Laura from Wren Handmade has gathered over 30 designers for a holiday sale in just a couple weeks, wow! You will be able to find clothing, kids stuff, jewelry, handbags, pretty much everything there. It is on my list!

The Ladies Independent Design League is also having a sale on Smith St in Brooklyn the following weekend, there is a vendor list here.

So many sales to hit next month, it’s going to be a good time!

Folks, I am dead tired. We prepped dozens of boxes for shipping tonight and it will only be crazier as we get closer to the holidays. I wanted to do a big lovely photo-spread gift guide…and I just don’t have the energy. So I will just point out a few things we have in stock, or are readily available, that shouldn’t be overlooked.

Elegant Gifts

My top pick is Tonfisk from Finland. Their Warm tea lantern is gorgeous and not to be missed, I think 80% of the in-store shoppers pick this one up to examine it. Tonfisk also has these incredible tealight holders with soft, “melted” ceramic shades and lovely walnut bases.

We also have a couple sets of the Sugahara black glass sake sets back in stock. All three items are very elegant gifts.

Custom Gifts

We do an all silver tag necklace with your word or phrase stamped into it…this is good for the person who has everything, it can be a funny gift or a very sentimental one. Or both! There is also a monogram pillow which is a fun present, in your choice of pillow and ink color (and letter, of course.) Please get your orders in for these by the 10th of December at the latest to give us time to make them for you.

Rena’s Faves

Some of my current faves at the shop (and it changes often) are the florentine earring in gold vermeil or sterling silver, and the green leather satchel which is super-soft and just the right size.
green satchel. I am also very fond of the Deadly Squire fabric-covered journal because it has a gilt edge and I’m a sucker for details like that.

That’s it for today – we are working hard to get more of the products in the shop up onto the website, expect some updates over the holiday. We are open on Wednesday and closed Thursday. Happy Thanksgiving!

PS: A little preview of items in transit to the store – a Serious Gnome cupcake wall hanging ($85), as it still seems to be the year of the cupcake, and a couple new necklace designs ($42) from ever-popular Fernworks of Seattle.

My apologies if this store blog is straying rather far from the store, but everything really is connected, you know, and today I have some interesting tidbits for you.

Karin links to this interesting essay that feeds the discussion about craft, design, mass-market, consumerism, and the kitchen sink too. The site has a lot of great links about these discussions and includes a very thoughtful and interesting manifesto as well. Now I learn that Ulla-Maaria is a PhD student studying emerging forms of collaborative design activity. How awesome is that? She is my dream come true!

As Thanksgiving and Black Friday (or Buy Nothing Day) approaches, the NY Times talks to Kate Bingaman, who we have mentioned before, and her Obsessive Consumption project.

We know that Friday you will be out at your favorite mall or shopping strip but alternately we like to think of it as Buy Local Day…what do you think? In SoHo, a very yummy perfumerie that I just wandered into states in their window that Friday will be a day of learning and not shopping. If you are interested in how perfumes are made, you should stop by! I like this idea also…I wish my store was just a smidgen bigger (I say this like a broken record these days) so I could have a big table for learning, it would be so nice to host classes for the neighborhood at Rare Device.

If you are in San Francisco, you must go see the Ruth Asawa retrospective that opens this weekend at the deYoung. I am so in love with this woman’s work. I hope I get back to see the show before it closes! The accompanying catalog is definitely on my wish list.

Also, kudos to Brandon Stosuy, who I started reading 10 or 15 years ago when he had his zine and his indie label, for his book Up is Up, But So is Down, which chronicles the NY downtown literary scene, post-punk and pre-Internet, and landed in the Times Review of Books this weekend, yay!

Just a note to say that next week’s schedule is – closed Mon/Tues as usual, open Wednesday, closed on Thursday for Thanksgiving, and back open on Friday at noon as always. We don’t expect to see many of you as people tend to head to the big shops in the city on Black Friday but if you do come by we will be happy to see you…and no neverending Christmas music we promise!

Just in are a few new Joanna Mendicino vases – see an assortment of them below. If you are interested in any, email or give us a ring, there are only 1 or 2 of each style at the shop!

Coming soon – a great new design from Crystalyn Kae, this one is called the monarch hobo and we’ll be trying burgundy and navy blue first. Crystalyn’s bags are made of a durable and soft glazed fabric…the bag is not too big, not too small and has an adjustable shoulder strap so you can go from under the arm to cross-body in a flash.

Elsewhere this weekend – if you are in the SF Bay Area, do not miss this holiday trunk show in Alameda on Sunday – my sweet friend Andrea will be selling her gorgeous jewelry and there will be 5 other designers’ wares as well. Give her a big hello from me!

That’s it for this update – I just want to reiterate that if you are interested in a product that I mention or take a picture of here – HURRY. I only get a few pieces in (you know, that “rare” part) and they tend to move fast. Also, if you are stuck for gift ideas, email or call and we can give you suggestions from the shop. We just need to know who it’s for and a budget and we will work with you.