Yankee Magazine’s New England Holiday Gift Guide

New England’s artisans and entrepreneurs capture our region’s essence with wit and style. Offering something for everyone, our New England holiday gift guide features gifts that bring us all home.

New England Holiday Gifts For Kids

1. Hobbit Hole Playhouse by Wooden Wonders

While Rocy and Melissa Pillsbury’s Hobbit Holes have multiple uses (shed, chicken coop, guest cottage), their three playhouses are what caught our eye: Big Merry, Little Merry, and Bag End (sod roof–ready). Shipped ready to assemble. From $2,000. Unity, ME. wooden-wonders.com

2.  Sheep on Wheels by Englishman Bay Trading Co.

Alicia Monks’s wool is “grown from happy sheep” in Maine, and though the architect-by-day offers woolly  blankets, scarves, and hats, it’s her fluffy sheep on wheels (or without) that can be custom-ordered in any color, from white to peach to dreamy sky blue. $18 each. Waltham, MA. englishmanbaytradingco.com

3. Crayon Apron by iSew Patricia Wilson Designs

Crayons are always at the ready with Patricia Wilson’s Crayola-bright one-of-a-kind aprons. Cobalt blue with a Spider-Man motif? Purple with unicorns? Wilson will tailor an apron to fit your child’s imagination. $35. Haydenville, MA. Email: patriciawilson534@yahoo.com

4.  Story Bowls by Turin & Turin Clayworks

Cereal is more fun when an alien spaceship lurks beneath the frosted flakes. Lars and Connie Turin create porcelain bowls with rollicking designs: aliens, sea adventures, town-and-country. The colorful sgraffito motifs feel like instant kid classics. $65 each. York, ME. turinclayworks.com

5. ABC Blocks by Maple Landmark

Celebrating its 40th anniversary this year, this Vermont institution is doing its part for literacy with a set of 28 wooden ABC blocks featuring upper- and lowercase letters, cursive script, and bright pictures. All are crafted from sustainably harvested local maple. $61.40. Middlebury, VT. maplelandmark.com

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New England Holiday Gifts For Animal Lovers

1.  Custom Dog Portraits by Jennie Blue Ceramics

On some level, your pet might appreciate seeing his face on a ceramic plate, but frankly this one is really about you. Send illustrator Jennie Connor a high-res photo of your favorite pooch (or other critter), and you’ll have them under foot and in hand long after the holidays. From $150. Belfast, ME. jennieblue.com

2. Hope Cat Catnip Sacks by the Pussums Cat Co.

Catnip is a gift to both felines and their owners (so much entertainment for so little money). Dr. Pussums uses mint that is pure and “curiously strong,” but its Hope Cat sack (in easy-to-spot shades like hot pink) does good, too: Two dollars from every sale is donated to the Dempsey Centers, established in Maine by actor Patrick Dempsey to provide no-cost services to those affected by cancer. $8.49 each. Turner, ME. drpussums.com

3. Mrs. Beasley’s Dog Treats

This is what dogs really want: opposable thumbs and full access to a kitchen cabinet stuffed with Beasley treats. Handmade by Maydene Koppel since 2007 (she had a picky German shepherd), the all-natural snacks use local ingredients, including eggs from Koppel’s own chickens. From $3.50. Weare, NH. beasleytreats.com

4. Nautical Dog Accessories by Fair Leads

The ruff life needn’t be hard. One imagines only stylish dogs strolling the streets of Jamestown, Rhode Island, home to the nautical dog leashes and collars handmade by Jessica Wurzbacher, marine scientist and sailor. Go “Classic” (marine-grade New England rope) or “Calypso” (colorful Novabraid rope). Collars $36; leashes $60–$70. Jamestown, RI. thefairlead.com

5. Dog Tags by the Landlocked Dog

Who says pet ID tags can’t be as pretty (or quirky) as your pet? Rickie Colonna’s custom hand-stamped tags feature hearts, flowers, mountain ranges, lighthouses, and humor. From $8. Springfield, MA. landlockeddog.com

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New England Holiday Gifts For Cooks

1. Wooden Spoons by John Francis Designs

An avid cook, John Welch began carving spoons as a way to relax. Now he conveys some of that ease to other kitchen aficionados with his black walnut sauté spoons, pecan salad servers, and walnut grain scoops. From $55. Lowell, MA. johnfrancisdesigns.com

