house & home
SATELLITE BOWL, $45 The Museum of Modern Art’s online store www.momastore.com sells more than just posters. Here, kitchenware, jewelry and even toys are themselves miniature, affordable works of art.
HAMMER ORANGE CANDLE, $70 This candle, about 18 in. tall and handmade in Mexico, is just a taste of what you can find at Novica.com From paintings to rugs to jewelry, the site features the handiwork of artisans from Brazil, Morocco and other exotic locales.
GRECIAN PEPPER MILLS, $70 For high-end kitchen equipment like these professional-style pepper mills, shop Chef’s Catalog www.chefscatalog.com) Don’t miss the section of gift ideas for less than $50. Pick up specialty tools and basic kitchenware here.
SAGE OTTOMAN, $198 From a place to rest your feet to a glass to hold your drink, Uncommon Goods www.uncommongoods.com features a wide array of objects with fun and funky designs.
ANTIQUES If modern design is not your thing, try TIAS.COM, an antiques mall whose collection of stores boasts 340,000 items from pottery to pianos. If that’s not enough, a related site, Curioscape www.curioscape.com) helps you browse 15,000 independent shops.
CLASSIC WARING BLENDER, $140 An expert at A Cook’s Wares www.cookswares.com has selected the benchmark product in every category of pot, pan, knife or appliance. Now you will know where to turn when you kitchen shop–and how to spin those classic margaritas.
ZEBRA SALAD SERVERS, $20 In addition to telling you everything you want to know about food, Epicurious www.epicurious.com sells you the stuff you need to enjoy it, such as these Kenyan salad servers. The site also has a delicious specialty-food shop.
NELSON BALL CLOCK, $250 George Nelson, who created this clock, talks about experiencing “zaps” that he then turns into design ideas. Design Within Reach www.dwr.com specializes in selling zaps, by Nelson and others, that have been transformed into chairs, tables and other zippy furnishings.
GARNET HILL BATH TOWELS, $24 Why does Garnet Hill www.garnethill.com include on its site such light-on-plot sagas as the Mohair Story and the Angora Story? Because its lush products, from sheets and towels to maternity clothes to sleepwear, are all made from natural fibers.
for him
ELSA PERETTI RAZOR, $325, AND THUMBPRINT SHAVING BRUSH, $195 Find timeless and elegant trinkets, like this sterling-silver razor and shaving brush, at Tiffany & Co. www.tiffany.com) Other gift options for men: sterling-silver money clips, crystal beer mugs and leather alarm clocks.
ANCHOR O’REILLY’S CHIPS, $16.95 A MONTH Sign up at Anchor O’Reilly’s Chip of the Month Club www.chipofthemonth.com to have six bags of chips with exotic flavors and uncommon brands from across the country delivered to your man’s doorstep every month. It gives the term couch potato a whole new meaning.
CHRISTY’S FOLDAWAY FEDORA, $199 Bowlers, toques and sombreros. Top hats, fezzes and berets. Hats in the Belfry www.hatsinthebelfry.com sells more than 3,000 different styles of headgear, including designer fashions like this foldable fedora. Just stuff it in the tube and throw it in a suitcase.
POLKA DOT ENAMEL CUFFLINKS, $49 At Lands’ End www.landsend.com) you can build a virtual model of your man and outfit him with all the clothes you wish he would wear. You can get suggestions on classy gifts for everyone, in fact: triple-milled soap for hosts, heirloom cardigans for babies and Provencal bedding for newlyweds.
SWISS ARMY KNIFE, $15 TO $110 The multitool Swiss Army Altimeter Plus comes with a small LCD that displays altitude and temperature–perfect for hikers or skiers on your list. But at Swiss Army Brands www.swissarmy.com) there’s a pocketknife for everyone, as well as cutlery and gourmet knives, watches, pens, tools, travel gear and even apparel.
for her
SOAPS BY INDIGO WILD, $4.50; ROGER & GALLET, $6; VOTIVO, $7; AND RIVER SOAP CO., $3.85 Want to make your loved one smell like a flower, a fruit or something you’d like to eat? Smallflower.com imports fragrant and luxurious bath and body treats from a variety of exotic locales, including India and Morocco. May we suggest a dip in some lavender or mint body tea?
SILK THONGS, $29 From flip-flops and sake sets to rubber radios and lotus candles, unique gifts from the world over can be found at the eclectic Mousseshop www.mousseshop.com)
MAKEUP BY SEPHORA AND STILA Any beauty hound worth her salt knows she can find most, if not all, of her favorite touch-ups at Sephora www.sephora.com) The cosmetics superstore carries hundreds of edgy or mainstream brands, including its own. If all this gooey stuff is a mystery to you, the website provides a gift finder. And if you already know what she likes but not how to find it, you can sort through fragrances by gender, blend and note, and through makeup by color, brand and product.
THE BANKSIA BOUQUET, $92 For the novice, Flowerbud.com provides a picture of and details about each plant (from alstroemeria and lisianthus to daffodils and roses). The site tells you how long your bouquet will last and immediately notifies you if your selection is out of season. Have fresh bouquets delivered to Mom weekly, biweekly or once a month.
WHIM CASHMERE SWEATER, $99.95 For discount designer goods like this luscious cashmere sweater, shop Bluefly.com the Net’s ultimate outlet store. Get as much as 75% off that Fendi handbag your girlfriend has been pining for. Plug in sizes and favorite designers to get automatic e-mails announcing new arrivals and a personalized catalog every time you log on.
culture vulture
PANASONIC PORTABLE DVD PLAYER, $799 When looking for high-tech equipment like this lovely Panasonic DVD-LV70, which lets you watch DVDs on its compact 7-in. screen wherever you’d like, you can find the best prices using the comparison-shopping site MySimon www.mysimon.com)
CLASSIC-MOVIE POSTER, $16 How deep is the selection at Movie Poster Warehouse www.movieposter.com) It carries more than 10,000 posters, from pricey originals to relatively inexpensive replicas like this Italian reprint from the 1962 film What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?
