Instead of selecting gifts for the home with restrictive seasonal themes, why not branch out and opt for modern pieces for the table to enjoy throughout the year?
Yoox.com, a virtual store for multi-brand fashion and design, offers a never-ending selection of products that are hard to find elsewhere.
Gift ideas include:
— Funny Fauna Decanter: The secondome collection offers an innovative way to add a unique and distinctive touch to your table and home environment. Sam Baron and the Fabrica designers have created this collection in blown sodium-silicate glass, giving new life to objects that have fallen out of popular fashion. The collection is an ironic, anti-conventional revisiting of everyday objects, transforming them into Italy design pieces.
The decanter is 7.8 inches in both height and width. Designed by Fabrica/Valentina Carretta, the retail price is $259.
— Muuto Wicker: This wicker basket is perfect not only for bread but also for fruit and other decorative items. It evokes the Scandinavian technique for creating baskets and containers — alternating thin and wide strips crossed in two directions. Made of a resistant plastic compound, the basket is available in light or dark gray. Designed by Cecilie Manz, the retail price is $45.
— Ittala Glass: The elegant Tapio glass collection is characterized by an air bubble trapped in each glass — just in the moment where the glass reaches the ideal temperature and consistency. With their unique design, the Tapio glasses are perfect for drinks or desserts. Designed by Tapio Virkkala, retail prices range from $48 to $65 for a set of two.
— Menu Classic Oil Cruet Set: This unusual set for oil and vinegar, or syrups, allows for the gradual pouring of any condiment. Squeezing and releasing the air from the tube makes the liquid rise, which then may be drizzled over dishes. The set includes the two containers and a steel tray. The bottles are 9.4 inches high, 3.1 inches deep and 8.5 inches wide. Designed by Lovorika Banovic, the retail price is $73.
Since 2006, the design area of yoox.com has evolved into a one-stop destination that provides visitors with the best creations from major global brands, products by emerging designers and limited-edition pieces created exclusively for yoox.com.
For more information, call 877-505-9669 or visit www.yoox.com.
ECOJOE
With many current homes leaning toward green design, why not extend that to the selling of homes?
The centuries-old practice of burying a statue of St. Joseph in the yard of a house for sale is supposed to enlist the saint's aid in finding a buyer. Even today, thousands of sellers and real estate agents continue this tradition.
The EcoJoe Home Selling Kit is a green alternative to the current products on the market that are typically made of plastic. Many times, once a house is sold, St. Joseph remains in the yard. Once the plastic starts breaking down, toxins are released into the ecosystem, which can potentially poison our food and water.
EcoJoe is made with 100 percent clay, a naturally occurring material composed primarily of fine-grained minerals. So even if you leave your statue behind, it won't harm the environment.
In addition, EcoJoe's packaging is printed with soy-based ink on 100-percent post-consumer paper; no new trees were harmed and no VOCs were emitted during the printing process. The company also ships green. When you order from EcoJoe, the carbon produced through shipping is offset by certified carbon credits.
EcoJoe offers several other green items, including nativity scenes, cozy sleeves and wooden postcards.
The St. Joseph kit retails for $15. For more information, call 650-383-SOLD (7653) or visit www.ecojoekits.com.
Maggie Reed may be reached at [email protected]. To find out more about Maggie Reed and other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit www.creators.com.
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