Recently in “Gifts”

On Prince & Mercer Streets, in front of J.CREW ......sitting behind a very long table, probably made from a wooden plank and a pair of saw-horses, covered with a white cloth ........ sat Kristine, a 9 month pregnant "fashionista"!!!!! Spread before her was the most outrageous, incredible, over-the-top collection of leather wrap bracelets in the world ....... every color imaginable ........ with closures of stainless steel, gold plate, and gold plate oxidized bronze ........ an "accessoration" supreme!!!!! 

This F.I.T graduate and soon-to-be mother of two has been "working this block" for 8 years. She doesn't believe in trends ...... though she is definitely on trend at the moment .... leather is her passion and she never deviates!!!! She told me "I wear it and I believe in it, I never switch, not in 8 years." Her mantra is .... "If you don't know what you're looking at your not my customer!!!!" 

According to Kristine, "they" come from all over ..... men & women .... chic "accessorators," hip trendsetters, as well "uptownies's" who wear her jewelry to "funk-up" their Hermes look .... and  as she says.....they always come back for more!!!!!! I know I will!!!!! 

ARTISTS I MET AND LIKED, is the appropriate notebook for the art world's gurus, groupies, and pundits!!! It is a chic gift for lovers of: galleries, art fairs, auctions, Biennale's, and museums!!! But, art is not the only category available from Swedish company Archie Grand, there is a collection of 62 titles, each covered in a fabulous fashion color  ........  something for everyone!!! Titles include CHEFS I KNOW AND LOVE, POLITICIANS I KNOW AND LIKE, WIVES I HAD AND LIKED, LAWYERS I MET AND LIKED, CAPITALISTS I MET AND LIKED, etc.. The books are bound in a rigid leather-like laminate covers, contain 120 blank pages, and are 160x115 mm ......... a perfect fit for a jacket pocket or a small evening bag!!!!

Best Made Company. was founded by designer and author Peter Buchanan-Smith, and outdoorsman and environmental entrepreneur  Graeme Cameron, boyhood friends who met in 1984 at legendary boys camp, Camp Ahmek, in Northern Ontario. They say that, "it was there they learned- with love & respect- to wield an axe." 

Thirty years have passed and both boy's have grown into men. They have families and children, live urban lives in Manhattan & Toronto, and are surrounded by the "must-have toys," imperative to our fast-moving lives: i-Pods, iPhones, nanos, flat screen TV's, cell phones that take pictures & videos, apps, and more!!! They realized, time is moving incredibly fast and "toys" need updating almost monthly. Slowing down and catching their breath, Peter & Graeme began thinking about timelessness, true happiness, real satisfaction, honesty, and simplicity. They talked about their boyhood, where they had been, what they wanted, and what they needed ....... and realized "all we really wanted was just a good axe- so we got to work."  

Working from small workshop in downtown Manhattan each axe is made to order. The 29" long handles are made of Tennessee Hickory, each is hand-painted, varnished, and polished. The heads are fine-grain steel and are exactly 71/4" deep. One of the most important elements in the design process is naming each axe!!!!  According to "axe artists" Peter & Graeme, "the naming process is crucial: it's where we give the axe the beginning of it's story, albeit a very short story (we purposely do not caption the axes, just give them names) because we know our customers are inventive enough to create the real ongoing story." Finally, the axes are packed into hand-made wooden crates and this "timeless instrument" begins it's "adventure."

I saw the axes originally at Partners & Spade, a well-curated design emporium, and knew I  had to write about them!!!!!!!! They are stunning objects- good design, wonderful colors, & great packaging too. But, definitely the most unusual "accessorations" I have found yet!!! I think they are fabulous ........don't you adore them too!!!!!!

