Newspaper Page Text
TRENDS/Monday, November 12/Page 9
Shop for the unique and unusual this Christmas
By MARGO MOORE
T ies for dad, sweaters or earrings
for mom, picture frames for
your sister. Boring. Every holiday you set
out for the mall determined to come home with
the perfect Christmas gift for everyone. Just a
few hours later you find yourselt standing in
front of McDonald's, amid the rushing crowd,
with tears of frustration in your eyes.
Unique gifts are hard to find. This Christmas,
though, could be different. Five shops right here
in Athens offer examples of what more is out
there in affordable, one-of-a-kind gifts.
Handmade barrettes, adorned with stones,
acorns, feathers, and wood, and a porcelain lamp
shaped like a rock are a few of the unusual finds
at Frontier, downtown on Jackson Street.
Truly original describes the jewelry — painted
leather earrings ($16) by a South Afncan artist,
an African lucky bead necklace ($14), laminated
paper jewelry ($14-$25), and bolo ties and pins
made of metavolcanic material.
The leather and suede pouches filled with
recycled stationery ($25) would please the letter
writer on your list. When the pouch is empty,
they can use it again as a wallet or jewelry
holder.
For a book lover, choose one of the art, nature,
or fashion books, like 'The Art of the Butterfly"
($16.95) or 'The Rainforests" ($35), or one of the
handmade books of poetry ($5.95-$12).
If your money runs short, incense burners are
only $5.95, scented soaps are $3, and Sierra
Club postcard collections are $8.95.
To wrap your gift, Nancy Lendved, owner of
Frontier, nas colorful recycled wrapping paper
Georgia Museum of Art's own, River Rock
Santa.
at only $1.50 to $1.75 a sheet.
Just a short walk from Frontier is the Loef
Gallery, at the comer of Clayton and Jackson
streets, where you'll find a potpourri of
reasonably-priced crafts by Georgia artists.
Bill Hug, a University instructional
technology professor, uses a wood lathe to
fashion art from rare, exotic woods. His
earrings, made from Australian lacewood and
Costa Rican cocobolo rosewood, are priced at
$12
P. McCaffrey creates pottery with animal
motifs. A small plate covered with lizards is $15
and a ’arger plate decorated with fish is $22.
Delicate handpainted silk scarves by
Margaret Agner are $40, and her painted silk
earrings are $15.
Brend, Sloan's Alchemy Series, priced from
$30 to $40, features fused bowls and platters
laminated with gold leaf and minerals.
Floral designs
cover everything
from trash cans to
cocktail napkins.
Another shop to try is right on campus at the
Georgia Museum of Art. Tne museum shop
carries a wide selection of items.
"It's unique," says Shan Taylor, the store's
manager. "It's not what you would see in your
average shop.”
Glass display cases are filled with unique
jewelry. Taylor orders most of the items from
museums in Boston, New York, London, and
Washington, D.C.
A gold sun pendant on a black leather cord is
priced at $27.50 and matching earrings are
$19.50. An ornate gold Scottish cross on a gold
chain is $31.50.
The blue and white Oriental porcelain and red
cinnabar earrings, necklaces, bracelets, and
pendants on satin ropes would thrill any jewelry
lover.
An art lover might like one of the watches
($75) on a black leather band, with faces covered
with famous paintings by artists Degas, Van
Gogh, Rousseau and Toulouse Lautrec. A
vanety of art books, ranging from $14.95 to $75,
are also carried.
Engagement calendars are always a safe,
affordable gift to give. "There's an engagement
calendar here for everybody," Taylor says.
Renoir, Picasso, Frank Lloyd Wright, historic
preservation, cats, Impressionistic paintings,
and more are pictured on the calendars.
The handblown glass perfume bottles,
paperweights, and sculptures, priced from $25
to $40, are also original!
Lf funds are low, you could buy a $5.95
Georgia Museum of Art mug and fill it with
candy canes. A set of two art bookmarks is only
$1.50.
For Christmas, the museum shop has ordered
a variety of brass and Japanese glass ornaments
and an assortment of cards. This year's cover of
the Georgia Museum of Art Christmas card is
the museum's painting "Madonna and Child" by
Marco Basaiti.
If flowers and gardening, instead of art, are
the interests of the person you're buying for visit
the gift shop at the Georgia Botanical Gardens
on Milledge Avenue.
Floral designs cover everything from trash
cans to cocktail napkins. There are flower-
covered journals, notebooks, and address books
from $5.95 to $18.95. A collection of handpainted
Selected sculpture from the Loeff Gallery;
Hand in Acorns, one of the many art pieces
available.
flower and fruit cards by Athens artist Suzanne
MacCrone are $14.95.
One of the botanical paintings or prints,
ranging from $15 to $100, would bring a smile to
any gardener's face.
If you want to help decorate someone's
Christmas tree, a vanety of ornaments,
reasonably priced at $1 to $7.50, are available.
Poinsettia wrapping paper and cards are perfect
for the holiday season.
Another shop with unique gifts is Archipelago
Antiques, located underneath Homeplace on
South Lumpkin Street in Five Points.
"You'll find strange, unpredictable things
here," says owner Peter Thompson, a University
biology professor.
Thompson discovers his antique odds 'n ends
at flea markets, auctions, and estate sales.
A black English lacquered box with subtle
chinoiserie from the late 19th century is a
bargain at $20. An elegant French handpainted
cup from the early 20th century is $15, and for
$24 you can buy a set of 10 bone china plates
with a plum blossom design.
A collection of old books, priced from $10 to
$75, includes an 1806 copy of "Letters on
English Poetry" and an 1842 edition of "The
Leisure Hour Book."
Popular items among University students are
old eyeglasses, letter openers and framed prints
of Russian ballet costumes wom in the early
1900's, Thompson said.
With these five local places to shop, there's no
excuse for giving boring gifts this Christmas.
Just save your money and start your unique gift
search early. You only have 42 shopping days
left.