Holiday Shopping under $100: What about a Papered Photo Album from Venice?

Not very often do I come across artisanship that makes me catch my breath. Paolo Olbi's work is decorative and baroque without in any way pandering to sentimental stereotypes of what classical Italian design is. To me, this is modern design. It is fresh, crisp, interesting, wild and fierce. I am stunned. What gorgeous, agile work.

Photo Albums and Journals by the Venetian designer and paper artist, Paolo Olbi, available here.

touching on... FLOR

FLOR always has great designs, but this "Big Wooly Rug Kit" (100% natural wool) is a particularly beautiful concept-- I love the idea of a striped shag, especially paired with a smoky blue velvet sofa and a tufted club chair. Soft, inviting & yet also masculine, like a good scotch.

toucan; sahara; lacquer: 500 colored pencils

happiness is... a subscription to 500 pencils. It's terrific how excited these guys are about their set of 500 pencils, and all the love they've put into marketing it; I particularly like the idea of their display case, for an entryway, a living room-- any place you currently have a bunch of assorted pens lying around. Write notes and to-do lists in color!