ROSE CUMMINGS LIVING ROOM

GRETA GARBO LIVING ROOM

JAMES GALANOS BEDROOM

Jeremiah Goodman's career has spanned decades, beginning in the 1950's at Lord & Taylor, where he created print advertisements, illustrating everything from fashion to furniture. A great bon vivant and charmer, Jeremiah has always had "fashionable" friends, circling the globe, including John Gielgud, Greta Garbo, Billy Baldwin, David Hicks, Mary Martin, and Elsa Peretti..... and early on, he began creating "interior portraits" of their favorite rooms. These intimate illustrations, begun in the 1940's, continue to be drawn today!!!! They have appeared in every major fashion and shelter magazine, and in 2007 Powerhouse  published a significant book of his "rooms," A Romantic Vision. This book is a "must have" in any design library!!!!

London art dealer Dean Rhys Morgan has "borrowed" several of his illustrations and created a collection of prints, making his work accessible to all of us!!! Design guru's John Dransfield and Geoffrey Ross, great friend of Jeremiah's, are the representatives for this fantastic collection. Printed in London, this limited edition evokes all of the same passion, vibrancy, and charm as the original ...... an "accessorator's" dream ...... imagine a library wall covered with these beautiful images......Delightful!!!!!

One of the most extraordinary, interesting, and memorable "accessorations" I have seen lately is CASTAWAYS, a collection of kits designed to help kids create art. Each kit is a collection of various recycled cardboard pieces, taken from safe and clean manufacturing castoffs, packaged together for children to create individual "artworks" and to learn about ecology!!!!

"Trash for Teaching is a not-for-profit dedicated to environmental awareness and education through creative reuse. By making materials readily available to schools and teachers, we bridge the gap between the excess of waste created in manufacturing processes and the lack of materials in public education. Use of our materials also encourages critical thinking and stimulates the imagination by challenging children and teachers to find creative applications for non-traditional objects." 

The goal of the Selyn Socio-Economic Development Foundation is "to foster the intellectual, social, ethical, moral, spiritual, and emotional development of the less fortunate children of Sri Lanka, by assisting them in all aspects to become competent and employable and we will create sustainable and practical socio economic opportunities for rural women in order for them to achieve life long success." Created by Hamburg based designer Alexa Lixfeld (12/14/09 post) in a joint venture with Selyn, a private initiative, manufacturing and exporting handloom textiles, toys, and handicrafts, the Foundation's goal is to raise funds for a school for the children of the area, as well as provide jobs for local women, the foundation's first project was this collection of dolls.

Working with local children, Alexa helped to create a collection of dolls adapted from the children's drawings. Designed by students from Grades 1,2, and 3 of the Royal International school in Kurunegala, Sri Lanka, the drawings were transfered exactly drawn, onto 100% natural hand dyed, hand woven fabric and sewn by the women of the collective. "All dolls are truly unique and has the name of he child who made it or a name that was given to it by the child." These fabulous dolls are available at Rossana Orlandi, Milan; Mint, London; and TOUCH, Los Angeles. 

According to Alexa, "the design of this project is a project design, rather than only a product design. It involves all aspects of the social and cultural facts found in Sri Lanka and involves all aspects of the manufacturing methods of the company, as well as the dreams and visions these people have."

This project is spectacular and it is imperative that we support this project and continue to empower these women and children.

The "accessorator's" favorite gifts are books or works of art, particularly works on paper, and this project is a combination of the two!!!! London designer Tim Fishlock has created this "limited-edition book presented in a screen-printed box featuring twenty removable large format prints by world-renowned artists." The edition was created exclusively for Habitat, UK and is titled 50by70. The project is limited to 4000 boxes, and the title refers back to the size of the prints (50cmx70cm), which are meant to fit into a standard size frame.

of image-makers. 50x70 is as much about introducing the work of established artist to a new audience as it is show-casing the skills of the new kids on the block."  Tim Fishlock

Artists include ........ Patrick Hughes, Kevin Cummins, Zeloot, Tim Fishlock, Tsang Kin-Wah, Alex Trochut, Adrian Johnson, Flag Jorge Chamorro, Julian House, Stephen Zirwes, Merijn Hos, John Offenbach, Phunk, Shepard Fairey, Denis Darzacq, Sroop Sunart, Aarons Johnson, Anthony Burril, and Basso & Brooke.