COMPACT DISCS If you’re searching for hard-to-find music–or just a great price on a disc–and the usual suspects don’t have what you’re after, try browsing at discounter Mymusic.com new-and-used-shop Djangos www.djangos.com or, for music from across the seas, Importcds.com.
MUSIC T SHIRTS, $17 Whether you’re a fan of Dizzy Gillespie, Ben Folds Five or the Allman Brothers, Star500 www.star500.com can outfit you with a T shirt featuring your favorite musician or band. The catalog also offers a medley of musical stickers, patches and hats.
SPECIALTY BOOKS If you’re looking for an art book, you’ll probably find it at Worldwide Books www.worldwide.com) The site’s database includes books on more than 6,000 artists, including this one on surrealist Rene Magritte ($60). And here’s something your friends probably don’t already have: a facsimile reprint of an antique cookbook from Acanthus Books www.acanthus-books.com) Its inventory includes A Shilling Cookery for the People ($7), circa 1860.
kid stuff
STARLET CELLULAR KITE, $18 If it flies, spins, dances or twirls in the wind, Kitty Hawk Kites www.kittyhawk.com sells it: single-line kites, stunt kites, pinwheels, wind chimes and boomerangs. Located near huge sand dunes, the company also teaches hang gliding. Give your best pal three lessons for $199.
CRANIUM, $34.98 No family reunion is complete without a little healthy competition. AreYouGame.com sells everything you need to get those juices flowing. While tots are busy with Blue’s Clues or the Powerpuff Girls, adults can play Taboo or Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon. We recommend Cranium for team challenges in trivia and creativity.
BACHMANN HO SUPERCHIEF, $39.99 Hobby enthusiasts can’t go wrong with eHobbies.com For model-train and -plane builders, budding astronomers, rocket launchers, bird watchers and action-figure and comic collectors, more than 50,000 products are available, plus an expert at hand for questions. True addicts can special-order almost anything.
A&A PLUSH TAI TIGER BACKPACK, $18.99 No denizen of the animal kingdom, be it winged, furred or tusked, is missing from the San Diego Zoo Store www.shopzoo.com) This zooey site lets you shop for cuddly plush by price or breed–19 marsupials alone–and part of the proceeds goes toward wildlife conservation.
ASSORTED CANDIES CandyDirect.com sells thousands of sugary treats, from Junior Mints and king-size Kit Kat bars to chocolate roses and gummi tarantulas. Shop by occasion, order in bulk or customize a tin of your sweetie’s favorite sweets (20 assorted for $21.95).
good sports
CARBITE ZP MALLET PUTTER, $100 Duffers can head to Chipshot.com to shop for major brand-name clubs like this Carbite putter. If you’re not one to buy off the rack, the pros at the site will create a customized club for you, one built to your dimensions and style of play.
NITE IZE FLASHLIGHT FRIEND, $20 This tiny, praying mantis-like flashlight doesn’t need you to hold it–with those legs, it can stand up all by itself. You can find it among the gigantic selection of sporting goods at Fogdog Sports www.fogdog.com)
SALOMON SKI BOOTS, $480 Whether you’re looking for ski equipment, camping goods or fishing gear, Altrec.com is the place to shop. The site is full of helpful articles, forums and live online advice–if you can get online in the wild.
CUSTOMIZED NFL JERSEY, $65 The NFL doesn’t let its players put nicknames on their jerseys–but then you’re not a player, are you? At NFLshop.com the league’s online store, take a uniform and pop whatever moniker on it you like.
ARACHNID CRICKETPRO 700 ELECTRONIC DARTBOARD, $240 Ever wish you could play bar games right in your own basement? Recrooms Direct www.recrooms.com sells all manner of electronic dart boards, Foosball, air-hockey tables and other frothy diversions–as well as bar stools and jukeboxes. You’ll never have to go to the pub again.
luxe life
BEOCOM 6000, $475 This cordless phone from Bang & Olufsen www.bang-olufsen.com is functional as well as stylish. One base unit can support as many as six handsets ($275 each for extras); if you add a number to the speed-dial/caller-ID database of one handset, you add it to them all.
CAVIAR PURSE, $100 If you’re living the kind of life in which you often eat beluga on the spur of the moment, Dean & Deluca www.deandeluca.com has what it calls Her Caviar Gift. This handwoven silk bag comes with a mother-of-pearl caviar plate built in. We suspect the plate could also be used to hold pigs in a blanket, but that doesn’t sound as elegant, does it?
BACCARAT FLOWER GOLD CHOKER, $190 If you’re looking for pricey clothes or jewelry like this crystal choker, all roads lead to eLuxury www.eluxury.com)–literally Several high-end sites that have recently gone out of business now route people to this surviving shop.
FINE WINE Need some help choosing a classy bottle of wine? Zachy’s www.zachys.com doesn’t just hand you off to an anonymous search tool. You can e-mail one of its five experts, each of whom has a different area of specialty listed on the site. Two of the experts carry the name Zacharia–they’re descendants of Zachy Zacharia, who founded the business in 1944 in Scarsdale, N.Y.
CHOCOLATE PENGUINS (SET OF 10), $25 At L.A. Burdick www.burdickchocolate.com) the chocolates are made by hand, from your basic truffle or filled bonbon to these nifty penguins made with dark chocolate and lemon. Don’t be fooled by the shop’s name; it’s based in New Hampshire, not California.
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