I could not resist including these little guys! How adorable are they? I love little houses. These are made by the oak leaves. They are called shelf cities, and they are $20 for a set of 12. Made in the US, ships internationally.
photograph by PJB from Paris: Made By Hand
French Touche is a gorgeous little boutique in Paris that I featured in Paris: Made By Hand. They have a terrific online website + boutique, with tonnes of goodies, all handmade. Here are some of my favourite items…
Clockwise from top left: little raiku sel et poivre by François Echappé, 24€ for the two; Barquette Piaf by De Beaux Souvenirs, and other little wire cages, from 30 €; porcelain dishes like the Coupelle Bambi by Elise Lefebvre starting at 50 € – all from French Touche. Not all the items are for sale online though, so check the little icon under items which say ‘select for cart’ or ‘call the store’.
French baskets from Sadie Olive! Love. US$136.00, from Tustin, CA. Cotton Crochet Coverlet US$265.00 from Topsy Design, location: Los Angeles.
Vintage typewriters are not only a hot decorating item these days, they also make an awesome gift for stationery & type enthusiasts. Like me! I would love a vintage typewriter. It would be a fun, slower pace way of writing – like having an anolague camera alongside a digital one. Anyway, I digress, I know. Here is a groovy Hermes 3000 from shaving kit supplies. It’s US$220.00, location: pennsylvania.
You know what else is hot for gift giving right now?
Yep, terrariums. Here are a few I like:
1. littly mossy terrariums from the oak leaves, US$30.00
2. mini terrariums from tortoise loves donkey, starting at just US$5.00 location: california.
3. terrarium glass vessels from terrain, ranging in price, location: USA (international shipping not available)
You can also try your hand at making one yourself. Sprout home made a great how-to video for design*sponge this past summer, click here to watch.
Now, for those of us who love spending a bit of time in the kitchen. I don’t know about you, but I’ve always been rather fond of creating hampers. Here are a few treasures that I think would be great for adding to a hamper, or as stocking fillers…
top row: jenna rose bike tea towels US$28.00 location: ontario; skinny and bernies mini casserole dishes US$28.00 location: Pennsylvania
second row: ‘tingle tangle’ spoons and little nesting bowls starting at US$4.00 by Atelier Oker location: Belgium
third row: I think these cotton canvas lunch bags are such a great idea! They are made by solo handmade and US$15.00 each location: Utrecht, The Netherlands; printed vintage white damask linen napkins screen printed with an old recipe for irish soda bread, sold in sets of four from pilosale, US$38.00 location: toronto
fourth row: diy cheese kits from urban cheese craft – brilliant! You can make paneer, goats cheese, mozzarella, you name it. Kits start at US $21.00 location: portland, oregon (of course); wheel thrown porcelain milk jug from ceramic pics US$22.00 location: California
last row: bird e towels – these are unbleached cotton towels to replace paper towels. Love it! They come in a bakers dozen, $12.00 from athena creates location: US; block print kitchen towel from home sweet US$15.00 location: delaware.
……………………………………………………
well! that was a marathon start. Hope you find some neat gift ideas in there for friends and family who love their home. I’m off to bed, I need to rest these weary fingers to get ready for tomorrow’s guide. Until then, sweet dreams.
xx
Okay just one more…
a samantha robinson teapot. Isn’t it lovely? I have a few of her little vessels that I’ve collected over the years but this is too divine. Samantha has a stall at the paddington markets, in sydney on Saturdays, and at the bondi markets on sunday. You can also call or email her direct for international inquiries.
Oh my God! That was a blast from the past. You have no idea how many mid-western American football fans have eaten french onion soup topped with insane quantities of melted cheese out of skinny and bernies mini-casserole pots. (There were two restaurants once called “The Pretzel Bell…….”) Thanks for letting me know French baskets and crocheted cotton coverlets can be obtained in my neighborhood. The two look gorgeous together!
December 8th, 2009 | #
gorgeous baskets!!! and that teapot!
December 8th, 2009 | #
pia, what an amazing gift guide! I will be shopping (or treating myself to) a few of these finds! I actually have that same typewriter (in the same color!) — but I was lucky to find it in a thrift store in Maine for just $22. I use it often and love it. I recently gifted myself a terrarium and shamelessly love to open the lid and catch the fresh scent of the moss. Those cheese kits are fantastic and I want to pick up a few of those lunch bags. thanks for sharing!
December 8th, 2009 | #
jen – what a score! that typewriter is so cool. I love that you have a little moss terrarium and open the lid to smell the moss. I still haven’t made one, I really need to get onto it. I’d love to have a little ‘garden’ of them here on my desk. Glad you like the lunch bags and cheese kits.
thanks sunny!
mlle paradis – Oh yeah, I can imagine! I love those dishes, they are so useful for casseroles… and french onion soup 🙂 The coverlet and baskets do look lovely together I agree. encore merci.
December 8th, 2009 | #
such a beautiful list- i should just handed over to my husband!
December 8th, 2009 | #
oh nadia – wait for the gift guide for girls, THEN hand it over to your husband! 🙂 It’s coming soon. xo
December 8th, 2009 | #
Thank you so much for the great ideas.. love it!
December 9th, 2009 | #
Thank you so much- perfect ideas for the Paris lover!! As I am one I love it and all of the books are great (have them all). More more please!!
December 9th, 2009 | #
oh, the hermes 3000! i grew up with the exact same one. it’s really wonderful, beautiful shapes and lovely to touch. i’m using a shot of it as the logo for my personal journal blog.
December 9th, 2009 | #
LOVE that teapot, I’ll be going to Sydney in Feb and will be sure to check Samantha Robinson out!
December 9th, 2009 | #
What fantastic gift ideas you’ve shared with us, Pia. Merci! Joyeux Noel! xo
December 11th, 2009 | #
P.S. I recently bought a pink vintage typewriter. Must post about it soon.
December 11th, 2009 | #
I don’t dream, this is my little wire cage !!! Whaou ! i’m very proud to be in your wonderful blog Pia !
January 6th, 2010 | #
thanks so much for posting our coverlet. im writing to let you know that our homepage is now open at http://www.topsydesign.com hope you find more great items to blog about.
wonderful posts!
all the best,
jared @ topsy
June 16th, 2010 | #