The Want List: Locally Sourced Holiday Gifts from Across Corcoran’s Regions
Looking for fresh ideas of what to give this year? Consider these options from brands, makers, and artisans from regions all across the Corcoran network.
FOR HOME
Summer in a candle from Hamptons Handpoured.
If the South Fork is your summer flame, you’ve surely gifted summer in a bottle—but how about in a jar? Hamptons native Brittany Torres created an entire candle line inspired by the the East End’s celebrated summer havens, handcrafted with 100% soy wax and essential oils. The Signature Village covers Westhampton (orange, balsam, and lavender) to The End (sandalwood, bergamot, spice)—whether you stick to Montauk Highway through East Hampton (cashmere, fig, strawberry) or detour over Sag Harbor’s Long Wharf (cedarwood, vanilla, honey) because of those pesky lights in Bridgehampton (lime, arugula, backyard honeysuckle)—and has since added North Fork offerings as well.
$28 at Hamptons Handpoured
A bar book by—and for—Denver’s best.
It’s no secret the past 20+ months have been incredibly taxing for bars and restaurants, particularly those indie spots that give our neighborhoods flavor. Mix masters from more than a dozen of the Mile High City’s finest have collaborated on the Happy Hour Handbook—a for-the-industry, by-the-industry trove of cocktail recipes, appetizer pairings, techniques, and more. The pros spill the secrets to 20+ drinks from Denver’s most beloved spots, and proceeds from book sales go right back to the places—and the people—that contributed to them. How’s that for getting in the spirit of the season?
$49 hardcover/$39 paperback from select participants
Florida citrus trees that can thrive indoors.
Kumquats! We mean that as both subject and exclamation. Via Citrus specializes in small but mighty fruit trees you can keep just about everywhere—even inside a tiny New York City studio, if you’ve got the light. Each is grown with love on their family-owned farm in Florida, then boxed and dispatched to the address of your choice. Beyond the aforementioned orange oblongs, you’ll be met with a half-dozen other options that vary by season, including Meyer lemons, calamondins, and multiple lime varietals. If it keeps on living, it’s truly a gift that keeps on giving. Consider for your favorite plant parent, or as a bottomless well of garnish for your favorite home mixologist.
$65 and up at Via Citrus
This giant handmade mug from the Sierra Foothills.
Few facts of life are certain, but you know what is? That everyone needs an oversized mug in their cabinet—and unlike the internet’s most lampooned example, it don’t doesn’t have to be hideous. If you’re looking to balance form, function, and price, look no further than Brownell. The 18 oz. Lomas is the largest drinking vessel thrown by this small ceramics studio, which is based a few miles west of Arnold in the even smaller Calaveras County community of Mountain Ranch. You might recognize it if you’re a regular at Sacramento’s coveted Temple Coffee; it’s the same design as the roaster’s custom rosetta mugs, a custom order from Brownell.
$20 at Brownell Ceramics
FOR SELF
Big bath energy from Southern California.
This bath set from Flamingo Estate is practically a spa in a box, with a trio of aromatherapy candles and their full bath line—all made with all-natural ingredients from the property’s gardens in the hills above Los Angeles. You’ll get bottles of the Australian Wattle, Bergamot Rind, and Tuscan Rosemary shampoo; the Lavender, Tulsi, Blue Eucalyptus, and Sea Buckthorn conditioner; the Wild Clary Sage, Blue Eucalyptus, and St. John’s Wort body wash; and a hand soap formulated from sage, ylang ylang, tulsi, desert yarrow, and blue chamomile (and if you don’t know what half of those things are, why not get it yourself?).
$240 at Flamingo Estate
Hawaiian reef-safe sunscreen to take for everywhere you go.
Splashing into the water with harmful chemical-based sunscreens is detrimental to the world’s oceans. Hawaii made waves this year by placing an outright ban on the two ingredients most culpable for coral bleaching, all but eliminating most mainstream sunscreens in favor of mineral-based alternatives. Of the surge of natural sunscreens to hit the market in recent years, Little Hands stands out. The FDA-compliant line, conceived by a nurse and mother of five, is non-toxic and full of antioxidants and essential oils, making it easy on the skin for grown-ups and children alike. They’re also a kamaaina company, based right in Honolulu. Take a tin everywhere you go and travel with kuleana—the Hawaiian virtue of social responsibility and a symbiotic relationship with the environment.
