From the desk of Haand's Creative Director, Mark Warren
One thing I may have an expert level of experience with is giving Haand as a gift. I have given so much Haand, I actually ask people now whether they want something else this year and it’s pretty rare for someone to say no. I have a spreadsheet that tracks all my family’s favorite shapes and colors, so I don’t give people the same thing twice (believe me, at the end of the holiday rush I have like 1/20th of my brain functionality).
I give Haand as a gift for many reasons, and here are a few:
1) D’uh, I believe in what we do and the quality and usefulness of our pottery! I know that people will enjoy these shapes and I can’t really say that about most of the stuff I see in Instagram ads or in a big box store.
2) It makes me happy to think about people using handmade pottery every day. We work really hard to get all the details JUST right, so knowing that my loved ones can use them daily fills my heart.
3) (This is unlikely to apply to anyone reading this, unless my friend and co-owner Chris reads this, but…) Owning a business has some perks (and many of whatever the opposite of perk is), but rolling in money is not one of the perks, but at least I can pull beautiful pottery and glassware from our shelves once the holiday rush is over.
I love all of our glass shapes so much, and in preparation for installing our new glassblowing equipment (read more about that here), I have been thinking about glassware ALOT. Our Wine Glasses are our best selling shape, so I’ll assume they make their case for themselves. This year, I am going big on our Tumblers.
I love the versatility and the usefulness of these, and no matter the season, they transport me to a sunny spring day in a plaza in Barcelona, drinking wine under some Plane trees with my friend Lilli; shooting the shit and watching kids play soccer. Pair them with a fine bottle of Scotch, or wine, or heck, a 12 pack of seltzer water, and you have an amazing gift ready to go.
Hestia Nesting Set
We launched the Berlin, Mendoza and San Tropez color combos in the Hestia Nesting Set this year, and last year we added the Christmas and Sedona mixed sets. These make a stunning gift, and beyond that, are supremely helpful to have!
Obviously, they are great as is, displayed on a counter as a sculptural object or filled with fruits. But if someone on your list is a baker or a serious home-chef, having prep, mixing, and serving bowls in pleasing colors makes cooking an elevated experience. The Fruit Bowl is a great mixing bowl or salad bowl, and the smaller bowls each serve as fantastic mise en place bowls, or hold marinating proteins or veggies in the Sharing Bowl. They make great serving bowls if you lay them out on table, use the Ramekin for some jalapenos, the Dessert Bowl for cilantro, the Breakfast Bowl for onions… you get it!
Deviled Egg Tray
I loved the whole process of bringing Stacy’s collection into the world, but for me, the Deviled Egg Tray is the star. I love the Serpentine glaze, so any of the shapes glazed in it look like we carved them from jewels.
Working with such a generous and intuitive collaborator really helped me push creatively, and I look forward to more to come from the back and forth we have developed. Deviled eggs are such a treat, any time of year, but during holidays they elevate the hell out of any spread. I see deviled eggs, and the little *ahem* devil in my tummy rubs his hands together and says, ‘A few wouldn’t hurt…’ So I say, hey, celebrate with some excess this year. Life is for the living, and dammit, we all deserve a treat. And I get it, you may not love deviled eggs. Try filling the little cups on the tray with chocolates, or bacon wrapped dates, or if you are a true libertine like my 5 year old, fill each one with a different kind of dipping sauce for tater tots.
Happy gifting!
