Entries Tagged 'Gifts' ↓

Featuring a collection of love letters and correspondence from celebrated writers, poets and notable figures throughout history, this beautiful leather-bound book can be personalized with a name or initials for a truly thoughtful and unique Valentine’s gift. $220.00

www.Smythson.Com

Smythson Valentine Day Notebooks, Also comes in” With Love and Kisses,” “Be Mine,” “Everyday I Love You,” and ” J’Adore,” $65.00.

www.Smythson.com

A. 8 x 10 Single Print (no text) $150
B. 8 x 10 Single Print (simple text) $200
C. 8 x 10 Single Print (text frame) $250
D. 11 x 14 Double Print (no text) $300
E. 11 x 14 Double Print (equation text) $350
F. 11 x 14 Double Print (simple text) $350
G. 11 x 14 Double Print (text frame) $475
(Prices do not include shipping)
Paper cutting will be signed and dated in bottom right corner.

www.loridanelle.com

Twenty-one revamped, tongue-in-cheek, name-dropping nursery rhymes, This Little Piggy went to Prada is the must-have gift for yummy mummies. Politically incorrect, utterly frivolous and lots of fun. If the Sex and the City girls had a baby shower, it would be top of the gift list! ”This Little Piggy Went to Prada”, $19.99, Available for Purchase at Amazon.Com

Clothbound Penguin Classics

The revered books of childhood and adolescence are now bound in a brightly colored, smartly embossed canvas covers to add that much more excitement to their enduring stories. Titles include: The Adventures of Robin Hood, Anne of Green Gables, The Wind and The Willows, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, The Secret Garden and Peter Pan. $16.99

www.Anthropologie.Com

The Play Soapbox Cart by Normann Copenhagen

Play has arisen from the idea of play and building a child’s imagination. Jesper K. Thomsen has re-interpreted the classic soapbox cart to create a series of quality children’s furniture. The expression is random and homemade, with oblique lines, compound angles and such humorous details as the green projections contrasting the clear yellow color.

www.velocityartanddesign.com

Ready Made Shadow Puppets

Create delightful stories and adventures in the dark with these sturdy cardboard shadow puppets from France. There is a prince and a princess, the king and a witch, a good fairy, a donkey and a dragon, a castle and a forest-all the makings of a classic fairy tale. All you need to supply is the light and a neutral wall background-and of course your imagination! Nine pieces of varying sizes on wooden sticks. $18.00

Available at Eggy in Los Angeles or Online at MySweetMuffin.com

Vintage Razors.

Each razor handle is antique, certified to be at least 100 years old. The heads are fitted with a Mach 3 blade, replacements for which are widely available. Choose from Mother of Pearl, Ivory and Sterling Silver. Handcrafted in England. $125.00

www.sterlingplace.com

Found Camera

The first was prototyped in Germany in 1913 and went into production as the Leica in 1924. Our collection of found cameras crafted by a variety of mid-century German and Russian manufacturers have become vintage icons, making them perfect for display. Each one is unique; let us choose for you. $149.00

www.potterybarn.com

www.RestorationHardware.Com

13 Photo Large Day Planner, $78.99

8 x10″ 43 Photo Gallery Photo Book, $45.99

12 Photo Easel Desk Calendar, $24.99

12 Photo Hanging Wall Calendar, $29.99

Photo Notepad, $12.49

8 Photo Accordion Brag Book, $22.99

www.pinholepress.com

www.TheSocialType.com

Turns out diamonds may not be everyone’s best friend. The United States buys $25 billion worth of the gems each year — as much as the rest of the world’s countries combined. But the profits don’t always go to the people who mine, cut, and polish the stones. Often they go to finance warfare, as seen in the movie Blood Diamond, starring January cover girl Jennifer Connelly. A blood, or conflict, diamond is one mined in an African war zone, then sold to a supplier to finance rebel warfare. And yet buying a “clean” diamond can be difficult because it’s often impossible to track its origin.

Diamonds have a long history of being one of the most valuable commodities in Africa, beginning in 1866, when the stones were discovered in South Africa. (In 1870, 269,000 carats were extracted from South Africa; by 2006, the number had risen to about 10 million carats annually.) With subsequent diamond discoveries in other parts of Africa, the rush that followed began a complex story of corruption. It’s counterintuitive that the existence of a rich natural resource could hurt, rather than help, the economy, and become a source of violence and bloodshed. But since the early 1990s, rebel groups in Sierra Leone, Angola, and other countries have controlled the mines, coercing workers to labor in them and fund warfare. Rapper Kanye West brought attention to the problem with his 2005 song, “Diamonds from Sierra Leone”: “The diamonds, the chains, the bracelets, the charmses/I thought my Jesus Piece was so harmless/’til I seen a picture of a shorty armless.”

