You've Got a Friend in Me
Hi everyone, happy Wednesday!
I’ve got a second installment of my gift guide series for you today, which I kicked off last week with gifts for people you don’t really know. This week, we’re moving a little closer to your inner circle and figuring out what to give your friends. Again, let me preface with my standard disclaimer: these are ideas that *ahem* may or may not pertain to some very specific personal circumstances, so there’s a high chance that these ideas will not apply to your particular group of friends. But if it inspires at least one person who reads this newsletter I’d be very satisfied!
FYI, I’m going to take a little break next week for Thanksgiving — hope everyone has a lovely time celebrating with turkey and pumpkin pie 🦃. See you guys in two weeks!
For your friend who’s definitely using cottagecore as an escape mechanism:
MUSHROOMS THREE-SPOUT TEAPOT - PORCELAIN DREAM SHOPPE ($280)
She’s got all the trimmings and trappings of an idyllic woodland lifestyle — the wicker picnic basket, the embroidered linen towels, the bubbling sourdough starter — even though she lives in the middle of southern California. Honestly, can’t blame her! If I were still languishing in the OC suburbs, I’d probably be doing the exact same thing. This delicate porcelain teapot is sure to jazz up her afternoon tea parties; it’s topped with polka-dotted toadstools and features — get this — THREE different spouts, so that you don’t have to contort your wrist in order to serve your friends. All the pots from Russia-based Etsy store Porcelain Dream Shoppe are handmade by artist Mila Arkhipova, whose enchantingly surreal housewares are veritable objets d’art.
For your roommate whose cat has energy to burn:
PAWZZLE BOX - PAWZZLE ($66)
Every other hour you hear a muffled “Harry, no!” from the next room, and you know exactly what’s going on: your roommate’s cat has once again jumped up onto her desk, and possibly knocked something over in the process. To be fair, he’s a big, frisky one-year-old orange boy who shares a modestly-sized apartment with three people, he’s gotta find some way of amusing himself. Something like this tricky wooden puzzle box should keep him busy and engaged — all you have to do is place some treats or toys inside and he’ll be pawing at it for hours. At the very least, it’ll be enough to prevent him from leaping into your lap while you’re on an important Zoom call.
For your friend who’s as terminally online as you are:
“I AM GOING TO MAKE THIS WORK” STICKER - CATCRUMB ($2.57)
Warning: do not gift these stickers to someone whose brain has not been thoroughly corroded by chronic internet exposure, because they’re not gonna “get it.” Someone whose daily routine consists of flitting between Twitter, Reddit, and Discord, however, will find Tumblr artist catcrumb’s little cat doodles to be the absolute pinnacle of humor. They manage to seamlessly shift from achingly tender to deliriously stupid, surprisingly philosophical to painfully relatable — after all, who amongst us hasn’t been on the verge of tears, frantically trying to keep the petals from falling off our metaphorical flowers, determined to make it work? Viewed in its glorious totality, catcrumb’s oeuvre is an impeccable encapsulation of the human condition (and would make for very cute additions to laptops or water bottles.)
Tried one of my recs and loved it (or hated it)? Wanna get something cool on my radar? Drop me a line at kittylguo@gmail.com or swing by my Twitter @kitguo!