CH Gift Guide 2013
Star Trek pinball, Christiania bikes, Lou Reed’s “Transformer” and myriad other items in our annual guide to giving
Gifts are easy, but really nailing it is difficult even for the most experienced perennial shopper. To avoid bestowing loved ones with shower gels from the mall or other generic sentiment, look to the Cool Hunting Gift Guide. A list we’re updating year-round, there’s a real variety of items that fit any creative lifestyle. And, while there’s plenty to choose from already, we’re not finished yet. Keep an eye on the guide throughout the holiday season as we continue to populate it with a bounty of goods. Perhaps best of all: Now you can track your favorite items by clicking on the heart icon which, if you log in, will store your favorites, serving as a shareable wishlist or personal tracking device. Peruse the 100 items we recently added for the holiday season on Cool Hunting or have a look at them on an iOS device. See just a few highlights below.
Christiania Boxcycle
The Christiania cargo bike was born out of the autonomous and unconventional Copenhagen commune, where hash is legal and cars are not. One or both of these factors perhaps led to Lars Engstrom’s ingenious original cargo bike design, created as a one-off for his wife Annie to transport their two kids. In bike-friendly Copenhagen, there are now 40,000 on the street. These easy-to-ride miracle workers are a necessity for carrying oversized loads: surfboards, groceries and even the most precious cargo of all: children. $2,950
Foosball Bottle Opener
Beer and foosball are an excellent combo, and never before have these activities been so dually represented in one object. Authentic little foosball players, each one perfectly weathered and unique, have been plucked from true vintage tables and reconstructed into ever-useful bottle openers. Long after our foosball careers has come to an end, we can still pop open a cold one and reminisce on the glory days. $48
Charity: Water
There is no better gift than that of giving back. Charity: Water has a clear mission to bring available clean drinking water to every person on earth. This holiday season, they partner with CLEAR Cambodia in an effort to provide 15,000 Cambodian families with BioSand filters, which transform dirty water found in Cambodian marshlands into drinkable hydration. A gift that not only brings joy through aiding others, but also forces us to not take this precious resource for granted, and realize our own good fortune in something as simple as the kitchen sink. $25+
Hidden Message Necklaces
ID necklaces move to another plane with Beth Macri’s Hidden Message Necklaces. Macri originally moved to New York as a structural engineering consultant for the High Line. Today, she designs jewelry using skills and techniques garnered from her engineering background, employing the latest 3D software to conceptualize and create forward-thinking pieces which are as geometrical as they are gorgeous. $135 – 485
Breaking Bad Stickers
Breaking Bad fanatics will get a kick out of these illustrated stickers, portraying a pantless Walter White, and a half-faceless Gus Fring, eating what we would assume to be his last Los Pollos Hermanos meal before straightening his tie and dropping dead. This unique set of two was created by Leeds-based illustrator Josh Parkin. $5
Star Trek Pinball Machine
Boldly go where no man has gone before with the newest Stern pinball machine, the Star Trek Premium. Fanatics will nerd out completely over this game, as they command and defend the USS Enterprise and the planets of the Federation with their fingertips. Stern’s first all-LED Pro Model has seven paths that lead players in their mission, and guarantee encounters with the evil Khan, Klingon warriors, the Narada and beyond. If the Enterprise goes down, you have only your poor hand-eye coordination to blame. $7,095
Pewter Flask Funnel
When filling a flask before a night on the town, class acts reach for Wentworth’s Pewter Flask Funnel. Not only does the scale of this tiny object, a minuscule 1.5 x 1.25 inches, make it an adorable item unto itself, but we take comfort in knowing that not a drop of pricey spirits might be wasted in an important liquor transfer. The legend of pewtersmith Arthur Richard Wentworth, who sold pewter items from his suitcase in the 1950s, lives on today in Wentworth’s well-crafted and inherently beautiful objects. $12
Transformer
For music lovers, we give you a collector’s item, made even more relevant in light of Lou Reed’s recent passing. More bound work of art than book, “Transformer” showcases Mick Rock’s iconic collection of photographs, shot during the release of Reed’s 1972 album of the same title. Released in a limited edition of 2,000 books, signed by Rock and Reed, and featuring a 7″ vinyl picture disc with two of Reed’s anthems, this collection of captured moments serves as a great tribute to a legend who will be sorely missed. $475
