Business Spotlight: The Revolutionary Mushroom
Mel Xu, Owner of The Revolutionary Mushroom (Photos by @sisterbatwing and @roybaizan)
The Revolutionary Mushroom
therevolutionarymushroom.shop
The Revolutionary Mushroom was created by Mel Xu, a queer Chinese American artist, farmer and community organizer from Lenapehoking, or so-called Queens, NY. They create art nourishing our Mother Earth, our most marginalized communities, and ourselves. Mel handmakes almost all of their creations in Lenapehoking. Otherwise they collaborate with local BIPOC-owned small printing businesses. Almost everything in the shop is intentionally slowmade, home-compostable, and packaged with love in home-compostable packaging! The Revolutionary Mushroom was a vendor at Welcome to Chinatown’s Lunar New Year Fair.
Give us a brief background on yourself and your business!
Hello, I'm Mel! I'm an artist, farmer and community organizer! I was born in Chinatown, Manhattan and raised between Chinatown, Long Island, but mostly I was in Flushing, Queens with my sweet grandparents. I loved being out in my grandma's garden growing up, and it's still one of my favorite places in the world. I make earth-loving, community-loving, self-loving art, mostly with my own 2 hands in Queens NYC!
Most of my creations are compostable so eventually go to nourish the Earth. For printing services I only work with small local BIPOC owned printing businesses. I believe that even though we all have our own bodies, hearts and minds, we are not separate from each other and the Earth. Much like mushroom fruits, we are all connected through an energetic mycelial network. We all shape the world we live in together, and we have a shared responsibility to break down crumbling systems to make way for new growth. We are all The Revolutionary Mushroom.
How did you start your business, and what inspired you?
I will always be most inspired by Mother Nature, the greatest artist ever imho. The fact that trees in a forest live as a community, helping each other out with the help of their little mushroom friends inspires my life, art and business. My art is also informed by my lived experience as a queer second-gen Chinese American living in times like these. These are all aspects of my being that naturally manifest in my work as I create art and design my business.
Why is it important for you as an AAPI to be involved in the Chinatown community?
With Chinatown's history in heart, it's important that our corner of the city continues to be shaped and made by the AAPI community. Being involved in the Chinatown community means the world to me because it's one of the places closest to my heart. :')
What small business in Chinatown inspires you, and why?
Because I grew up mostly in Flushing, I'd love to talk about Soybean Chan Flower & Gift Shop on Roosevelt Ave! I have been eating his fresh silken tofu since I was a baby, and I still go there every time I stop in Flushing! I never knew his name, but I love this man. He always has some wisdom to impart and cares deeply for everyone who walks into his shop. He once told me to do exactly what makes me happy, and to take his shop for example. He said "I like to share plants and food with people, so I made this what I do." What inspires me most about his shop is that he is sharing from his heart what he loves with others, a business founded on love.
What’s your favorite item that you sell?
My favorite thing to make are my 1-of-a-kind handbound compostable journals. I like flowing with each book, adding pockets for stickers and sweet details to make you smile quietly. I love crafting a little world for our minds to take refuge from the outside world and turn inward to a sacred space to check in with ourselves.
With Chinatown's history in heart, it's important that our corner of the city continues to be shaped and made by the AAPI community.
What’s the best way to stay in touch and support your work?
Follow me on instagram @therevolutionarymushroom and see what I'm making, my pop-up events and peep life at the farm! You can also check iut my shop site :) therevolutionarymushroom.shop/
What is your advice to other AAPI vendors?
Your impact matters, especially if you are dealing with production. Please consider how you can make your business more sustainable for your own wellbeing, your community, those we share this Earth with, those who produce your products, and of course our Earth. We can't be perfect but we can always do better. :)
What are your go-to spots in Chinatown, and your must-buy items from there?
All food I'm mentioning is vegetarian friendly since I'm vegetarian! :)
Flushing, Queens: Hong Kong Bakery's egg tarts, Soybean Chan's Tofu Hua, Joe's Rice Rolls, ShaXian Snacks on Union St has amazing peanut noodles and vegetarian noodle soup, and they are open til 2am so it's a great late night spot :)
Chinatown, Manhattan: everything on the menu at Bodhi Vegan DimSum on Mulberry, Alimama Tea's taro munchkins and then sitting, listening and tipping the lovely musicians in Columbus Park :)
If you’d like to support The Revolutionary Mushroom, visit their website.
