Playfully dubbed “planet Earth’s #1 accommodations site,” Booking.com has been an essential travel tool in Europe for over a decade, and it’s now quickly gaining momentum stateside with its unique approach to customer service and humorous…
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Whether your dad prefers to take in a few rounds of golf with his buddies or spend an afternoon in the waves enjoying handplaning, our Cool Hunting Gift Guide has him covered this Father’s Day, 16 June 2013. Filled with a dynamic range of gifts for dads of all…
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Some people are born with the gift-giving gene—year after year they nail it with pitch-perfect presents for everyone on their list. Whether it comes naturally for you or not, you can still please your nearest and dearest by giving thoughtful gifts with a personal touch. Here, eight customizable selections…
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Custom curated booklets aim to personalize online gift-giving
Options for online gift-giving are by no means scarce. Going beyond the basics of easy browsing and affordable shipping, CEO John Poisson founded Wantful with the intention of making the process even more intuitive, creating a rare blend of curated storefront, gift card and material goods. At the most basic level, the service provides users a way to send a thoughtful selection of gifts to choose from in a lovely, customized catalog.
The process starts by visiting the Wantful website and sharing general background information about the intended recipient. Basic questions like gender and relationship are followed with more in-depth inquiries such as sense of style, preferred living quarters, cooking habits and whether they sing along to their music. From there, Wantful does the work: “We put together a list of recommendations and other ways to look through our products,” says Poisson. “You choose 16 things that you think are perfectly suited to that person and put them together in this printed booklet.” The sender puts down a certain amount of money when they check out to pay for the gift that ultimately gets chosen.
Wantful’s selection is expansive but smartly edited, with thousands of solid options that are updated constantly. “It’s the equivalent of an entire department store, except that our products are the kinds of products you don’t find in a department store,” explains Poisson. “Our real focus is our team of buyers that find things you don’t find anywhere else.”
While the recipient gets to choose the gift they want, much of the treat lies in getting a dedicated book filled with specially picked goods. As Poisson explains, “This isn’t a transaction. There’s meant to be something emotional attached—even if it’s a casual gift.” The self-proclaimed professional buyer shared some of his favorite makers as well, listing the husband and wife perfumer D.S. & Durga alongside White Sycamore and Cavalier Essentials.
The service syncs with Facebook to remind users of upcoming birthdays, and a calendar of upcoming events can also be made. Wantful then sends reminders as the dates approach. Poisson recommends having a mix of safe and quirky gifts, throwing in unexpected items like a $500 box of chocolate as a teaser item. When the recipient gets their booklet, they simply select their gift and await its arrival—easy as pie—or a jar of artisanal kimchi.
When your own initials are enough
Bottega Veneta joined the personalization club today with the launch of their Initials line at a five day pop up shop within their Milan showroom during the city’s busy design fair, and online through a specialized Initials site. Their trademark intrecciato (woven) pattern has become synonymous with subtle luxury and fine craftsmanship, and their beautifully rich leather goods have earned a cult following for their elegance as well as their durability. As Goyard, Louis Vuitton, Gucci and other luxury leather goods companies have long offered personalization, it’s moved from a trend to an integral way to make these products your own. Feeling its products were not properly constructed to support monograms however, Bottega Veneta put a plan in place to create a new collection designed exclusively for the program.
We were invited to stop by the pop up shop to see the product first-hand and to go through the personalization process. The familiar feeling line includes a variety of totes, wallets, handbags, messenger bags, an iPad case and a belt, ranging in price from $350 – $2,150. Though similar in shape and size to existing products, the 15 items in the mens/womens/unisex collection have in fact been reengineered with different Nappa leathers; the women’s products use lambskin for a softer and slouchier effect, the men’s use calfskin and are thicker, firmer and sturdier. The suede backing is new for the collection, and consideration has gone into the design process to determine where your initials should sit on the product.
Bottega selected a handful of expert artisans to carry out the hand painted monogram process with careful precision that’s only developed over a lifetime. While many of the editors on hand chose a combination of the type options—six colors of the leather, three sizes and eight colors of the letters—we stuck to a monotone palette that’s subtle but still makes a statement.
The Bottega Initials site is already operating and well worth a mention as well. Inviting you to enter your initials upon entry, the well designed site presents all products sporting your monogram already, offering a glimpse at what could be. You can then modify the size and color of the letters until you get it just right. If you’re looking for a bigger statement, personalized luggage is scheduled to arrive later this year.
For a closer look at the pop up shop and its offers see the gallery below.
by Evan Orensten and Graham Hiemstra
From sausage keychains to Twig terrariums, our picks for this year’s perfect presents
The holiday season is here, and after another year of sifting through the latest innovations in design, technology, art, style and culture, we have picked our favorites for the annual Cool Hunting Gift Guide. From Bjørg Nordli-Mathisen’s sleek anatomically-correct heart locket to the high quality chef’s knives that master bladesmith Bob Kramer designed for Zwilling, the assortment is sure to inspire personalized gift-giving and please even the pickiest of recipients.
