We Made This Great Big Christmas Wish List
Are you fed up with getting drab and uninteresting presents at Christmas?
Not looking forward to unwrapping a series of tacky 'novelty' gifts once again this year?
Well, despair no more, for here is the We Made This Great Big Christmas Wish List. Simply point your nearest and dearest to this page, and let them browse at will, safe in the knowledge that you'll be getting something you really want this year.
Or, alternatively, just buy something for yourself. It is Christmas after all.
#1. A print from Product of God
Product of God is a fantastic online gallery selling limited edition prints by graphic designers and illustrators. This one is Bloodlines 1 by David Foldvari, in an edition of 75. £125.
#2. Grafitti Train from Suck UK
Go old school. A solid vinyl train that you customise with a stack of grafitti transfers. Kind of like an Airfix model. Only cooler. £25.
#3. Something tasty from Blanka
They do lots of lovely stuff here: books, posters, prints, tshirts, bags. We like their t-shirts by Counterfeit Outfit, including the band logo t-shirt above. £23.
#4. An original illustration by Tom Gauld at Cabanon Press
Tom Gauld is one of our favourite illustrators, and he's currently selling a series of original illustrations created for the Guardian Review letters page, done in "black and white pen-and-a-little-tippex on paper". They're going for a song at £100 each.
#5. A typographic t-shirt from Artefacture
We're totally loving the t-shirts created by this American company. We'd go for their Design will save the world one. $28 plus $5 extra for international shipping.
#6. Something gorgeous from Thorsten van Elten
It's a little sick, but totally brilliant. We first saw Maxim Velcovsky's Little Joseph candle holder at the Designboom show at Designer's Block, and you can now get it from the hottest product design store in town. £49.
#7. A jar full of sun from Suck UK
Suck UK are just full of clever products. This sun jar uses solar power to charge its battery during the day, and then switches itself on once it gets dark. Dead simple, dead clever. Alistair gave one to his niece recently, to use as a night light, and she just loves it. They also work well as outdoor lighting. Mmmmm.
#8. A tasty print from Simone Lia
Simone shares some webspace with Tom Gauld over at Cabanon Press, but also has her own site, where you can buy limited edition prints of her wonderful illustrations. This one is just £27.50 framed. Bargain!
#9. The Font Clock from Thorsten van Elten
Typographic brilliance in the form of the Font Clock by Sebastian Wrong for Established & Sons. You'll need to bust open the piggy bank for these - the small one's £195, the medium one is £550, and the large one's £810.
#10. A stunning print from Cosh
Cosh is a great little gallery in Soho, and they've got a whole bunch of great prints and posters. This one is our favourite: Battle Royale by Airside, it's a limited edition of 50. £185.
#11. The best rolodex in the world
It's outmoded technology, but it's just so damn beautiful. The Zeuss Index Card Holder from Manufactum. £59.
#12. Anything from Magma
Where would designers in London be without Magma? Quite simply the best design book store we've ever been to, and now they've opened a product store too. And that's not to mention their toy store. We've picked this Breathe poster by Matt Willey, but you could hardly fail to find something brilliant in any of the stores.
#13 A tasty print from Nelly Duff
Nelly Duff is a gallery on Columbia Road, selling a fantastic range of prints from the likes of Eine, Shepard Fairey, Faile and Insect. We particularly like this one, Bunny Fingers, by Pure Evil. It's spray painted by hand, and you'll have to move fast if you want one, it's a strictly limited edition of 20. £250 unframed.
#14 A typographic top from Veer
We've got a bit of a soft spot for image and type library Veer. There's something groovy about the way they do things, and their website just works really well. (Many of the other type foundries could take a tip or two...) They also sell a lot of great merchandise, including this little number. They call it a 'lightweight jogging jacket', we call it 'a top'. And before you get too excited, this one's for US citizens only, so if you don't live stateside, you'll have to find someone over there to get it for you. But come on, it's a piece of clothing about kerning. You know you want it. $69.
#15 A Pantone mug
For people who know that using the PMS isn't something that only women can do once a month. Which one would you go for: Red 186C, Pink 239C, Royal Blue 286C, Lime Green 388C, Pale Blue 549C, Lilac 2583C, Olive Green 5757C, Black 4C, Orange 012C, Process YellowC? Or heck, why get all hung up on making a choice, why not get the whole set? (Perfect for those Monday morning Work in Progress meetings.) And, we were just thinking, if you've got a client whose identity features any of these Pantone colours, they'd make a rather perfect present for them... like Royal Blue 286C for the Institute of Education? £7.99 each, or £79.99 for the whole set.
#16 Some recycled letters from RE
You can't really go wrong with 3D letterforms. These chunky ones are great (as long as you don't want W, X and Z, which aren't available). They're made from recycled card, and stand 28cm high. £14 each.
#17 A stylish bit of tableware from People Will Always Need Plates
We've mentioned them before on here, but couldn't help doing so again. We especially like their series of Brutalist concrete architecture plates, including this Barbican version. £25.
# 18 Friendship with the St Bride Library
Give a little back why don't you? Become a Friend of the St Bride Library for one year, and you get newsletters and discount admission to their lectures and annual conference. You will also receive copies of Ultrabold, the Library‘s journal. All that for £30, and you'll be helping to sustain the world's foremost printing and graphic arts library. Good on you.
And that's your lot - here's hoping you have a fantastic Christmas.