This holiday season, we invite you to celebrate with beautifully revamped classics — including houseware and the treats you can serve on it, deliciously exquisite jewelry, and books that that will uplift your spirit and imagination. Also, check out our cookbook recommendations.
A. Tina Frey
My latest obsession is the resin ware of San Francisco-based designer Tina Frey. Her collections, including modern houseware and jewelry, combine two of my favorite things, a beautiful palette of colors and hand-sculpted craft. You can mix and match colors of bowls, dishes and vases to make your own distinctive collection. I love the soft... full article
B. Empire Mayonnaise
Artisanal condiments finally seem to be in the limelight. Why hasn’t anyone thought of this before? Once I opened my first jar of black garlic Empire Mayonnaise there was no turning back. Chef Sam Mason and designer Elizabeth Valleau have created an adventurous line of flavored and classic mayonnaise, including malt vinegar, smoked paprika,... full article
C. Elizabeth Johnson
I first stumbled upon Elizabeth Johnson’s exquisite glass berries at the RAS Gallery in Yountville, California. The sculptural equivalent of photorealist paintings, they project a sense of high-gloss, heightened realism; you note both the natural beauty of the objects they are based on and the artifice behind these trompe l’oeil... full article
D. Antidote Chocolate
Austrian born Red R. Thalhammer, creator of Antidote Chocolate, makes exquisite chocolate bars in Long Island City, seamlessly combining unusual flavors to produce a unique sensual experience. She makes 10 different bars ranging from 100% raw cacao to 77% and 84% raw and roasted cacao. Each bar is named after a Greek goddess. The unique... full article
E. Penguin Classics
The new Penguin Drop Caps series is an inventive and vibrant way to rekindle our love for classic titles including Charlotte Brontë’s “Jane Eyre” and Charles Dickens’ “Great Expectations.” The hard cover of each book features an illustrated letter of the alphabet by type designer Jessica Hische in collaboration with Penguin... full article
F. Lewis Carroll and Yayoi Kusama
I will never forget the first time I read “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” as a child. It was an eye-opening experience: creative, grand, fantastical and classic all at the same time. This new Penguin Classics edition pairs the narrative with artwork by Yayoi Kusama; the book is as peppered with her famous polka dot... full article
G. Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi
I got my copy of “Jerusalem” on the heels of returning from London, where I tried the Ottolenghi team’s new restaurant, NOPI. “Jerusalem,” Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi’s second cookbook together, celebrates the pair’s native city; Ottolenghi grew up in the Jewish West and Tamimi in the Muslim East. The two would meet in London... full article
H. Flux Productions
Fresh out of Pratt Institute, designer Ryan Greer started selling screen-printed t-shirts on the streets of SoHo and added leatherwork a few years back when the recession took a big bite out of his bottom line. He makes a growing range of objects in his Fort Greene studio and sells them at the Brooklyn Flea. Greer’s handmade bags — made of... full article
I. Karen Salmansohn
Karen Salmansohn is a positivity guru. In other words, she’s a motivational speaker, but I like the sound of “positivity guru” because, having met Karen in person, I can attest to the fact that her optimism is contagious. Her first book was titled “How to Be Happy, Dammit,” so you see that she is not the touchy-feely type of... full article