2. Tea Towels by Morris + Essex

Is it possible to have too many tea towels? We know the answer (no), so thank you, Eliza Jane Curtis, for scrambling our senses with your vibrant silkscreens of roosters and lobsters and folk art design, making all our kitchens a bit brighter. $16 each. Cornish, ME. morrisessex.com

3. Dishes by Elephant Ceramics

Each of Michele Michael’s linen-textured bowls, plates, and platters is a little pool of intensity, often reflecting her penchant for the color blue. These are ceramics that sing. From $95. Dresden, ME. elephantceramics.com

4.  Cast-Iron Cookware by Nest Homeware

When considering a skillet, beauty isn’t the first thing that springs to mind, but Matt Cavallaro’s cast-iron version has the rugged good looks of cookware forged by ingenious gnomes. Handles are made to look like tree branches, and burnished surfaces glow like the sun. From $77. Providence, RI. nesthomeware.com

STUDIO VISIT 5. Sushi Boards by Copper Pig Woodworking

Creativity may seem like an impossible thing to contain, but somehow Paul Jasper manages to put it in a box. Or on a board. Quite possibly it involves hammered brass or East Indian rosewood, fluttering like fish scales.

The full-time scientist (PhD in immunology) began woodworking in 2005 and, after some mentorship by an 80-year-old neighbor, eventually moved on to some of Boston’s finest schools for furniture making. Certainly something was unleashed along the way, because much of what dances out of Jasper’s Boston atelier defies categorization. These wooden creations might be loosely described as tea boxes, sushi boards, serving boards, except…

Lift a tea box lid and you’ll discover plaids and checkerboards, or rainbows crafted from upcycled skateboards streaking through a box of tiger oak. Sushi boards are lit with strips of metal; “Starry Night” incorporates a handmade ceramic moon into a base of bloodwood and cherry. Materials span wood from a century-old Hudson River shipwreck to live-edge maple with ebony and cocobolo.

Jasper says the idea for sushi boards came to him about two years ago, when “I became very interested in pursuing my own original art-inspired designs.” They seemed to meet all of his requirements: one-of-a-kind, functional, reasonable turnaround time, and something people didn’t see often.

The result? Functional works of art that inspire the beholder to make food that’s as memorable as the space where it sits. Sushi boards from $400; tea boxes from $550; inlaid chopsticks $30. Boston, MA. copperpigwoodworking.com

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New England Holiday Gifts For Nature Lovers

1. Felted Animals by Lauren Decatur Fine Art

Great snowy owls swoop overhead and bison nudge up against gray squirrels in Lauren Decatur’s wild kingdom, where soft woolly creatures spring to life at the hands of a needle-felting wizard. From $45. Hancock, NH. Facebook

2. Ceramic Ornaments by Laura Zindel Design

Deck your halls with chipmunks, chickadees, and hedgehogs—a sampling of the woodland creatures that Laura Zindel depicts on her exquisitely detailed ornaments, each topped with a lead-free pewter branch. $28 each. Brattleboro, VT. laurazindel.com

3.  New England Prints by Matt Brown Woodblock Prints

Using the Japanese hanga method of printing—multiple woodblocks, water, rice paste, and pure pigments—Matt Brown renders richly colorful, nostalgia-tinted images of Vermont and New Hampshire. Unframed prints from $95. Lyme, NH. mattbrown.biz

4.  Glass Kaleidoscopes by Sue Rioux Designs

Glass master Sue Rioux spins visions of nature, color, and wild unpredictability inside kaleidoscopes that tumble bits of everything from rose quartz and tourmaline to seashells. From $65. Kennebunk, ME. sueriouxdesigns.com

5.  Bee Silk Cream by Beeline Skin Care

This best-selling cream heads up former chemist Susan Lamphear’s eco-friendly, hypo­allergenic line of beauty products featuring local beeswax and honey. $30. Henniker, NH. beelineskincare.com

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New England Holiday Gifts For the Sporty Types

1.  Canoe Paddles by GKS Furniture Maker

Add water and stir…. While Gabriel Sutton’s midcentury-modern furniture is breathtakingly sleek, the man also makes a mean canoe paddle, custom designed with inlay and pretty enough to hang on a wall (though much sweeter swirling through water). From $200. Biddeford, ME. gksfurnituremaker.com