$20 at House of Mana Up
This hyped Hudson Valley t-shirt.
Upstate isn’t so much a place as it is a state of mind. If someone on your list longs for piney mountains, shimmering lakes, and Riesling vineyards, you’d be hard pressed to find a more perfect piece of apparel than these flagship tees from Hamilton & Adams, the stylish lifestyle boutique just up the block from Corcoran Global Living’s Kingston office in the city’s Stockade District. You’ll find an assortment of prints, colors, and cuts—onesies and toddler sizes included. Throw in a baseball cap, pint or rocks glass, or even a camp flag to complete the collection.
$29 and up at Hamilton & Adams
A winter hat for humanity from Bushwick, Brooklyn.
How many yacht clubs sling beanies? Bushwick Yacht Club doesn’t actually exist (not even in a dive-bar form akin to its seasonal Gowanus counterpart), but the impact of the socially-conscious apparel label is all too real. For each item sold, they’ll donate an unbranded equivalent to Breaking Ground, the Midtown nonprofit dedicated to housing equity across the city. While they’ve got tees, crewnecks, and even other styles of headwear, we can’t help but love their inaugural product line: a classic-fit, box logo watch cap to keep you warm all winter. Comfy, cozy, and emblazoned with North Brooklyn’s capital of cool? Step aside, Carhartt—you had a good run.
$20 at Bushwick Yacht Club
FOR PANTRY
One truly artful box of chocolates.
Holiday gifts certainly channel the whole Forrest Gump metaphor on life and a box of chocolates: you never know what you’re gonna get. So why not just give someone a box of chocolates? Mast Brothers, the poster siblings of the Brooklyn maker movement who upped and decamped from Williamsburg for bigger-square-footage pastures in the Westchester village of Mount Kisco, partnered with the Metropolitan Museum of Art to release this gorgeous box set fit for the most discerning cacao consumer. Each of the dozen bars feature artwork from The Met’s two million-object collection, with 60% of each sale donated right back to the museum.
$100 at Mast Market
Desert-roasted coffee from Scottsdale that’s sure to rev you up.
Avocados and toast. Benedicts and bottomless rosé. Caffeine and carburetors. If you didn’t already know, gearhead gatherings are a weekend tradition sweeping cafes across the country. We won’t propose you swap that oat milk creamer for premium unleaded, but we’ll pass on high marks for these desert-roasted beans from Scottsdale‘s Fourtillfour, any of which promise to deliver a high-octane jolt that’ll speed you up like you’re Ferdinand Porsche. Each of the three signature blends come in attractive, 12 oz. cans, making them perfectly packaged for gifting—or to simply get you dreaming about cruising life’s highway in a vintage classic.
$19.50 at Fourtillfour
Cheese and charcuterie from Murray’s in Greenwich Village.
This city isn’t cheap, but let’s be honest: real New Yorkers know you can always find a way to squeeze artisanal cheese into the budget. Thanks to one-day shipping and state of the art packaging, this celebrated Bleecker Street cheesemonger lets you send that glorious sense of self-empowered fancy you felt when you first moved here—in the form of congealed dairy products you couldn’t initially pronounce correctly. Start light with the “Cheeses of the World” package, or go Empire State Building-big with the Holiday Feast Deluxe, replete with 2.4lbs. of cheese and a full nine ounces of cured meatstuffs.
$35 and up at Murray’s
Small-batch salsa from the Russian River Valley.
Who doesn’t need a little spice in their life? These stunning salsas from Tienda Salsita, based in bucolic Healdsburg, taste as good as they look. The artisan salsa maker sources its ingredients from local farms in the surrounding Sonoma Valley, hand-toasting the chiles and churning out each batch on imported Mexican grindstones. That high-quality input, coupled with traditional recipes passed down for generations, make for a top shelf product with the terroir of California’s wine country. The classic three-salsa set features a trio of 9oz. jars: the mild Salsa de Corazón, the medium-smoky spice Salsa Chile Morita, and the fiery Chile de Árbol—cut with sweet summer tomatoes, just as the founder’s aunt made it in Guadalajara.
