sight unseen gift guide 2020

Slime Lamps and Head-Shaped Incense Burners: The 2020 Sight Unseen Gift Guide, Part II

On the one hand, to publish a gift guide in 2020 seems like an immense act of magical thinking. On the other hand, one of the small, analog joys we have found in this period of sequestering and uncertainty is the act of sending a gift by mail. In our second 2020 gift guide, this one by Monica, may we interest you in some incense burners? How about a gloppy, foamy desk lamp, or some CBD hot sauce? We're also pretty excited about Christin Ripley's marble-printed husband — who couldn't use a hug from a pillow right now? Give a gift, or two, to someone you love. It might just make you feel better.
More

A New Independent Design Label Launches in the South of France

The tiny town of Hyères in the South of France is only 50 square miles, but has long had an outsized presence on the contemporary design map as the home of the arts foundation Villa Noailles and its annual Design Parade festival. The festival was canceled this year due to the pandemic — more on that next week! — but two young Parisians have managed to fill in the gap with an exhibition called Été Super, which is serving as the launch of their independent design brand 13Desserts and its permanent showroom in a former Hyères skate shop.
More

Week of June 22, 2020

A weekly Saturday recap to share with you our favorite links, discoveries, exhibitions, and more from the past seven days. This week: two group design exhibitions with a charitable component, two new tubular lighting releases, two artisanal building materials making us wish we owned a home, and one showroom interior (above) that we can hardly believe is for a high-end paint company.
More

Goblets Are Your New Kitchen Must-Have

In February of 2018, we were Google-searching glassware for another story when we stumbled upon a series of objects from the '50s that awoke in us an obsession for thick-stemmed wine glasses that we never knew we had: Kaj Franck's series of colorful goblets. Two years later, our obsession has only grown, and we think they're the thing to have on your table now.
More

Own a Piece of Design History: The 2019 Sight Unseen Gift Guide, Part IV

The architect Philip Johnson spent 46 years building the 14 structures that comprise the Glass House, and 58 years personally living there. It's an incredibly important snapshot of design history, spanning the years 1949 to 2007, and our final gift guide this week has similar aims: We've rounded up 27 of our favorite important design objects that are available for sale in the Glass House Store, from iconic 1920s lamps and 1950s Aubock paperweights to more recent pieces that are on their way to becoming icons in the future.
More

Ceramic Goblets and Wavy Cutlery — The 2019 Sight Unseen Gift Guide, Part II

By now we've come to understand how hotly anticipated our annual gift guides are, so considering that it's after Thanksgiving, we'll cut to the chase: We did our gift guides a bit differently this year. In addition to our editor picks — today's by Monica — we asked our favorite designers and influencers to share their best gift ideas, and over on Instagram, you'll have the chance to win four of the coolest items from each of our three guides.
More

Week of November 11, 2019

A weekly Saturday recap to share with you our favorite links, discoveries, exhibitions, and more from the past seven days. This week: Sneak peeks from this weekend's Salon Art + Design Fair and the upcoming Design Miami, new rugs by Martino Gamper and Sigve Knutson, and a look inside a stunning home-turned-design-gallery in Los Angeles.
More

Fort Makers Opens an Yves Klein–Inspired Shop on the Lower East Side

In keeping with the recent theme of New York designers opening their own showrooms and shops, Fort Makers this week opened its own permanent space at 38 Orchard on the Lower East Side, just down the street from Coming Soon. The space will transform every six to eight weeks with an installation curated by Fort Makers creative director Nana Spears; its first iteration takes inspiration from Yves Klein in an installation called The Blue Room.
More

Week of February 4, 2019

A weekly Saturday recap to share with you our favorite links, discoveries, exhibitions, and more from the past seven days. This week: Highlights from Zona Maco, a new gallery in Brooklyn launching with epic works by Mimi Jung, and three retail interiors with absolutely perfect color palettes, like the Chinese womenswear store above.
More

Week of January 7, 2019

A weekly Saturday recap to share with you our favorite links, discoveries, exhibitions, and more from the past seven days. This week: A Danish design studio combining flowers with furniture, an Italian artist making neo-classical baskets, and a mystery interior with the perfect 60s-meets-80s vibe (above).
More