2.  Sports Bats by DTB

Is there a touch of sports magic in these Maine-made bats? Twelve current major leaguers use them (such as home run derby king Pete Alonso, who likes the ax-handle grip). Husband-and-wife team Paul and Theresa Lancisi’s workshop also makes bats for kids and softball players—the combo of lumber (hard) and finish (gloss) sends balls jumping off the bat. Youth from $65.95; adult from $90.95. Shirley Mills, ME. dovetailbat.com

3.  Mountain HoodE by Overeasy

Eva Shaw has ski-raced around New England (no surprise, since her father is an Olympian), but the Middlebury College sophomore is also an entrepreneurial winner with her faux-fur Mountain HoodE. The fluffy unisex tube scarf pulls up over a ski helmet and cinches snugly for skiing (or biking or snowboarding), then drops and drapes into a stylish puddle of warmth for walkabouts. $60. Middlebury, VT. overeasy.co

4.  Bespoke Skis by WhiteRoom Skis

Vin Faraci’s custom-made skis are the stuff of powdery dreams. His dazzling topsheets (the protective overlayer) aren’t just for beauty’s sake—they actually make the skis stiffer. From $985. Hyde Park, VT. whiteroomcustomskis.com

5.  Wool Socks by Darn Tough

Few things come with a lifetime guarantee, but these “ethical” merino wool socks might outlast us all. Whether you hike, bike, or ski, Darn Tough makes a sock for every season, and it’s a Vermont success story to boot. From $14. Northfield, VT. darntough.com

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New England Holiday Gifts For the Homebodies

1.  Classic Rolling Stools by Owl Furniture

Mobility and adjustable height are additional perks in this back-saving scenario—it’s the postural support holes that make Geoffrey Warner’s beautiful hardwood perches an antidote to back pain, garnering praise from both lumbar regions and health practitioners. From $695. Stonington, ME. owlstools.com

2.  Glass Trees by Simon Pearce

“Grow your own forest,” the folks at Simon Pearce seem to suggest with their sparkling signature glass evergreens. The hand-blown beauties are just waiting to reforest your mantel. From $70. Quechee, VT. simonpearce.com

3.  Scallop Door Knocker by Colby Smith

How apropos that this rugged brass replica of the largest American sea scallop is sand-cast? And it’s just one of Colby Smith’s many heavy-duty door knockers, which also include horseshoe crabs, acorns, and Nantucket baskets. $160. Swansea, MA. doorknockers.info

4.  Four-arm Candelabra by Dunes and Duchess

Settle in for a long winter’s night with stylist Stacy Kunstel’s hand-finished wooden candelabra—in Swedish Gray for subtlety or International Lifesaving Orange for a festive jolt of color. Other turned-wood head-turners, like mirrors and wall sconces, shimmer in brittle-bright colors. $615. Brookfield, CT. dunesandduchess.com

STUDIO VISIT 5. Ayumi Horie Pottery

Portland-based potter Ayumi Horie has been making pots for 20 years, perfecting a blend of whimsy laced with soul. A bear and a reindeer, nose to nose, mixing it up on a mixing bowl. An anxious snowman on the brink of a ramen bowl. Possibly a cup bearing a raccoon engrossed in roasting marshmallows.

Horie makes a point of emphasizing the attention she pays to her work, not just to each handmade porcelain pot but also to every original drawing. Her pieces—inspired by American and Japanese folk traditions—have so much voice you can practically hear them talking.

Raised in Lewiston (her father is from Japan, her mother from Maine), Horie learned her craft at Alfred University’s NYS College of Ceramics. She’s also done a fair amount of teaching at renowned craft schools, including Haystack and Penland. Along the way, she helped organize the Democratic Cup project, bringing together illustrators and potters to spark positive dialogue via cups featuring icons like Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Sojourner Truth. She’s collaborated on the Portland Brick project, an art installation that collects people’s stories and stamps them into bricks to repair sidewalks. She’s organized fund-raisers for disaster relief and is assembling a book about artistic woodpiles from around the world.

So where better to store a fistful of wooden matches than Horie’s “Bird and Barn” match striker (pictured), or perhaps that little vampire bat container? Winter is a very good time to go for the laughs. These, and all of Horie’s other ceramics—bowls, mugs, jars, plates, teapots, vases—go on sale via her website a couple of times a year; late November is your next chance to experience this joyful celebration of making. From $92 (match striker $145). Portland, ME. ayumihorieshop.com

 

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