Tanya’s Anytime Gift Guide

How is it already December? It cannot be true. Not only is the end of the year now approaching, but the end of a decade as well. If you, like me, feel like this is all happening too fast then please let me know. I’d like to take comfort  knowing that others are feeling the same way. But I digress. The point of this is to announce that my holiday gift guide is here. This year, I went for things that we can all easily access given we only have three weeks to do so yet my selections are also driven by my never-ending commitment to finding you artisan-made, crafted finds. So let’s go shopping. And next year, this gift guide will be linked to my new, online shop! Exciting times. Happy holidays to you all and may 2020 bring you much happiness, good health and adventure!

Jordan Nassar prefers to create landscapes in his work through repeating patterns from traditional Palestinian motifs. He is of Palestinian descent, but was born and raised in New York City. Through his work, he creates an idyllic scene of Palestine, a utopian version of this imagined space. The artwork features dramatic skies, rolling hills, and distant mountaintops.  He works strictly from his imagination in forming these landscapes. Each artwork starts with Nassar creating a composition of these patterns, which he then sends to women in Palestine to embroider their pattern in the colors of their choice. They then send the piece back to Nassar who responds to their color choices in his own rendering of the landscapes. In this, each piece of embroidery is touched by two different cultures, two different visions, and still crafted completely by two sets of hands. Not only are these pieces stunning, the stories behind each piece will have you looking at them through different eyes. You can find his work here.

Corry Blanc founded Blanc Creatives in Charlottesville, Virginia in 2011. Coming from a background of culinary and artistic roots, he aimed to create a tool that was comprised of both beauty and function. Each piece marries aesthetic and purpose. They are also entirely crafted in-house, each tool made by hand, bringing the art of craftsmanship into the modern day and modern homes. Blanc Creatives pieces are meant to be heirlooms, worn and lasting, passed down from generation to generation for daily use. This durable and beautiful piece is the perfect gift for your food loving friend that also appreciates workmanship. You can find Blanc Creatives here.

Sean McNanney, who was most recently at Ralph Lauren Home, is an artist and designer based in Brooklyn. He created Saved NY for a collection of quality throws and blankets. Inspired by the traditions of Mongolian nomad culture, he has dedicated Saved NY to provide luxurious warmth to each home. Each item is handmade in sustainably sourced Mongolian Yak down, cashmere, or camel hair. The last collection was inspired by early 20th century textiles specifically French ironwork. Saved NY pieces are meant to be warm, stylish, and long lasting which makes them the perfect gift for a loved one this holiday season! Shop Saved NY here.

Kat and Danielle, both New York natives, bring together their unique talents to form Night Space- a shared collection of scents and candles based off their own experiences and memories. Kat comes from a background of minimalism and design, whereas Danielle brings experience in business communications and sales. Kat, who was formerly Design Director of Decorative Accessories at West Elm brings her unique multi-design approach to launch Night Space alongside Danielle. After settling in Hudson Valley, they founded Night Space to create memorable, warm, and inviting scents. Each candle is hand poured in the US and made from renewable materials such as coconut and soy wax. Once you finish burning down this magical candle, you can keep the handcrafted ceramic vessel! You can find Night Space candles here. 

These brilliant and limited edition leaves are from a collaboration between ceramicist Micòl Hernandez and illustrator Samantha Dion Baker. Each leaf is ceramic and handcrafted, formed individually by Micòl using stoneware clay. After firing the clay, Samantha used her unique style of painting to hand paint each leave weaving in touches of 24k gold. Each piece is completely unique, with both Samantha and Micòl’s signature stamped on the back. The leaves are sent out in hand painted boxes by Samantha making it an easy gift for the holiday season. You can find Samantha and Micòl’s leaves here. 

Saint Louis is the oldest glass manufacturer in France, dating back to 1586, making it the first crystal glass manufacturer in Europe. It was founded in 1767 but since 1829 has been renamed Cristallerie royale de Saint Louis. The manufacturer is devoted to the production of the best crystal glass items. They create everything crystal from tableware to vases to chandeliers. All crafted by master glass blowers and cutters, some of the very best in France, they have been taught from generation to generation. Crystal is mouth blown, hand-cut, hand-engraved, and then hand-decorated using platinum or 24 karat cold. Saint Louis combines tradition and innovation when it comes to its creations, drawing inspiration from contemporary aesthetics while holding its tradition of craftsmanship. You can find Saint Louis here. 

Master & Dynamic fill a niche in the market for headphones with an uncompromising approach to craftsmanship, performance, materials, and an elevated design. After building a recording studio in his office, founder Jonathan Levine found himself drawn to headphones. He began working with his son, an emerging DJ/music producer, on the search for the perfect headphones- with both premium sound quality and design. They were inspired by a pair of WWII aviator headphones, noting how timeless the design was, when they decided to build their own. They founded Master & Dynamic to utilize the best materials like stainless steel, fine leather, and concrete alongside high-end finishes for the best looking headphones possible. You can find Master & Dynamic headphones here. 

“It’s all about illustrating your inspirations in different mediums,” Emily Satloff says. She curated a list of objects for the collection, including ceramic objects, embroidered linens, painted boxes, stationery, and of course jewelry that boasts these motifs. Before founding Larkspur & Hawk, Emily studied at Sotheby’s and the Cooper Hewitt and worked curating historical decorative arts in New York before she went on to specialize as an antique jewelry dealer. She has always held a level of curiosity and admiration with folk. Emily’s Garden is a playful look into the natural world, a world that is presided over by animals, and not by humans. They worked with 19th century New York stationer Demsey & Carroll to complete the stationery portion of Emily’s Garden collection with a line of correspondence cards. Emily chose the white, heavy notecards and engraved each with the standout animal from the collection, Sebastian the parrot, adorned in gold. Featured in Larkspur’s famous blue boxes, the set of ten cards have five different envelope pairings with each of the liners replicating the scenes from the wallpaper.You can find Larkspur & Hawk’s stationery here.