I finally made it to the most divine new store in Miami Beach ..... The Webster ..... it is absolutely fabulous and beyond chic!!!!  And I promise to tell you all about it in January .....but.....for now, it's where I found this collection of bags, aptly titled "You Can't Judge A book By Its Cover,"  designed by Olympia Le-Tan, and heard them scream ..... "BUY ME"!!! 

Books, books, books ....my most favorite gift .... and here they are as my most favorite "accessory" .....a hangbag!!!! This duet is beyond my wildest dream!!! Olympia has repurposed the covers of 21 first-addition books into charming limited edition evening bags. The handmade "book bags," an edition of 16 of each, are embroidered with silk threads and have felt appliques. The base cloth is cotton canvas and they are lined in Liberty prints ..... a very, very quirky gift that would create a very "literary Christmas"!!!!!!!!

"I was thinking there were all these beautiful books around and they were being forgotten with everyone on the Internet, so I made it so that you can carry them around." Olympia Le-Tan

"The accessorator's" Christmas tree requires a Barbie doll under it and this limited edition Barbie, launched last week in Tokyo, is the chicest choice!!! Dressed for Christmas in "Jingle Flowers" by fashion designer Rei Kawakubo, of Comme des Garçons, Barbie is available at all Comme des Garçons stores world wide!!!!!

Artist Gabriel Dishaw recycles old circuit boards, copper wires, and a variety of "useless, old junk" to create his favorite classic sneaker silhouettes in his newest series of Junk Art. The collection is called "Pentium" after Intel's chips.

"Using found objects from typewriters, adding machines and old computers, I take the items people no longer have use for and I carefully disassemble these items and then reassemble these together using metal wire creating my Junk Art.I begin each sculpture with an idea of how I can take these found pieces of useless metal and insignificant objects and create something that everyone can understand and relate to." Gabriel Dishaw

These wild and wacky "sneakers"  are perfect for the man who really has everything ..... and truly needs nothing!!!!

Perfume, a classic Christmas gift has never looked like this!!! Hamburg based designer Alexa Lixfeld rarely follows the traditional mode. Her perfume collection, Frangrance, includes three unique scents, each with a different colored concrete top. The unexpected mix of the soft scent of fragrance and the harsh reality of concrete is stunning!!! I think these bottles are breathtaking eye candy, essential bathroom "accessorations"!!!

FRA EDP 001- This elegant and comforting fragrance combines cool elements. Off white  

FRA EDP 002- A unique natural fragrance that evokes the air scented by a sandalwood fan in

FRA EDP 003- An exotic fresh fougere perfume with bergamot and rosmarine which collides

This is the 2010 Fornasetti Calendar Plate, available from my friends Allison and Louis at Maison 24, in Bridgehampton. Piero Fiornasetti began creating and producing calendar plates in 1968, and Barnaba Fornasetti has continue the tradition since 1989. The theme of the years plate is snakes, taken from the Fornasetti archives. The black, white, and gold porcelain plate retails at $210 and will be available for shipment in December. I would suggest you order early as the the plate is a limited edition of 700 and bound to be a sell out!!!!

Last week, my friend Jennifer Parry visited NYC and she asked me to take her to Norfolk Street in the Lower East Side, to this amazing store she had heard about ....... I drove around for one hour, made a number of phone calls for directions, and finally found this eclectic and innovative "design project," that is Maryam Nassir Zadeh, a store that is so special .... it was worth every minute of the hour to find!!!

Owned by Maryam Zadeh, and her fiance Udsay Kak, this well curated, modern space is both open and intimate. The front has large glass windows, interior walls are white painted brick, the floor is grey concrete, and original wooden floor-to-ceiling beams support the ceiling. The store is non-traditionally fixtured with a variety of handmade wooden tables and benchs, flea markets finds, and organic elements found by the owners. The clothing, shoes, jewelry, and accessories featured in the store are by innovative, independent designers, with a touch of vintage ...... reflecting the same "old and new" aesthetic as the interior.

