Drouot

“hello dear friends long time no chat as we're  entering the festive season in the spirit of   giving back I thought it'd be fun to talk about  some gift ideas from some of my favorite small   businesses and it could be an opportunity for  you guys to learn about some small brands that   you might not have come across it's usually a  time of the year when we're usually marketed to   lean towards over consumption and I was hoping  that maybe some of these ideas might offer more   mindful intentional and sustainable approaches  to gift giving I wanted to focus only on small   brands in this video because it's important  to support your local small businesses during   this time of the year as well as all year  round a lot of the times small Brands can   be run by just a few people even down to just an  individual whose whole livelihood depends on their   craft in order to support their families in other  cases some small Brands might be working directly   with local farmers or local producers and so  in purchasing from small businesses you're   contributing to helping support these local  communities on top of that some of the brands   that I will be mentioning in this video I know  have had their work stolen or copied from larger   corporations who reproduce their work in cheaper  less durable less ethical ways and so by choosing   small you're choosing to support their creativity  their dedication and the human touch and care that   they put into their craft all this to say it's  just an excuse for me to talk about some of my   favorite brands with you guys if you also have  some favorite small makers small Brands small   businesses that you want to share please do in  the comment section if you are a maker yourself as   well leave your info work in the description below  I'd love to follow you guys and see what you guys   are making and yeah I have a long list so I think  we should get started grab a cup of tea and make   yourself comfortable cuz I think this is going to  be a long one I'm going to have everything linked   In the description bar below so you can easily  find all these brands and yeah let's get started so the first section we're going to talk about  our ceramics because what better to receive as   a gift than a beautiful handmade piece of ceramic  the first two brands that I'm going to talk about   I have pieces here with me and then after that  I'm going to move categorize them by region so it   might be easier for you guys to find makers local  to your area the first piece is made by my friend   Lauren who also has a YouTube channel here called  from tree to Sea and she custom made this mug for   me I love this mug it lives with me in the studio  she said she was inspired by the colors from my   Instagram feed for this piece and I love the  raw clay texture that she left on the outside   glazed on the inside and her illustration work  is absolutely stunning I love these flowers so   definitely give her a follow and and go follow her  on YouTube if you don't but yeah you get to see   her make these pieces there so thank you so much  Lauren I love this mug next up one of my favorite   ceramists I wish I could collect all of her  pieces her name is Kim Le I believe that's how you   pronounce her name she is based in Paris and this  is my favorite mug that I drink from every morning   I actually still have some matcha in there that  I'm I was just drinking this morning she her okay   wait her craft her level of skill is unpaired is  that how you say it it's just it's next level her   pieces are so so well made from the weight of it  the way she pulls her handles the glazes that she   makes this piece has little marks of her from her  fingers here that she purposefully left it's when   she puts her fingers in order to I'm not going to  tip it over cuz I still have some matcha tea in   there but it's when she glazes the piece yeah it  just gives this like hand touched feel I love this   glaze that she developed from crushed rocks that  she's collected I believe it it was in a forest   not far from Paris the bottom the piece is just  as beautiful she barely even needed to trim the   piece this is the mark of beautiful craftsmanship  anyway I I I'm a huge fan of her work I have some   of her mugs I have some of her bowls I love to eat  from them she just did a shop update but I believe   she sold out really quickly and I believe she's  going on maternity leave right now but I would   definitely go and follow her and try to grab a  piece from her on her next shop update so yeah   Kim Le based in Paris all right moving on we are  now going to move on geographically and I'm going   to start with I have my computer here with me I'm  going to start with Spain because this is where   I'm located currently and we're going to start  with Estudio Vernis I don't have a piece from   them but they are are having a shop update Sunday  the 8th of December which is the day that I'm   filming I hope I can get this video up the same  day if you're looking for pieces that have that   handmade touched feel that have that very honest  material type of style I would definitely check   out a Estudio Vernis they're based out of Alicante  which is just south of Valencia they handbuilt   all of their pieces and they've built their own  woodfired kiln in their backyard and they fire all   of their pieces from wood basically that they find  in their area their glazes are absolutely stunning   I really like this one in particular I'm kind of  thinking of grabbing this mug for myself I also   really liked the pieces where you have that hand  pinched finger pinched style their photography   work is also stunning and a lot of the food in  their plates just look so appetizing I believe   their pieces are carried by a store in Los Angeles  as well and in Copenhagen what I really like about   their work is the honest material and closeness to  nature that you see in their pieces and in their   overall in my opinion they found the perfect  balance in a very raw ceramic style that still   looks really sophisticated and elegant next up  we're moving on to Canoa lab Raquel and Pedro are   actually here in Valencia in the same city that  I live in and I've been a huge fan of their work   for years and I happened to get to meet them about  a year ago and they're just the kindest sweetest   people and their work are stunning pieces of art  if you're looking for more sculptural pieces that   have this very Iberian antique Roman even Greek  inspired look I would definitely recommend you   guys check them out they do stunning work with  glazes they also use metal work in some of their   pieces they're just just superbly elegant I've  seen them as well in their studio and I wanted   everything I think with this level of skill and  craftsmanship they only deserve the biggest amount   of support for this type of craft to live on it's  so rare to find pieces that are so well made yet   experimental that take designs that have lived  throughout history for years and they're able   to give it a very modern take I think it's it's  really rare and they're true artists so highly   recommend you guys check them out next up my  friends from Tierra de Arcillas Milena and Julia   are a duo who are in the south of Spain in the  Almeria region close to the Alpujarra mountains   so they do a whole different type of ceramic style  where they go and forage their wild clay in their   region which takes a ton of work to not only  experiment with to discover as well as to work   with and they're able to develop beautiful clay  bodies that they make themselves what I love about   their brand not only do they love these people  they're just the sweetest loveliest people they   also work very very close to nature and and  work on bringing back working with wild clay   basically because in ceramics today essentially  you can just easily buy your clay from any   shop and a lot of these clay producers build  their own clay bodies by using minerals from   many different places they're not always tied to  their local geographical region so you might have   porcelain that might be manufactured in regions  where you do not find kaolin and porcelain so   there is something working with the local region  the local terrain and and soil and and clay that   is so interesting in the work that they do on top  of that I got to meet them and hang out with them   for a couple days because they do teaching they  teach you how to work with wild clay how to forage   your own and how to work with it I highly highly  recommend you go to these classes and retreats so   they work with Las Mecias which is also run by  two girls right next to their studio who have   this beautiful land that they've kind of turned  into an artist Retreat place you're staying with   Las Mecias who will cater so they grow their  own food on this land and they cook the most   amazing dishes it's such a beautiful area so if  you're looking for a bit of escape from the city   into nature and want to learn about wild clay  and eat some delicious food I highly highly   recommend you check out their classes next up  Nuria Figuerero I'm not sure if I'm pronouncing   this correctly I've only recently discovered  her work she has this very unique whimsical   storytelling like element to her work yet that's  very sculptural because a lot of times you can   find this kind of style but it's very illustrative  and she does these adorable beautiful sculptural   works every piece seems like it has its own  story its own soul I find it so characterful   yet mystical yet almost a little spooky sometimes  but very magical I'd love to collect one of her   pieces one day and I think the would look really  beautiful in any home they'd give a lot of   character I think to any space we are now going  to expand throughout Europe and we're going to   start with a Scandinavian ceramist, Andrea Tsang,  I think she's based in Stockholm in Sweden and   she's actually had some of her pieces I don't know  if you know the show The Bear on Disney um she's   had some of her work featured in the show which  is awesome what a ceramicist dream she's one of   the rare ceramicist that I see work with red clay  her work is very earthy it's very sculptural she   has this very Scandi style that she mixes in with  Asian influence I think her pieces are very unique   they're really interesting and I think they would  make a great gift staying in the northern European   region moving on to Toseibo I'm not sure if I'm  pronouncing this correctly but they are located   in Copenhagen I can't wait to visit Copenhagen  there are so many beautiful designers actually in   that area in that City but too makes very Japanese  wabisabi influenced work it's very very elegant   beautifully made one of a kind heading to France  now we have Samantha Kerdine I think that's how   you say it recently discovered her work as well  very painterly illustrative artsy but very very   well made there's a lot of pieces that I'm really  obsessed with especially this sort of stool table   collection that she made I love the way that she  paints illustrations and faces and portraits on   ceramics this style of work looks easy to make  but it's actually really really hard to perfect   um she has so many good ideas her use of color  is beautiful and it's very playful as well I I'm   really inspired by her work next up we're moving  on to Canada some of you might know that I used   to live in Toronto I've live lived there for 10  years yeah so I do follow a couple ceramicists in   the area one of them is Carly Waito we actually  used to share a community Studio together when   I first started doing Ceramics I was always  in admiration of her work she started making   these very sculptural small vases I love the  type of I love the type of clay that she works   with she started selling some of her pieces in  Mjolk I'm not exactly sure how to say that but   some of you in Toronto might might know of this  shop I would highly recommend you check out her   work in Montreal there is Anja Jamrozik oh I can't  pronounce this last name Jamrozik i I don't know   how to pronounce their name but they work with  white clay bodies and use a lot of blue in a   painterly style and some of these little bowl or  sculptural wall pieces are really really fun and   painterly and very unique I think it's really fun  it's really whimsical it's I don't know it just   brings a smile on my face when I look at their  work also in Montreal I've recently discovered   this account I think it's run by two people Lea  and Nicola they use a red clay body and they make   very sculptural mugs and bowls that almost has  this sort of sculpture but cardboard look to it   it's really really interesting it's really  unique really well executed um in the UK we   have a couple ceramicists actually there's a  lot of ceramicists in the UK the first one I   want to talk about is Charlotte Salt I'm really  obsessed with her plates that she paints these   faces are just so beautifully painted and I like  the illustrative work that she does on tiles as   well they're just full of story very whimsical  again and really inspiring there's almost an   antique aspect to the work that she makes but it's  beautifully executed Ginny Sims Ceramics I want   every single piece that she makes and that is rare  especially in this type of style I don't usually   gravitate towards wanting to buy pieces like this  but something about the pieces that she makes are   I'm just so drawn to they're so unique I think no  piece looks alike she's just able to pair colors   that I would never think of putting together and  just executes it so well her mugs just make you   want to drink a cup of coffee or tea from and hold  it in your hand I'm really in admiration of how   unique every piece looks and how well she's able  to pull off this style it's almost giving a Bode   style to her work it has this very like slapped on  paint artisticness to it but yet it's so polished   and so well made Celia Wood based in Edinburgh  in Scotland recently discovered her Instagram   and kind of similar to to Ginny Sims I just love  her work it's so unique so well made it has kind   of this like folkloric aspect to it it's really  fun I love these like little fish candle holder   the fish that she paints on these vases it's it's  really really fun the characters always kind of   have a this like funny comical aspect to them it  has this like childlike wonder that you kind of   like lose as you're growing older Cathpotsss she  has really really interesting glaze work so she   makes mugs plates jars Etc teapots as well and the  way that she uses her glaze this is so unique I've   rarely seen this before I'm not even really sure  how she executes it I bet you it would be really   really nice to have this on a dining table or  in a kitchen I don't have a lot of ceramicist   to recommend based in the United States this time  around but I did want to talk about Mellow New   York or Mellow NYC on Instagram I really like this  I don't know how you would describe this work it's   very black and white but the shapes that they  create are stunning I really like these incense   holders that they make um I find incense holders  really hard to find and shop for because I'm just   never really drawn to what people make but I think  this one has a lot of character I really like   these swirly mugs as well in a similar style but  in Australia I believe it's in South Australia is   Milly from Chicky Ceramics I really like what she  makes you know mugs like this or like this this   she also does illustrative work like this that  are kind of funny and very unique okay moving away   from Ceramics I wanted to talk about Madeleine  illustration she is an illustrator she also works   with textiles embroidery lately she's been doing  working with copper pieces I'm not really sure   what that's called I think she does beautiful work  on textiles embroidery I love this greyhound that   she did I love like the flower shapes that she's  done next up we have a woodworker I don't know   how to pronounce her name but her first name  is Elise Mclauchlan I think she's based out   of Vancouver I don't follow a lot of Woodworkers  who sell this type of of I guess functional wear   but her bowls her cake stands are just beautiful I  think she makes salt and pepper mills her work is   just really elegant it's sculptural and similar to  ceramics there's something really beautiful when   you're working with an honest material such  as wood if you do know of other artists and   makers who make this type of woodwork please share  them with me I'd love to to discover more next up   in LA we have MJ K Lee she does really really  interesting work with beads and Ceramics I've   never seen this before she makes these beautiful  landscapes that she weaves through beads and then   frames that with some ceramic frames that she  makes herself she also makes jewelry like this   I've had my eye on her work for a while and I  really really want to collect a piece from her   candles it is a great season to be gifting candles  my friend Clara based in close to Barcelona in   Spain runs a shop called Shop Copito and she makes  these natural beeswax candles that she colors with   natural pigment so it's either pigments that  she goes and collects herself or that she grows   herself so such as Indigo I do actually have one  of her pieces here with me this beautiful candle   I love this shade it's got this like mustardy  coloring to it and her work is very sculptural   I have some of her other candles I actually  went and got some other pieces that I have   of hers in my kitchen I really love like this red  especially close to this blue I believe this blue   is achieved with Indigo I'm not sure about this  one it could be matter I I guess but something   about the natural materials that she works with  gives this beautiful Sheen and translucency   to the wax she also makes these natural crayons  which have been copied by a big Corporation Zara   home that have made a cheaper uglier alternative  but yeah I I would definitely check out her work   in the same vein as candles I tend to burn incense  actually more often than candles I don't know if   it's because I lived in Asia most of my childhood  and it's a lot more common there I think the only   issue that I have with incense is that a lot of  times they use artificial chemical smells in them   and those tend to really give me a headache I have  a really hard time standing those smells like I   have to leave the room so I'm really particular  about the smells and I tested this brand that is   run by Moya or I don't know if you know Moya  mawhinney here on YouTube you probably do but   her and her partner have started a brand called  a series of and they've launched well their first   product is an incense I believe they're going to  come out with more smells I was a little skeptical   at first because like I said I'm very particular  about sents in general I'm very sensitive but they   did a really really good job as soon as I open the  box oh the smell is really really nice so what got   me curious about their brand is the incense  is made in Japan by one of the oldest incense   making houses I don't mean to spoil the unboxing  experience but this would make a wonderful gift   the packaging that they use is really really nice  you open up and then you have a little flap that   has a little description another one here and  a little descriptor here and the incense that   matches the Box color so these are made without  a wooden stick which is the traditional Japanese   way and they have such a delightful smell to them  it reminds me of when I used to live in Asia and I   really enjoy burning one once a day which is kind  of what they're suggesting that you do they it   comes with 30 incense sticks in a box and so you  burn one every day for the month and yeah I think   this would make a really beautiful gift speaking  of incense I don't have them with me because I   just moved into a new apartment and everything's  a bit in boxes but there's another incense brand   that I've bought I've batch bought their incense  Leftover Hippies Incense they're all Handmade by   a girl in British Columbia and it's only using  natural gums and materials basically and she had   these different smells there's a meditation one  there's a Temple blend and I really like all of   them I highly recommend you check them out I'll  insert images of what they look like here they   don't give me a headache and I really believe it's  because of the natural materials that are used in   these incense sticks I've had lots of friends ask  me where I get my incense from and um yeah highly   recommend you check her out also on the topic of  incense I haven't tried this but I was scrolling   on the internet and I found this incense making  kit which i' had never heard of it's made by Poj   Studio basically it's a kit that allows you to  make your own incense and it comes with three   different fragrances I wouldn't know if these  are overpowering of a smell but it could be a fun   little DIY gift kit I have two jewelry brands that  I would love to share with you guys in Barcelona   there is this brand called Apres Ski that is run I  Believe by one girl and she makes jewelry clothing   a bunch of things and I did purchase these cute  little earrings from her that I wore at a wedding   actually I mean I didn't buy them for the wedding  but I did wear at a wedding that I had to go to   this year and they just really made my outfit she  also makes pieces like this she makes necklaces   they have a very Cosmopolitan design I think she  she draws inspiration for many cultures around the   world Latin American Asian North African Etc and  um she also hand makes these jackets and tops from   scrap material they're all absolutely stunning  speaking of incense she just did a collaboration   with Thelma par Thelma I guess sells incense  and she made an incense holder that's kind of   shaped like a snake and it's really cute so I feel  like that could be a really good gift also on the   topic of jewelry my friend Wing in New York runs  a brand called Wwake I've met her a couple times   when she visited Toronto years years ago she works  a lot with opal she has a very Celestial style in   her designs she makes beautiful beautiful pieces  but more importantly the opal and gemstones that   she works with she sources them and mines them  ethically or works with ethically mind stones   which is really important because in the jewelry  industry when it comes to gold and gemstones a lot   of mining is done in very unethical manners in my  case the little piece of jewelry that I have the   Opals here are actually cut from discarded parts  of Opals so Opals have a very bluish greenish tone   to them but when you cut the stone you only select  the parts of the stone that have the most intense   color and the rest of the material gets discarded  and so for this pieces she used the discarded   material it still has some bluish greenish tones  to it but it's a lot more pale and it hangs really   really beautifully I basically never take it off  I sleep with it I swim with it it's definitely   more of the higher end but if you're looking to  invest into pieces of jewelry I really recommend   you check out the pieces that she makes and I  believe that she also makes custom designs for   engagement rings so if you are in the market for  that definitely take a look if I could I would buy   every single piece that she makes especially those  gold banded necklaces I think she was one of the   first ones to come up with this design that was  then copied by a lot of other brands but I've seen   those necklaces of hers in person it really looks  like you're wearing liquid gold and I remember at   one of the Toronto pop-ups that she did there was  a woman with darker skin tone that was wearing   some of them draped on her collar bone and neck  and it looked so beautiful she looked like a   Cleopatra walking Queen like I said if you're look  in the market for investment pieces I would really   check out her designs knitwear knitwear is really  hard to shop for I find that you either have to   Thrift them like this little cashmere thing that I  thrifted for like 15 euros at a market it actually   has a hole that I have to fix that I have to patch  up in the elbow where is it oh there we go so you   either have to like find dig and find nice knits  or you have to settle for fast fashion knits that   just don't last last a very long time but there  is a Spanish brand that you might have heard of   called Babaa I have invested in two of their  pieces a few years ago and ever since I've got   them I cannot wear any other knit once you've felt  the quality and the craftsmanship of their knits   you just don't want any other knit the raw wool  knits in particular do start off a little rough   but they do soften with wear and I will attest  that I've had mine for at least 3 years and um   they have softened a lot they do pill though if  you're not really into the pill look maybe look   elsewhere but their knits are the most comfortable  beautiful and sustainably made knits that you can   find out there they are investment pieces however  they do annual sales I wanted to include Babaa   because I feel like it's the perfect example for  why shopping small and supporting small is so   important so Babaa is a perfect example because  it's a family-run business they're based out of   Madrid or Barcelona so supporting Babaa not only  means you're supporting this family they have   multiple children Etc but they also work with  family run factories so without the existence   of Babaa these family run factories would also  collapse then they also work with local shepherds   in the region who practice transhumance it's  a traditional way of working with sheep in a   very natural and ethical way so supporting Babaa  means you're not just supporting this local maker   but you're supporting a whole community ecosystem  of different families whose livelihood depends on   this craft and these beautifully made pieces not  only that but Babaa commits to dying their wool   in the most sustainable way possible and she  does talk about well the founder talks about   how the processes that they use in the podcast  that I'll link as well in a world where fashion   is the second biggest polluter in the world I  think it's so important to to keep