The hardest person on every gift list is the one who buys what they want, when they want it. You cannot out-shop them. So stop trying. The way in is not more stuff, it is better attention: knowledge they have not found yet, an upgrade to something they touch every day, a beautiful object they would never buy for themselves, or an experience disguised as a gift.
1. Juicy Salif Citrus Squeezer
Juicy Salif Citrus Squeezer Alessi. Price: $150.00. This link goes directly to the retailer.
Starck’s iconic citrus squeezer is equal parts sculpture and tool. A forty year old design classic that still steals the kitchen counter.
2. AERIN Ava Brass Bamboo Magnifying Glass and Letter Opener
AERIN Ava Brass Bamboo Magnifying Glass and Letter Opener Bloomingdale’s. Price: $160.00. This link goes directly to the retailer.
A brass and bamboo magnifying glass paired with a matching letter opener. Desk jewelry that actually gets used.
3. A Bookstand (Clear)
A Bookstand (Clear) AnnSandra. Price: $120.00. This link goes directly to the retailer.
Assouline’s clear acrylic stand holds a favorite book open at the perfect angle. Invisible support for something worth displaying.
4. Scissors – Indian 11″ Brass
Scissors – Indian 11″ Brass Maiwa. Price: $49.95. This link goes directly to the retailer.
Solid brass handles with eleven inches of high carbon steel. The kind of tool that lives on a desk and never needs replacing.
5. AERIN Shagreen Oversized Match Box
AERIN Shagreen Oversized Match Box Bloomingdale’s. Price: $375.00. This link goes directly to the retailer.
Embossed shagreen and brass around an oversized box of matches, with a clever opening that reveals the strike card. A small ritual, beautifully housed.
6. Nelson Ball Clock
Nelson Ball Clock Design Within Reach. Price: $685.00. This link goes directly to the retailer.
George Nelson’s 1949 ball clock in black and brass. Midcentury punctuation for a shelf, still in production by Vitra.
7. Eames House Bird (Large)
Eames House Bird (Large) Design Within Reach. Price: $540.00. This link goes directly to the retailer.
The carved alder folk art bird the Eameses kept on their living room table. A small, perfect gesture of design history.
8. Fornasetti Tema e Variazioni n.356 Wall Plate
Fornasetti Tema e Variazioni n.356 Wall Plate Neiman Marcus. Price: $190.00. This link goes directly to the retailer.
Lina Cavalieri’s face reimagined as the Sagittarius plate from Tema e Variazioni. A collector’s wall moment, handcrafted in Italy.
9. Melt Portable LED Table Lamp
Melt Portable LED Table Lamp Design Within Reach. Price: $295.00. This link goes directly to the retailer.
Tom Dixon’s swirling liquid metal light, now cordless. A portable glow for the table that deserves better lighting.
10. Ember Cup (6 oz)
Ember Cup (6 oz) Ember. Price: $59.97. This link goes directly to the retailer.
A self warming 6 oz espresso cup that holds temperature to the degree. The last cold coffee, ever.
11. Acaia Lunar Espresso Scale
Acaia Lunar Espresso Scale Whole Latte Love. Price: $250.00. This link goes directly to the retailer.
A scale built for the espresso drip tray, accurate to a hundredth of a gram. Flow rate, weight, and time in a package smaller than a coaster.
12. Ionic French Press
Ionic French Press L’Objet. Price: $450.00. This link goes directly to the retailer.
L’Objet’s French press in burnished brass and stainless steel. The humble morning ritual, dressed for the sideboard.
13. Atmos Vacuum Canister (Manual)
Atmos Vacuum Canister (Manual) Fellow. Price: $34.95. This link goes directly to the retailer.
Fellow’s manual vacuum canister pulls air out with a twist of the lid. Coffee, tea, and cereal stay fresh twice as long.
14. Coravin Timeless Model 3+
Coravin Timeless Model 3+ Williams Sonoma. Price: $279.95. This link goes directly to the retailer.
Preserve an open bottle for weeks with argon gas and a needle. Drink the grand cru tonight and the village wine next week.
15. Georg Jensen Sky Ice Bucket and Ice Tong
Georg Jensen Sky Ice Bucket and Ice Tong Bloomingdale’s. Price: $196.00 (20% off, reg. $245.00). This link goes directly to the retailer.
Georg Jensen’s sculptural steel bucket with matching tongs. Every home bar deserves one beautiful ice vessel.
16. Michael Aram Twig Cake Server
Michael Aram Twig Cake Server Perigold. Price: $85.00. This link goes directly to the retailer.
Michael Aram’s twig server from the Butterfly Ginkgo collection. Nature cast in metal, made for the cake that follows dinner.
17. Anna Spoon: Tea Spoon, 4 Pieces
Anna Spoon: Tea Spoon, 4 Pieces Alessi. Price: $60.00. This link goes directly to the retailer.
Alessandro Mendini’s smiling Anna, as a set of four tea spoons. A small dose of Postmodern joy in the sugar bowl.
18. Atlas of Furniture Design
Atlas of Furniture Design Herman Miller Store. Price: $250.00. This link goes directly to the retailer.
The Vitra Design Museum’s 1,028 page survey of 1,740 objects across two centuries. The furniture book against which all others are measured.
19. Cabana Anthology: The Anniversary Edition
Cabana Anthology: The Anniversary Edition Magers & Quinn. Price: $100.00. This link goes directly to the retailer.
The anniversary edition of Cabana magazine’s ten years of interiors. Martina Mondadori’s maximalist bible, 432 pages deep.
20. PIX Petrol Blue Rollerball (MB136441)
PIX Petrol Blue Rollerball (MB136441) Montblanc. Price: $420.00. This link goes directly to the retailer.
Montblanc’s PIX in petrol blue precious resin with platinum coated fittings. Everyday writing with a playful edge.
21. LAMY 2000 Fountain Pen
LAMY 2000 Fountain Pen LAMY. Price: $279.00. This link goes directly to the retailer.
The 1966 Bauhaus icon by Gerd Müller, in brushed Makrolon with a 14k nib. One of the few pens a designer will never retire.
22. Axis Single Travel Watch Stand (Copper)
Axis Single Travel Watch Stand (Copper) WOLF. Price: EUR 179.00. This link goes directly to the retailer.
WOLF’s Axis stand in copper holds a single watch for travel. The nightly watch ritual, packed in its own case.
23. Graham Leather Travel Tech Organizer
Graham Leather Travel Tech Organizer Mark & Graham. Price: $49.00. This link goes directly to the retailer.
Mark & Graham’s full grain leather tech organizer. Cables, chargers, and earbuds corralled in one elegant zip.
24. Beosound A1 (3rd Generation)
Beosound A1 (3rd Generation) Bang & Olufsen. Price: $349.00. This link goes directly to the retailer.
Bang & Olufsen’s third generation portable speaker, pearl blasted and palm sized. A jewel of Danish sound engineering.
25. Muse Votive Holder
Muse Votive Holder Jonathan Adler. Price: $35.00. This link goes directly to the retailer.
Jonathan Adler’s gilded Muse bust holds a votive candle, and doubles beautifully as a bedside ring holder.
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