For "the accessorator", the most important element is the composition of the store and the artist's works that have been selected by Maryam and Udsay. The stunning oversized necklace wall-hanging, in neutral yarns and ropes of ivory, grey and peach tones with silver, is by a collective known as Confetti Systems. There are divine handmade bows and arrows by Fredricks & Mae, that would be wonderful color accents for any room. Sitting next to the arrows is a black felt sculpture by artist A'Detache. Hanging over the back counter is a wonderful Calder-like mobile, that includes a stack of paper plates, by artist and jewelry designer Samma. In addition, there are several black rubber sculptures on the floor that are made from bicycle tires by Italian artist Paolo Bertocchi. Not to be missed in the back corner are several long beaded pieces hanging from the ceiling by jewelry designer Lauren Manoogian. This eclectic, fresh mix of art is a wonderful accent to the apparel and is all for sale. 

"We wanted to express our aesthetic in a very personal way. It's not about the labels but more about the mix of unusual things coming together." Maryam Zadeh

There is no question that Maryam and Udsay have achieved their goal ..... the spirit and energy that surrounds this store is what real "merchandising" is about. If we want to give our customers a reason to shop we should take a look at the environment that has been created here, as well as the wonderful off-beat mix of innovative and interesting merchandise!!!!

AND YOU CAN CALL ME FOR GOOD DIRECTIONS!!!!!!

Leave it to the French to come up with an amazing way to say "thank you," and create a wonderful shopping experience as well!!!! Marie-France & Bernard Cohen, founders of the French cult children's brand Bonpoint, opened Merci this past spring in the Marais district of Paris, "combining fashion with philanthropy, vintage with contemporary design and bespoke creations with mainstream brands." Housed in a 16,000 sq. foot former wallpaper factory, this industrial space features an innovative and interesting treasure trove of "everything" from fashion to furnishing!!!!  Merci, created by the Cohen's as their personal "thank you," donates 100% of its profits to a charity that helps deprived children in India and Madagascar. Having traveled extensively in that area of the world, Madame Cohen was extremely touched by the lack of education for these children and she made herself promise to help them. To achieve this goal, the Cohen's used their retail talents and vision to create this unique shopping experience. "Merci is accessible to anyone with an eye for the unusual and the bespoke."

This extraordinary philanthropic endeavor has gotten an incredible response from the designers, artists, musicians, actors, authors, stylists, and famous friends that the Cohen's went to for help. In addition to donations and the specially designed merchandise that is found only at the store, there is a continuously changing selection of eclectic, well designed product from French companies and various interesting flea market finds. Joining the Cohen's in their generosity, many of the designers and companies involved are also forgoing their profits, resulting in the price of the merchandise being 30% below traditional retail. In addition to gifts, clothing, accessories, and furnishing...... there is "Merci Fleur,'' a flower shop featuring florist Christian Tortu and the "Used Book Cafe" with a 130 foot rolling book wall of donated second hand books. Another wonderful feature is a selection of six scents from perfumeur Annick Goutal (Annick is Mdme. Cohen's late sister)  that are being sold in simple glass or aluminum containers like those used by perfumemakers in Grasse, rather than their classical decorative flasks, and aptly called "Merci Annick."

"Christmas at Merci" features a well curated holiday collection of accessories and apparel; as well as gifts from international designers such as Tom Dixon, Patricia Urquiola, Atelier, and Droog; plus a wide selection of one-off pieces, vintage items, and unique holiday creations designed exclusively for the store. An intriguing  selection of vintage Christmas ornaments and decorations completes the eclectic holiday assortment. 

My very tasteful and chic Grandmother, Nana Lu, always started the day with a bed tray.....  a white linen doily, scalloped in pink, lined the top..... with a glass of fresh orange juice, a silver carafe of coffee, a cup & saucer, a plate with toast and butter, a pot of jam, a white linen napkin, and a silver bud vase with one red rose.....always at 9AM!!!!!!! But, as we know those days are long gone!!!!! I hate not being pampered, missing the niceties of life, and am thrilled to find Peter White who has designed Le Petit Dej, for his company ByWhite Design, for similar reasons!!!

This divine acrylic tray is 14.5 x 21.5 x 4 inches in size, is available in white, yellow and red, and is even made in the USA!!! It is a fabulous design and most important there is never soggy toast!!! And reminds me of my Nana!!!