We’ll be updating the guide through the holiday season, so be sure to check back daily for new additions.
Customize a classic with Hermès’ new scarf embroidery service
Hermès, already known for their timeless silk scarves, launched their new Custom Silk Corner today, making the iconic accessory even more of an heirloom.
Perfect for Mother’s Day or to commemorate any special event, the service allows customers to choose one of 17 scarf designs to personalize with any of 30 different colors of silk yarn and two styles of typography. You can also choose different types of scarves (from the giant 90-centimeter scarf to a “Twilly” silk ribbon), and various occasions—birthdays, marriage, etc.—to celebrate. Once you select your moment and your message, whether simple initials or more detailed sentiments (prices start at $15 per letter), a local Hermès-approved embroiderer keeps turnaround time within one to two weeks.
The service is part of their recently-expanded Madison Avenue flagship store—a 2,100-square-foot space designed by Rena Dumas’ Paris-based architecture firm RDAI that comes fresh on the heels of another RDAI-designed Hermès project. A collaboration with Enzo Mari, Antonio Citterio and Dumas’ son (who’s also Hermès artistic director) Pierre-Alexis Dumas, the collaboration consisted of a pavilion cleverly constructed out of cardboard for their recent furniture collection showing at Milan.
Scarf prices vary depending on style, to see some of their classic patterns check out Hermès’ online boutique.
Also on Cool Hunting: The Hermès Scarf: History & Mystique
Stationery with a DIY twist for custom pixel graphics
Sending someone special a card may seem gracious enough these days, but Present & Correct’s latest Paper Weaving Card Set really ups the charm with easy tools for constructing a personalized pattern in addition to undoubtedly endearing messages.
The four-pack includes two “Happy Birthday” and one each of “Thank You” and “Congratulations” cards (all blank inside), as well as 40 paper weaving strips and envelopes. Wrapped in instructions, the handy guides show how to make more involved patterns, like an elephant or heart.
THe 5″ x 7″ cards offer plenty of space to get crafty and sell online from Present & Correct for £10 each.
Kick the new year off with Feltron’s app that allows you to track and visualize your personal data
To keep better tabs on all those New Year’s resolution pounds you promised to lose or miles you want to run, Daytum‘s new iPhone app offers their personal data tracking service in a concise mobile form. Daytum allows you to document your life one category at a time, and then relays the timeline with a slew of beneficial charts and averages. I’ve started using it to track all my travel—miles flown, hotel nights stayed and airports visited.
The app allows you to work offline—adding, editing and deleting entries—as well as keep track of favorite items for quick reference. Other tools, such as those for switching between accounts, graphing data or providing convenient access for common functions help the app retain its purpose of everyday use. Fully integrated with Daytum’s site, the app can be used in tandem or stand-alone and for existing users it will import all of the past data you’ve entered at daytum.com.
Having a look at Daytum co-founder Nicholas Felton’s “Annual Reports” gives real insight into just how interesting personal tracking can be, as well as the full ways Daytum can help you communicate your unique information. The app is free from iTunes, and Daytum offers both a free or $4/month subscription service.
Make travel planning effortless with a new user-friendly site
Simplifying the art of travel planning, the new website Wanderfly helps people choose an adventure best suited to their interests. Co-founder Evan Schneyer, who was personally frustrated with online user experience, explains they created Wanderfly because “We believe the fun should start from the very moment you decide to go.” The recommendation engine generates information from partners like Expedia, Foursquare, Not For Tourists, Lonely Planet and more, allowing people to fully customize their next trip or explore the options.
For users who want a general overview, choosing a departing city, time frame and budget will automatically find the best deals and supply an exhaustive list of destinations and activities. If your needs are more specific—maybe a four-day beach holiday in mid-January filled with culture, entertainment and parties—Wanderfly comes up with more precise suggestions, in this case Oranjestad, Aruba or Bathsheba, Barbados.
Modifying filters is easy too. Start with romance and food and add culture or change anything else by simply clicking the filter icons. Altering the time frame and budget, requires minimal effort too; deciding between locations requires little more than a click of the button to show multiple trips at once for comparison.
Also valuable is the rich, personalized information Wanderfly sources for each location. Along with news and weather, Wanderfly scans Facebook, showing you which of your friends are in each city you’re exploring.
If the intuitive design isn’t enough, Wanderfly livens search time up with inspirational travel quotes and helpful tips to get you excited about skipping town.
This is site is run by Sascha Endlicher, M.A., during ungodly late night hours. Wanna know more about him? Connect via Social Media by jumping to about.me/sascha.endlicher.
