gift ideas | LA PERSONA GRATA

french market baskets 5 October, 2010

I have a confession to make: I HATE grocery shopping. As much as I love cooking, I just cannot bring myself together to waste an hour of my life limping along the rows of a supermarket. I wish I could rather roam through the street markets on the tiny alleys of Europe where the food is so inspirational and all of the hustle and bustle brings so much character to the process itself.

And be like these chic ladies with their little baskets, just browsing the streets or going to a picnic.

At least I can pretend, with these lovely handmade French Market Baskets from Jeanne Beatrice. I just love the natural quality and the juxtaposition of leather detail.

Or if you want some color and pattern, check out French Basketeer. There you’ll find that perfect punch of color to complement your grocery-shopping outfit (all within $40-$50 range). Happy inspired shopping!

No Comments | accessories, fashion, gift ideas, online shop, vintage

modcloth 26 February, 2010

I’ve recently spotted this great online store and decided to share it with you. May be I’m doing it to my greater lose since I’d like to keep this jewel to myself as among other great stuff ModCloth sells one of a kind vintage clothes and accessories. and those guys go FAST. Good thing, you can RSS the products and be the first one to grab it.

Founded by high school sweethearts in 2002, now it’s a full volume online store featuring vintage-inspired cloth by indie designers, accessories and other fun stuff for the retro lovers.

Anyways, look at what we’ve already missed on the true vintage section. But don’t be sad, click here for PLENTY of amazingly cool stuff, that would keep you browsing forever.

1 Comment | accessories, fashion, gift ideas, online shop, vintage

floral art 23 January, 2010

This post on Floral Art is LONG overdue! Jennifer McGarigle‘s Floral Art shop is definitely one of my favorites in Venice Beach (and, let me tell you, she has a lot of competitors in that there on Abbot Kinney among all those vintage shops). I think we all needed some new and fresh approach to the flower arrangement. You can say how one can reinvent the obvious, flowers are beautiful as they are but Jennifer’s sophisticated yet simple ideas are very impressive and unique, creating the signature style for which she’s known in LA. Enjoy!

And if the flower bar is not enough for you Floral Art has a Home Collection too.

No Comments | accessories, art, decor, designers, gift ideas, inspiration

salt and pepper 27 November, 2009

leafing through the latest Christmasy Elle Decor, I saw THIS and absolutely fell in love with Michael Aram‘s pomegranate salt and pepper shakers.

It gave me another great gift idea for the last-minute sock stuffers. With a little bit of time on the web you can go as thrifty or as fancy as you like. here’s me preaching with 99¢ ones from Walmart:)

rustic couple from Sur La Table

geeky couple from X-treme Geek

Soap Bubble Salt & Pepper by Daan Brouwer

woodwork couple from Alentejoazul

Twist Salt & Pepper Mills from Georg Jensen crafty couple from leavesofclay

holy spice from Koziol

No Comments | accessories, gift ideas

sleek and modern from gSelect. 17 November, 2009

I guess, I’m officially in a gift-searching mode now or it just happens that all the “super cool accessories” websites started stoking me. My latest find is gSelect with its refreshingly stylish lines of everything: from furniture and lamps to books and plants. Look at me, I even started rhyming (usually not my style). The creators of Gessato (an upscale online store offering premium men’s skin care products) seems to know how to market themselves:

Tastemakers and trend-setters, our clientele inspired us to introduce our latest store, GSelect, a collection of high-end merchandise created for today’s discriminating man. …our customers truly appreciate the finer things in life.

Men?!..finer things in life?! That’s not fair, I say, for great design is a Universal Right of every human being. So I dare you to click here and indulge yourself and/or the dearest ones with the quality and sophistication.

under $50: these sticky lamps can totally be a great focal point/art installation; milk crown tray is perfect for a jewelry lover or can be a key tray (who doesn’t need one of those, right); it’s time to get rid of those ugly aluminum/stainless steel bowls with these sleek double pet bowls (they come in different color sets too); fingerprinted business card case for those stylish and business-minded

under $150: I absolutely fell in love with Domsai Terrarium by MatteoCibic, with variety of shapes you can get one of those for all your friends to depict their character. My husband would get the first one))); I haven’t seen so many funky cuff links, my eye caught the BullsEye and Block by Imooi; calendars are always in need but an elegant calendar is hard to find, here is Danese Milano Perpetual Calendar.

Pamper yourself (no $ limit): these cork “Cube” stools by Scram are quite literally perfect for every setting (can be used indoors or out) and are environmentally friendly, which never hurts; ditch the usual tourist traps and see the best cities in the world on foot with the city walk guides; how about 12 standard milk bottles into a stunning lamp, huh?!; my all time favourite 85 lamps chandelier; looking for unusual mirror idea, here is 6000 Names Mirror. On the backside of the glass and in alphabetical order, more than 6000 names are printed. This gives a soft image and from a distance the mirror looks tinted. A closer look uncovers the first names of people from all over the world.

2 Comments | accessories, decor, gift ideas