

32:21 - Why Julie Shares Her Messy Parts So Openly 🎤
Julie explains why she refuses to hide her MS the way so many women do at work, and how humor has become her survival tool.

40:17 - Julian Schnabel Turned Her Dishes Into Art 🎨
Julie tells the story of a customer who bought bushels of Fishs Eddy dishes to smash and use in his paintings — only to later learn he was renowned artist Julian Schnabel.

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