Gifts With A Story To Tell

From the NY Times:

SHOPPERS, be advised: The human touch rules this year. Also anything even vaguely critter-like, be it mammalian, reptilian or insectival. Decay, as opposed to the merely antique, is also rampant, imbued with attitude or lush with metaphor.Despite a punishing retail climate, or what David Alhadeff, the owner of the Future Perfect in Brooklyn, calls “the economic thing,” merchants and makers of the decorative arts reported that anything that hints of the hand — indie crafter, artisan, sculptor or even a member of a Dutch (or Brooklyn) design collective — is still selling.“People respond much more to authentic, human-centric design now,” said Chee Pearlman, a design consultant. “As opposed to the extruded-plastic sort from China. It’s clearly a time for genuine connection to the objects in our lives.”Or as Grace Bonney, creator of DesignSponge, the craft-centric design blog, put it: “Vintage has been massive this year. So has the artisanal look, anything that’s handmade or pretends to be handmade.”“People are taking ‘buy local,’ one step further,” Mr. Kalin said of his four-and-a-half-year-old craft mall. “Knowing where your food comes from, or your clothes, is extending to wanting to know where your dining room table comes from. It really matters. And I think what makes gifts in particular special is knowing there’s a person who made it and a story behind it. I think people want to buy things that tell stories, especially in an age when so few store-bought items tell stories.”Read More...