KB's gift guide part 2: the non-food edit
…But everything (almost) has a link to food in some way. And each item has been given an eagle-eyed assessment (aka harsh-critic once-over) by me. Welcome to your Properly Good Stuff collection
I’ve been putting together gift guides as part of my job for more than 20 years. So ingrained has the process become that whenever I see, try, buy and/or test something great, I automatically file it away in a folder marked ‘one for the gift guide’. I love (LOVE) buying gifts for people. The gifts don’t need to be big. I take great pleasure in listening out for things friends mention that they enjoy or appreciate – things beyond the ordinary. Mental notes are made for future gift-buying. That doesn’t mean an absence of last-minute panic because time is always, somehow, short and there are always people who are tricky to buy for, aren’t there? Nephew Nick, in his mid 20s, being top of the tricky list (hi, Nico) but I kind of relish that challenge too.
So without further ado, here’s your gift guide part 2: nothing to eat or drink this time; those choices are in part 1 (if you missed it, find a link to that here), but every item in this carefully curated, brutally whittled-down list has to meet two criteria: it has to be either useful or beautiful or both. No gimmicks; no pointless cracker-filler frippery... Hope you find some gems – thoughtful, quirky and memorable – among the choices.
Important note: there are a lot of images in this email, which means the end of it will almost certainly get lopped off. To make sure you don’t miss any of it, click ‘Load images’ at the top and/or ‘view all’ at the bottom – or read in the Substack app or on the Substack website.
…AND COMING UP SOON: my compiled-over-years collection of mail-order companies I rate; the no-stuff gift guide; the surprising book edit; plus a few extra choice things for December.
I mentioned last time that these guides take sleighloads of hours (and a few glasses of mulled wine) to compile, so I’m afraid they need to be behind the paywall. For Christmas, I’m offering a 20% discount on subscriptions until 15 December. If you’d like to receive the full gamut of newsletters over the next few weeks and beyond, I’d love you to upgrade to paid via the button below (the clicking of which commits you to nothing – it just shows you what the offer is). Here you are: