Very Gifted: 10 Luxe Gifts Ideas for Design Enthusiasts

Very Gifted: VISI Gift Guide for 2021

COMPILED BY Robyn Alexander PHOTOS Justin Patrick, The Artists’ Press, Supplied


Elevate your gifting game with our curated selection of luxe treasures for every style and taste.

From inspiring artworks and books to cool fashion accessories, luxe local fragrance and perfect decor touches, here’s our pick of the VISI team’s most-wanted gifts.

Luxe gift ideas – L’MAD Collection art scarves

WEARABLE ART

The latest collection of L’MAD Collection art scarves sees the luxe brand collaborating with a number of up-and-coming artists from the Latitudes online art platform, and the results are ideal for your art-loving friend who already has everything!

From 2 300 | latitudes.online

Luxe gift ideas – Mungo Moholo blanket

A DOG’S LIFE

The chicest dog blanket in the land is the perfect gift for pampered pooches – and their doting owners – everywhere. Mungo’s practical yet fabulous Moholo blanket is available in two sizes, and four of the characteristically bright and beautiful colourways the brand excels at designing and weaving at its Plettenberg Bay mill.

From R650 | mungo.co.za

Luxe gift ideas – PAC-MAN table lamp

RETRO FABULOUS

Thabiso Mjo’s delightful PAC-MAN table lamp, created for her proudly local design firm, Mash.T, simply never fails to bring a delighted smile to our faces. Inspired by the classic video game, these petite lamps make perfectly playful gifts.

R4 174.50 | mashtdesignstudio.com

Luxe gift ideas – Melle Candles

LIGHT FANTASTIC

Available in three styles – The Taper, The Spiral, and The Sphere – and six up-to-the-minute colours, Melle Candles are designed, individually poured, and hand finished in the brand’s Johannesburg-based studio. We listed a box of each shape (and in every colour!) in our 2024 letters to Santa.

From R195 per box of two candles | melle-studio.co.za

Luxe gift ideas – Bone by Tom Dixon

BONE UP

As sculptural in appeal as the rest of this ultra-collectable designer’s extensive body of work, Bone is a solid brass Tom Dixon bowl that also has a light and effortless visual appeal – its open structure means it works just as well as a display platter as it does as an unusual table-top piece.

POA | cremadesign.co.za

Luxe gift ideas – apartment fragrance

ON THE SCENT

One of local boutique fragrance house Apartment’s unique – and unisex – offerings is sure to appeal to the perfume lover in your life. One of our faves is The other details were hazy, which the brand describes as “A stomp through a damp overgrown garden at dusk.”

R1 790 | aptaptapt.co

Luxe gift ideas – Ferm Living’s Vuelta Table Lam

ON THE CURVE

Made from opal glass with a rippled surface that gives it huge textural appeal, Ferm Living’s Vuelta Table Lamp uses an LED light source that emits a soft, diffused light – with an adjustable dimmer for ultimate ambiance control. A gorgeous display piece that will also light up a collection of books in serious style.

POA | cremadesign.co.za

Luxe gift ideas – Light Space Life: Houses By SAOTA

TAKING A VIEW

Light Space Life: Houses By SAOTA (Thames & Hudson) is a lavishly illustrated first monograph from South African architecture studio SAOTA. It features 23 of the firm’s exceptional buildings, which are well-known for forging powerful connections to their extraordinary settings.

R1 650 | amazon.co.za

Luxe gift ideas – Wiid Design tumblers and carafes

POP THE CORK

Hand-blown from 100% recycled glass and manufactured by Ngwenya Glass in Swaziland, these utterly covetable tumblers and carafes by Laurie Wiid are available in either clear or amber glass, and each carafe is fitted with a custom hand-turned light cork closure.

POA | wiiddesign.co.za

Luxe gift ideas – petite Gem vase by Vorster & Braye

BABY GEMS

For anyone intrigued by ikebana (or who simply wants to showcase a single bloom from the garden) the subtly gleaming tactility of a petite Gem vase by Cape Town-based ceramicists Vorster & Braye is just the ticket. Available in Aquamarine, Jade, Alabaster and Tigers Eye glazes, this is the perfect stocking stuffer.

POA | vorsterandbraye.co.za

*Updated on 2 December 2024. Availability and pricing correct at time of publishing.


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