hungry ghost 2011 gift guide

A Gift Guide Synopsis...

I have been completely smitten this year with the Swedish Perfumer By Redo. When I was in Stockholm, I had fifteen minutes to spare before leaving for the airport. I made mad dash for the shop (literally running down the street!). They are definitely on my to give list for the holidays. The perfumes and candles are so lush and layered, and luckily are now available on-line and at Barney’s New York. For the little ones in your life, check out the newly launched,  organic, European inspired, children’s underwear line, Goat Milk. I am forever a fan of The Mast Brothers, who we were lucky enough to photograph again this year for French GQ. Stop by their newly renovated chocolate factory in Williamsburg where they will be working around the clock, like elves, making chocolate for the holidays. Don’t miss out on a little whiskey for your pocket flask from Brooklyn’s own King’s County Distillery. Brooklyn gets a little more love from me with a shout out to the Diner Journal and to my rainy day haven Bellocq Tea Atelier, in Greenpoint. Start the year off looking divine in some new Warby Parker glasses. Catch up on the last 400 years of food writing with Penguin's, The Great Food Series (you will be needing those glasses about now!). The Nontron knife, from one of France’s oldest knife companies, makes for the perfect small gift. You can’t go wrong with Mauviel copper pots or the brilliant cutting boards of Andrea Brugi for the Gastronome in your life! Anything from Nigel Slater will do just fine.  Last but not least, if you can wait a while.... a knife from Cut Brooklyn, destined to become a treasured hierloom.

Happy Holidays From Hungry Ghost!

 

click on any image to get to link. 

1.        

Gypsy Water is a glamorization of the Romany lifestyle, based on a fascination for the myth. The scent of fresh soil, deep forests and campfires illustrates the dream of a free, colorful lifestyle close to nature.

Ingredients:

Top: Bergamot, lemon, pepper, juniper berries
Heart: Incense, pine needles, orris
Base: Amber, vanilla, sandalwood

2.      

http://byredo.com/en/content/view/store-locations

ENCENS CHEMBUR

Eau de Parfum

Originally a picnic spot outside of Mumbai, Chembur is the place where Ben Gorham's mother was born and raised. Ben visited Chembur many times as a child and returned after almost 15 years to find the area developed. Lingering still, however, was the evocative incense from a Hindu temple.

Ingredients:

Top: Bergamot, lemon, elemi
Heart: Ginger, temple incense, nutmeg
Base: Labdanum, amber, musk

3.      

PEYOTE POEM

Fragranced Candle

Fragranced Candle/Bougie Parfumée, 255g/9 oz

Burning time: 60h

Ingredients:

Top: Juniper berries, clove buds
Heart: Tonka bean, hyacinth, fir
Base: Vanilla, black amber, patchouli

4. Nontron French Knife/ Copper Hewitt National Design Museum

5. Warby Parker Glasses

6. Swedish Vegetable Brush

Made by hand in Sweden, this brush gets the dirt and wax off of your vegetables, while allowing you to leave the vitamin laden skin intact. Perfect for cleaning young and organic vegetables, as well as potatoes, carrots, beets, and other scrubbable fruits and veggies.

 

7. White Enamel Cutlery

 

a limited quantity also available at Love Adorned

8.      

Also available at ABC HOME
 

9. Grey Staub

10.    

- Something for every food lover

Throughout the history of civilization, food has been more than simple necessity. In countless cultures, it has been livelihood, status symbol, entertainment - and passion. In the Great Food series, Penguin brings you the finest food writing from the last 400 years, and opens the door to the wonders of every kitchen.

11.    Hugo Guiness drawing at John Derian

12. Diner Journal

13.    

14. Nigel Slater Tender British Version

American Version at Amazon

15. Mast Brothers Chocolate

16. Kings County Distillery

17. Bellocq Tea Atelier Afghani Chai 

No. 18, Afghani Chai

A hand-crafted evocative blend of Organic Assam black tea, organic red poppy flowers, green cardamon, star anise, ginger, clove and black pepper.  Invigorating and warming, Afghani Chai may be either steeped or traditionally boiled in water with milk (add a handful of chopped fresh ginger for additional heat, if desired) and sweetened to taste.  Fragrant and seductive, chai is perfect to enjoy anytime and makes your home smell utterly divine.  

 

18. Copper pot

19. Cut Brooklyn Knife

maltagliati. cut brooklyn.

Maltagliati or (badly cut pasta in italian) is my favorite kind of pasta to make. Its large irregular cuts speak to my rustic imperfect side and this knife from Cut Brooklyn the object of my current obsession, is just the knife to cut it! I am seriously obsessed with the knives of blade smith Joel Bukiewicz. I first spotted one of them at the stall of Brooklyn Butcher Blocks at the New Amsterdam Market. I have since used Joel’s knives in any editorial I can squeeze them into. I like to have them on set so I can pine over them! Last week while shooting a feature for a European editorial on Brooklyn Artisans the knives came up again when Joel appeared on the list. I had never been to his studio/shop in Gowanus and was excited to check it out. It happens to be just down the block from Hungry Ghost favorite Four and Twenty Blackbirds and not surprisingly, the  Brooklyn knife maker and pie making sisters are friends!

Joel started making knives about seven years ago when he was living in a small town outside Atlanta. He came to be a blade smith via a hiatus from writing in which he has a degree. Metal work and furniture building eventually led him to this pure precise craft. His knives feel alive, each one carefully crafted for precision, balance and control. They are both light and powerful in hand, each feels as though it has a story to tell.

The knives of his assistant Moriah Cowels, a former blacksmith from Northern Vermont are just as beautiful in their own right. Where his are dark and masculine hers are more feminine and whimsical, but no less powerful.

 

 Knife Cut Brooklyn, Bladesmith Joel Bukiewicz

 

Knives Moriah Cowles at Cut Brooklyn