supporting   small businesses like this that push the fashion  industry into a whole other direction and puts   pressure on the other larger conglomerates to  do better to borrow you know better practices   in human environmental you know ethical way this  video is getting a little long so I'm going to go   a little faster on these last few recommendations  I wanted to include some shops that do carry a lot   of works from other small makers one of them  in Denmark I believe in copenhagen is called   Raasted which carry a Estudio Vernis pieces they  carry a lot of beautiful curated pieces if you're   shopping more for Japanese inspired kitchen wear  products there is Tenzo I believe they're based in   Los Angeles and they carry a lot of imported goods  from Japan that are beautifully made but they also   work with a lot of ceramicists in the area um  and they curate some of their Collections and   if you could get your hands on some of them I  think they would make really good gifts in the   Toronto area I have three shops that I carry a lot  of cool stuff one of my roommates in Toronto her   one of her best friends works at 100% silk shop  and I actually have shopped there before I've   bought a pair of Mary Janes that are made in silk  by this maker in Taipei or in Taiwan and yeah they   carry a lot of small handmade brands that are  made very delicately and beautifully and very   interesting stuff that they they carry there's  also BaaBazaar they carry a lot of Homeware a   lot of kitchen and like tableware they create  really beautiful decorative pieces and a lot   of them would make for really good gifts if  you're in the market for something that is a   little more fancy elegant but still for the home  there's souvenir studios in Toronto they curate   a lot of Ceramics vases fragrances just a lot of  beautiful pieces glassware as well another great   gift idea I find is to gift small paintings if you  can find some either on Etsy or there is this uh   website called Drouot I think it's French I'm not  sure but there's a lot of collection items there   there's some very expensive pieces of Art and  Arts of All Sorts but you can also find really   beautiful paintings at as cheap as €100 that  are beautifully painted um you do have to do   a bit of digging I've recently heard about it it  was recommended to me by my dad and he's found   some really nice paintings for really cheap  there a magazine subscription I think would   make a really good gift you can cater to your  receivers taste so for example I have recently   subscribed to milk decoration magazine if you're  really into design Interiors artists Artisans Etc   it's a really really nice magazine I mean you can  also look up the articles that they have on their   website you get to discover a lot of artists and  Artisans and see what's happening in the world of   design and interiors and they have a really nice  curation of stuff there's also Manera magazine   which is Spanish and also if you're interested  in interiors and design I would recommend   checking out that magazine the very last thing I  want to talk about is thrifting I think thrifting   is one of the most sustainable ways of shopping  these items already put out there in the world   you're not wasting any new resources one example  is thrifting little lights you can find lots of   them in secondhand stores you can find them in  Etsy this is one that I thrifted very recently   for my apartment it's a little Atomic lamp from  the 1930s or 1920s and it's still works perfectly   it's not plugged in right now but this little  click thing is so satisfying to use and it just   looks beautiful I love the patina that it has I  love that it's gotten darker in some areas with   wear and it still functions after almost what  100 Years of existing it's it's so impressive   and they're just beautifully designed and if  you dig well enough you will be able to find   some cheaper finds I'm going to share some ideas  of lamps that I have been looking up on Etsy some   of them I am still eyeing so I might have to grab  them before you guys do I'm also going to link   some Etsy shops that curate a lot of really cute  thrifted things the ones that I've been looking   at are based out of Europe but I'm going to link  them nonetheless and include some images of some   of the random things that you can find on Etsy but  that would make really cute gifts and I shall take   this opportunity to thank you guys for sticking  around to the end of this video I put a lot of   time and effort in curing this gift guide list so  I hope you guys enjoyed it if you did let me know   in the comments or just simply leave a like so  I know that you like these kinds of videos and   yeah obviously you're you don't need to buy  from any of these small businesses that I've   mentioned but I hope that they might have sparked  some ideas as to what you could maybe gift that   is made from small makers or that you can Thrift  out there for the special people in your life with   all this said I hope you have a wonderful rest  of your day hope you enjoy this holiday festive   season and enjoy the mindful shopping see you soon  [Music] bye he wants to be in the shot yeah you   join in the small business gift guide let's  do a quick check one two one two check check”