005: the gifts I keep on giving
Gifting ideas for birthdays, housewarming, or just because
I have a strict gifting philosophy and it’s to give something that you think a person might like but wouldn’t necessarily get for themself. To clarify, I’m not a total gift anarchist and would, for example, respect a wedding registry. But in every other case I prefer to hunt for something with meaning, picked out with love. Here are a few fan-favorite gifts given and received over the years!
I love a good coffee table book. Most will recognize Assouline’s travel collection but for those who heart NY, I prefer Assouline’s take on The Carlyle. Another favorite is the homage to the late Holiday Magazine which featured the likes of everyone from Kerouac, to Didion, Capote, and Slim Aarons. A photographic archive of Sofia Coppola’s work is generally loved by all cinephiles.
The majority of the population is candle-neutral making it your safest gifting bet. Seda France’s Japanese Quince candle is the signature scent of my home and I’m happy to share it with friends. If you really love someone, Fornasetti candles. When I’m done with mine, I clean out the last bits and reuse the vessels for makeup brushes, pens etc. Jonathan Adler’s Peace candle is nice. I’m quite fond of gifting safety matches in large boxes. I recently came across a giant version from Archive Gallery, and in this case, bigger is better!
While we’re on the subject of whimsy— I recently gifted someone Gohar’s bottle aprons. If going to a dinner party, they’re great to bring with wine or on a bottle of Pellegrino. The entirety of Gohar’s offerings are exquisite and these pearl tooth picks would be a fun gift as well, for martini purposes.
On several occasions I’ve gifted plate or mug sets from Ralph Lauren. Particularly this Canape Plate Set. I love Ralph’s Coffee collection which includes baseball caps and coffee beans. RL does the most fantastic gift wrapping. If you can find vintage French Bistro saucers, they’re adorable. A quick google search didn’t bring up much so if you’re looking for these, reach out to me and I’ll help you chase them down (a store in Woodside has a few)!
Chocolates from Louis Sherry are a fan favorite and the tins are beloved more than the chocolate itself. Sometimes I send Laduree macarons although I always wonder what the presentation is like when they arrive…
Also of the French variety, Arpin’s hand mirror is a sweet gift from Paris. And speaking of gifts from Paris, one of my favorites I’ve received was a Dior Mitzah Scarf with an ‘M’ on it. They come in several patterns in every letter of the alphabet.
Alexandra von Furstenberg’s snap frames have been on my gifting go-to, and while I know it’s blasphemous to say this, you can find similar ones on Amazon. In fact, far too many homes are lacking picture frames. Farfetch has almost a hundred of them here (some at sickening prices) but you get the idea.
And finally, filing under gifts you could pick up anywhere: monogrammed stationary. I don’t think anyone could ever have enough.
Say hi & pls share this newsletter with a friend <3