Holiday Gift FIPStravaganza: Day Three [Foodies-n-Design Gurus]

This is our week-long dive head first into the trenches of holiday gift shopping, Park Slope style. Buy local, bitches! Unless, of course, you enjoy walking past empty storefronts every ten feet. In today's edition we cover foodies and Dwell subscribing Design gurus.

For your foodie friendz:

Despite what Jonathan Safran Foer said about Park Slope not having any good restaurants, I think we all can agree that we have our fair share of good grub in these parts.  But you can’t eat out all of the time (that’s what she said!), and if you’re lucky enough to have a foodie for a friend, you’ve probably been privy to a ton of dinner parties featuring exotic fare, weird cheeses, and fine wines.  Pay these bitches back for their hospitality with some nice foodie gear, and they’ll be sure to invite you over for more delicious grub—made with the gifts that you bought them! Score.

Basically everything at Tarzian West (194 7^th Ave. at 2^nd St.) would make a good present for your foodie friend, but we really liked the Joseph/Joseph folding colander (see above) for $22.59—it looks cool, and it doesn’t take up a lot of room in your tiny Brooklyn kitchen. Fab.

While The Clay Pot (162 7^th Ave between 1^st St. and Garfield) primarily sells unique and custom-made jewelry, they do have some other shit too. Like for example, you can pick up this gorgeous (albeit pricey) measuring spoon set from Beehive for $90.

For something on the thriftier side, The Clay Pot also has this great salt and pepper grinder set for $30.  We’re talking white peppercorns and telicherry black peppercorns, people.  Of course you probably don’t know what the hell that means, but trust me it doesn’t matter—your friend will be impressed.  And honestly, the only thing classier than fresh ground pepper is having freshly ground pepper ON A YACHT. That is all.

Matter (227 5^th Ave. at the corner of President St.) also has a lot of great stuff for the foodies in your life.   As we all know, it’s all about the cheese.  Pick up this handsome cheese board with stainless steel utensils for $30.

Or this cool cheese grater (with a tiny little drawer! OMGZ!) for all your foodie friend's freshly grated dairy for $21.95. You won’t be able to shit for a week, but who cares!     

If you’re a little morbid and a lot kitschy, Matter also hawks these bone-shaped salt and pepper shakers from Stiles in Clay for $30.  Now all you need is that vodka that Dan Aykroyd sells in a skull-shaped glass bottle, and the set will be complete.  

For the design snob in your life:

While you’re still sitting on the old, stained futon you had in college, this friend buys a leather couch from Design Within Reach (within reach for whom??) or Restoration Hardware.  Where you have a Billy bookcase from Ikea, she has a handsome cherry wood credenza. In short, this friend spent more money on throw pillows than you did on your entire living room set.  And while it may be daunting to try and pick something out for someone with such impeccable taste, if you think small, you might be able to get something she can appreciate and incorporate.

Unfortunately, home goods store/fashion boutique Living on Seventh (219 7^th Ave. between 3^rd and 4^th Sts) is closing on December 20.  Try your best not to look like a scavenger as you rush on over there to take advantage of their 20% off everything, we’re-going-out-of-business-because-we-used-to-charge-$75-for-a-small-pillow-sale.  Living on Seventh has a ton of housewares from vases to throw pillows, but we really liked the simplicity (and cheapness!) of these multi-colored square candles (see above)—one bunch of them only costs $8.

I know that I’ve been harping on all of the cool shit at Matter (227 5^th Ave. at the corner of President St.), but honestly, their stuff rulez.  If I could package up the entire store and give it to myself for Christmas, I’d be the happiest mofo in Park Slope.  But I’m going to take a wild guess and say that no one is really planning to shell out $4,000 for a Wrongwoods credenza for me their friend (also note that I’ve now said the word “credenza” twice.  That’s two more times than I’ve ever said it in my life), but they do have this cool, wooden key rack.  It’s mountable, sleek and simple, and only $50.

Remember when your grandmother tried to give you a hope chest? Apparently you’re supposed to store stupid shit like china and old, tarnished candelabras there because you’re going to need that stuff when you get married? But then you had to tell Grams that you’re not going to need a hope chest, because you’re not going to get married, because you’re a lesbian? Just me? Awkward. 

Anyway, the point here is that although hope chests are virtually obsolete, people enjoy getting nice, tricked out boxes to store sentimental things in.  At Cog & Pearl (190 5^th Ave. at Sackett), you can pick up this beautiful (yet pricey) copper “game box” for $160.  When you pick up the lid, the tiny beads move around like those old-timey bead puzzles.  The inside of the box is lined with velvet—perfect for holding all of those broken dreams your family had for you before you grew up to be a total disappointment.  

Back on Seventh Avenue, The Clay Pot (162 7^th Ave between 1^st St. and Garfield) has some cool chrome candleholders by Black + Blum for $30.   Look at how trippy they are!  How do they stay standing on a table?  These are all things you can ponder at your next dinner party after 9 glasses of wine and lots of grated cheese.