In the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), about one million diamond diggers work for less than a dollar per day. The majority of the operations involve alluvial mining: People, including children, stand in a stream with a sieve or other simple tool, sifting through dirt and working inhumane hours under grim conditions with no guarantee they’ll find anything. And while the DRC has 30 percent of the world’s diamond reserves and produces $2 billion worth of diamonds annually, 90 percent of its population lives in poverty. Even more devastating: Since 1998, four million people in the DRC have died in civil war conflicts.

“It’s diamonds for guns,” explains Beth Gerstein, 31, who, in December of 2004, was about to get engaged when she and her boyfriend saw a PBS Frontline report on conflict diamonds. Conflict diamonds can enter the trade when rebels smuggle the diamonds across the borders into “conflict-free” zones, where they are sold to the international market. Money made from these sales is then used to buy arms for rebel militias in countries like Sierra Leone. “We didn’t want this symbol of our commitment and love to be implicated in the suffering of others,” she says. But most of the jewelers they approached claimed they didn’t know the issues. “When we’d ask, ‘Where does this diamond come from?’ they said they couldn’t tell us. They said, ‘Trust us, it’s not a problem.’”

In theory, it shouldn’t be a problem. In 2003, the United Nations passed the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme, wherein countries agree to voluntarily monitor their diamond supplies to ensure they’re not financing rebel militias. Most of the larger diamond companies have reported drops in the rate of conflict stones in their supplies since Kimberley — saying that less than 1% of the gems on the market are conflict diamonds, according to the World Diamond Council — but Amnesty International points out that change is slower than people may think. In a September 2006 survey of jewelry retailers, only 27% said they had a policy on conflict diamonds; and of those, only half issued warranties. Many were unable to explain the conflict-diamond crisis and were unaware of the Kimberley Process. Furthermore, 110 out of 246 shops across the U.S. refused outright to take the survey.

“There’s a vast imbalance between public relations effort and the effort made to ensure that the Kimberley Process is really working,” says Amy O’Meara, an associate with the Business and Human Rights program for Amnesty International USA. The Kimberley Process is self-regulated, so it’s difficult to trust. Those in charge of monitoring are also the people who stand to profit from the diamonds. “The industry has agreed to police itself. While we’re happy they made that commitment, they have a lot of history to overcome,” O’Meara says.

Gerstein thinks people should take matters into their own hands. “The industry is only going to change if consumers demand it,” she says. Which is why she co-founded Brilliant Earth, a company that sells only conflict-free diamonds — mining them from Canada, where a third party regulates, monitors, and tracks the gems. She also co-founded Diamonds for Africa Fund (DFA), a nonprofit that provides medicine, food, and books to African communities ravaged by unethical mining.

No matter where you’re shopping for diamonds, you can always put your mind at ease by asking the following questions (from Amnesty International USA’s diamond buying guide), which any diamond salesperson should be able to answer:

1. How can I be sure none of your jewelry contains conflict diamonds?
2. Do you know where the diamonds you sell come from?
3. Can I see a copy of your company’s policy on conflict diamonds?
4. Can you show me a written statement from your suppliers guaranteeing that your diamonds are conflict-free?

“Keep asking questions until you feel comfortable,” advises O’Meara. Go to brilliantearth.com to get more information; visit diamondsforafricafund.org to donate; or log on to amnestyusa.org to find out how you can put pressure on the diamond industry. - MarieClaire.Com

SnowWhite Rabbit, $32.00

Arttic Hare, $28.00

Mother Goose, $53.00

Mama Jack Rabbit, $42.00

Squirrel, $30.00

Mallards, $11.50

ImagineChildhood.Com

Scharffen Berger

Bumble Bee Truck

Vanilla Tomboy

Rasberry Tomboy

Lemon Debutante Cake

Lime Meringue Tart

Yellow Vanilla Cupcake

Lavendar Shortbread

Rose Meringues

Vanilla Marshmellows

www.Miette.Com

Picnic Set for 4 People, Beretta Gallery

www.BerettaGallery.Com

Diptyque is one of my favorite fragrance companies, They not only make deliciously scented room spray, but candles, Perfumes and Colognes. I’m extremely fond of their scent “Figuier,” I have strategically placed candles and room spray all through out my home. Other favorites of mine are Baies and Roses. These always make for perfect for house warming or hostess gifts. Room Spray $60.00, at Space NK Apothecary.

These charming “Signature” necklaces come from Garland Collection. They are available in Yellow Gold, Rose Gold and White gold. Also available with diamonds or sapphires on the chain. You can fit up to 6 letters on the plate. $1,200.00 - $3,350.00.

www.GarlandCollections.com

These ID Bangles come in sizes for children or adults. Meant to engrave with your initials or name. They come in sterling silver, yellow gold or rose gold plated. Prices start from $69.00.

www.Store.SarahChloe.Com