Wear What When

Slideshow: Kobo’s collection of artisan made pottery items, wood decor pieces, and soft, woolen sweet nothings can please entire family trees

These soft, bendable balsa wood boxes are perfect for dads and other people who perennially say they want “nothing” for the holidays. It’s gorgeous and ingenious in person, and for $20 you can afford to throw some locally roasted coffee beans and a few chocolate bars in there and show him what “nothing” can be.

Ceramics are a real draw here. Some are Japanese and rough-hewn, some are local and very sweet and modern. I’d encourage you not to overthink this stuff: People you know enjoy tea, coffee, sake, soup, and stew, no? In a handmade vessel from someone they love, those things are only more enjoyable. (Not shown here: minimal white ceramic pieces for those who don’t do the earthy look.)

And then, if colorful, small, and narrative is what you’re looking for, there are ceramic options in that realm as well.

A slim shelf holds the kinds of books — on the cultural components of architecture, the cult of cute and tiny, and the church of wabi-sabi — that they’ll never buy for themselves but would nonetheless love to have on their bedside tables. Most are not the oversize coffee table variety nor simple paperback pocket books; read: just right for economical gifting.

There’s also a nice spread of Japanese incense, European soaps, and pretty note cards. I love these puzzle-piece trivets and the letterpress calendar by local design house Ilee. If you’re really running late — like, it’s four days after Christmas and you’re still not done shopping, go for one of these for everyone and act like you meant to hand them out just hours before the new year.

A tree in the window displays some sweet ideas; I like the winterbird, and, behind him, the Rain and Jack arm warmers in cream- and tea-colored tones. (Refer to past blog posts for more on the local knitters.) The latter presents some really great for last minute gift opportunities as well; Rain and Jack do ready-mades (available here and other shops around town), but they also do customized blankets, hats, capes, and more in gorgeous wool from their website – so, draw up a gift certificate and pull it off as if you wanted to gift them the opportunity to handpick and design their own locally knitted art.

Feathers, trapped inside glass teardrops, make a simple but elegant (and affordable) gift too. Your giftee can keep this year round on a tabletop or in a window.